5.25 miles, 2 hours 45 minutes, 310 m Elevation gain
Map of walk from Murchington up Meldon Hill
Directions
From Murchington head towards Chagford passing the chapel on your left and heading straight on (right) at the fork. As the Chagford road begins to drop steeply downhill take the footpath on your right into the field and follow the path downhill to Warcleave Wood. Follow the very clear footpath through the wood - we once saw an owl sitting on a branch over the path in broad daylight. When you come to the road turn right and cross the ancient Chagford bridge. Follow the road past the kennels of the Mid Devon Hunt to the cross roads.
View of Cosdon from Meldon Hill - December 2020
Go straight ahead at the crossroads following the narrow road up the hill, and passing Beechlands on your left. At the next cross roads keep straight ahead with the turning to Waye Barton on your right. After about half a mile the road forks right down to Tunnaford. At this point ther are several paths on your left which will take you up to Meldon Hill. This is all access land and there are several different routes so you can’t go wrong.
A friendly cow at the top of Meldon Hill
From the trig point at the top there are great views in all directions and you can look north over the small town of Chagford. Sometimes you may well meet cows or Dartmoor ponies up there. You can also look across to neighbouring Nattadon Common. Take one of the paths down towards Chagford, and aim to pick up the short footpath that takes you past the cricket pitch and turn right onto Manor Road.
At the top of Manor Road turn left to walk down Mill street this will bring you back down the hill to Chagford bridge and you can retrace your steps back over the bridge and through the wood towards Murchington.
Mild Peril
The paths down from the summit of Meldon are quite steep and can be slippery. The route up via the road and the Western side of Meldon is relatively gentle.