Walk · Devon

Bigbury, Ringmore and the Avon Estuary Way

Bigbury on Sea · TQ7 4AZ
N 880 YD
6.5MILES
3h 30mON FOOT
330mCLIMB
CircularSHAPE
Off-road 82% 18% shares tarmac with cars
Field & moor path 54%Lane & track 28%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
Bigbury-on-Sea pay-and-display car park, above the Burgh Island causeway TQ7 4AZ
Parking
Large pay-and-display car park at Bigbury-on-Sea, expensive in season and full by midday; no dogs on the beach it serves in summer daytimes
Directions to the start →

A challenging 6.5 miles of about three and a half hours, up the wooded Avon estuary on the Estuary Way, inland to the thatched village of Ringmore and back along open clifftop past Ayrmer Cove and Challaborough, with 330 metres of climbing and several short sharp descents. Start at the large pay-and-display car park above Bigbury-on-Sea, which looks out at Burgh Island and is the only substantial parking for miles; the 875 bus runs from Modbury on Fridays only, so plan on driving. Dogs get a long off-lead stretch on the estuary path and at Ayrmer Cove, and the Journey's End at Ringmore takes them, but the Bigbury beach where you park bars dogs between 10am and 7pm from 1 May to 30 September, and there is grazing stock in almost every field on the inland half.

THE SMALL PRINTSouth Hams dog control PSPO: dogs excluded from Bigbury Beach between 1 May and 30 September, between the hours of 10am and 7pm inclusive. Ayrmer Cove and Challaborough on the same walk are not named in the order.

House rules, decoded

Off-lead allowed
Livestock — leads on
REGION · DEVON
GRID · 50.2843, -3.8938
SOURCE · HTTPS://SOUTHHAMS.GOV.UK/ENVIRONMENTAL-HEALTH-AND-NUISANCE/DOGS/DOG-EXCLUSION-AREAS-BEACHES
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