Walk · Devon

Hope Cove, Bolt Tail and Bolberry Down

Hope Cove · TQ7 3HJ
N 440 YD
4.8MILES
2h 35mON FOOT
240mCLIMB
CircularSHAPE
Off-road 82% 18% shares tarmac with cars
Field & moor path 56%Lane & track 26%Road with traffic 18%

Our drawing of the route — the shape of the walk, not a navigation aid. Carry OS Explorer on the hill. Off-lead information here is what walkers reported or what signage allows — never our advice. Whether and when a dog is off the lead is the owner’s decision and legal responsibility; keep dogs under control near livestock and follow signs on the day.

Starts at
Outer Hope pay-and-display car park, above the slipway TQ7 3HJ
Parking
Pay-and-display at Outer Hope, the only real parking in the village and full by 10.30am in August
Directions to the start →

Four point eight miles and two and a half hours from the thatched lanes of Outer Hope round the prehistoric fort on Bolt Tail and along the open heath of Bolberry Down, back by quiet road and green lane, with 240 metres of climbing on uneven field and cliff path. Park in the pay-and-display car park at Outer Hope, which is the only sensible parking in the village and fills early, or use the twice-daily 162 bus from Kingsbridge. Dogs run free on the Bolberry heath and the National Trust keeps the top paths wide and firm, but Mouthwell Sands, the main beach at Hope Cove, excludes dogs between 10am and 7pm from 1 May to 30 September, and there are cliff drops on Bolt Tail with no fence and sheep on the return lanes.

THE SMALL PRINTSouth Hams dog control PSPO: dogs excluded from Mouthwell Sands at Hope Cove between 1 May and 30 September, between the hours of 10am and 7pm inclusive. Outside those hours and out of season the beach is open to dogs.

House rules, decoded

Off-lead allowed
Livestock — leads on
REGION · DEVON
GRID · 50.2440, -3.8590
SOURCE · HTTPS://SOUTHHAMS.GOV.UK/ENVIRONMENTAL-HEALTH-AND-NUISANCE/DOGS/DOG-EXCLUSION-AREAS-BEACHES
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