Two Moors Way · Stage 5
Walking time measured on the mapped line (TrailSplits time model, moving time; within 22 % on four in five test legs). Outside Switzerland our walking times often run short of the times route operators publish; treat them as optimistic. Climb measured on the mapped line, on terrain heights.
Into Mid Devon, where places to eat and sleep are very limited, the Association says, meeting the Tarka Line railway at Morchard Road, to Morchard Bishop, which has a pub and a shop: about 16 miles (25.7 km), the Association's section 7; 24.0 km on our line, the longest stage. The Devonshire Dumpling, a pub with rooms by Morchard Road station, is about 4 km before the end.
Best season: No official season. The Two Moors Way Association names no best season. The open moors are poorly signed in places, so carry a map and compass in any weather. In both National Parks, Dartmoor and Exmoor, dogs must be on a lead from 1 March to 31 July. Before you go
Facts read from the guide's sources and OpenStreetMap on 13 October 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with your accommodation before you rely on a date or a bed.
Stage start
Town
A village at the end of the Dartmoor part of the Way. We have not yet checked a place to stay in Drewsteignton: look on the Two Moors Way Association's stay-and-eat map.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage end · overnight
Town
A village with a pub and a shop. Morchard Road station on the Tarka Line is about 4 km back along the trail.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
The Two Moors Way Association, section 7, Drewsteignton to Morchard Bishop: approximately 16 miles (25.7 km); it publishes no walking time for any section. twomoorsway.org, read 13 October 2026
Make it your trip
There is no central booking. The Association's stay-and-eat map lists places to stay and eat, but takes no responsibility for them: book each one directly. In Mid Devon, from Drewsteignton to Hawkridge, there are very few, so arrange beds and meals ahead. Luggage Transfers carries bags along the whole route, the Association says. We have not yet checked places to stay at Widecombe in the Moor, Drewsteignton, Hawkridge and Simonsbath: look on the Association's map.
Eleven of the Association's thirteen sections, the original trail, a night at the end of each.
Plan this journeyAcross Dartmoor and down into Mid Devon, by the Tarka Line at Morchard Road, in five days.
Plan this journeyMid Devon and Exmoor to the sea at Lynmouth in three days.
Plan this journeyLoading the forecast for on the trail (160 m)…
Typical weather on this stage, around 90–229 m. Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Mixed | Mixed | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| Day / night | 8°/3° | 8°/2° | 10°/3° | 12°/4° | 15°/7° | 18°/10° | 20°/12° | 19°/12° | 17°/10° | 14°/8° | 11°/5° | 8°/3° |
| Rain, mm | 119 | 95 | 83 | 81 | 69 | 70 | 88 | 90 | 81 | 126 | 132 | 138 |
| Snow at high point | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Daylight | 8 h 25 | 10 h | 11 h 47 | 13 h 45 | 15 h 28 | 16 h 28 | 16 h 06 | 14 h 37 | 12 h 43 | 10 h 49 | 9 h 01 | 8 h |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
The Dartmoor National Park Authority looks after the paths in the park, from Ivybridge to Chagford and Drewsteignton. Our checker could not read its pages on 13 October 2026, so we cannot say whether any path on the Way is closed there: check the park's pages before you set off.
Dartmoor National Park AuthorityThe Exmoor National Park Authority looks after the paths on Exmoor, from Hawkridge to Lynmouth. Our checker could not read its pages on 13 October 2026 either: check them for closures before you go. The Association points walkers there for bus information on Exmoor too.
Exmoor National Park AuthorityBetween the two moors, from Drewsteignton to Hawkridge, facilities are very limited, the Association says: book beds and meals ahead and carry food. Devon County Council lists temporary path closures outside the parks; it showed none on the Way when we read it on 13 October 2026.
Devon County Council: temporary path closuresThe whole Way is waymarked, but the open moors are poorly signed: from Ivybridge to Scorriton, from Dunstone Down and Hameldown to Chagford Common, and on the Chains on Exmoor. Carry a map and compass and know how to use them. Dogs must be on a lead in both National Parks from 1 March to 31 July (Association tips and FAQs, read 13 October 2026).
Two Moors Way Association: tips and FAQsThe Association's coast-to-coast route starts at Wembury on the south coast and reaches Ivybridge by Yealmpton in two sections, about 7 and 9 miles. That part is not mapped on OpenStreetMap as part of the route, so this guide and its GPX start at Ivybridge. To start at Wembury, take the train to Plymouth, walk about 10 minutes to the bus station and take the bus to Wembury; Traveline has the times.
Two Moors Way Association: route sectionsGetting there
Travel around Drewsteignton to Morchard Bishop.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
Ivybridge has main-line trains and national coaches, the Association says. The trail starts in the town, about 1 km from the station.
Two Moors Way Association: transportThe Tarka Line between Exeter and Barnstaple stops at Morchard Road, on the trail about 4 km before Morchard Bishop: a way in or out for the middle sections, with a limited service.
Two Moors Way Association: transportA cliff railway links Lynmouth with Lynton. Buses 309 and 310 run all year from Lynton to Barnstaple, with no Sunday service, the Association says; from Barnstaple the Tarka Line runs to Exeter. Check times on Traveline South West.
Two Moors Way Association: transportTake your trip with you
Prepare each section while you still have a connection: on the open moors the signal can be weak.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
This guide covers the original Two Moors Way, from Ivybridge to Lynmouth: 102 miles, the Two Moors Way Association says. The Association lists it as sections 3 to 13 of its coast-to-coast route, numbered 1 to 11 here, which add up to about 98.5 miles (158.5 km). It publishes no stage times, only each section's length in rounded miles ("approximately"), shown beside ours on every stage. Its extension from Wembury on the south coast by Yealmpton to Ivybridge (sections 1 and 2, about 26 km) is not mapped on OpenStreetMap as part of the route, so it is not drawn here. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (relation 228450, from the planet of 11 October 2026): 151.9 km, cut at the section ends, with two changes. Section 4 ends here in Widecombe in the Moor, which the mapped line passes through, not on the Hameldown ridge, a detour of about 1.5 miles from the village; section 5 ends in Chagford, not at Chagford Bridge, a mile from the town. Most sections are within 2.2 km of the Association's rounded figures; Widecombe to Chagford is 3 km longer, because it starts in the village, and Simonsbath to Lynmouth is 3.4 km shorter on our line. Our climb is measured on terrain heights, so short steep steps are smoothed out.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 13 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
Two Moors Way Association: route sectionsMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation