Doone Valley circular from Malmsmead

Seven miles and about three hours from the packhorse bridge at Malmsmead up Badgworthy Water into the Doone Valley, onto Brendon Common and back by bridleway, with 330 metres of climbing on uneven ground and some steep sections. Start at Lorna Doone Farm at Malmsmead, where the paid car park is the only parking and the tea room and toilets sit beside it; the lanes in from County Gate are steep, narrow and unsuitable for anything long. This is superb dog country with the stream beside you for the first two miles and open bridleway running above, but the common is grazed by Exmoor ponies, sheep and red deer, the National Park asks for dogs on a lead or under close control throughout, and there is a river ford at the start that runs deep after rain.