Devon

Heddon's Mouth circular walk

Four people, one on a mobility vehicle, coming up a path through a steep valley with the sea behind them in the distance — Visitors at Heddon Valley | © National Trust Images/Chris Lacey

A beautiful walk through ancient woodland alongside the River Heddon to where it meets the sea between some of England's highest cliffs. Designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the Heddon Valley is home to a variety of wildlife including otters and the rare high brown fritillary butterfly. You will find a restored 19th-century lime kiln on the beach.

Near to

Heddon Valley

Start point

National Trust gift shop, grid ref SS655480

Trail information

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Difficulty*

Accessibility**

Full trail

DistanceMiles: 2 (km: 3.2)

Duration1 hour

Dog friendly***

*A gentle trail with some slight inclines. For further details, please see section marked Terrain.
**Graded paths with some loose and rough surfaces and several steps at the end. For further details, please see section marked Access.
***Dogs on leads welcome. For further details, please see section marked Facilities.

There is a gate on one of the routes to Heddon's Mouth. This can be bypassed by using another route.
Designated parking
There are three designated accessible parking spaces.
Accessible toilet
There is a public toilet for disabled visitors next to the car park.
Steps/uneven terrain
Some of the trails have a loose and rough surface.
Powered mobility vehicle
Two trampers are available through the Countryside Mobility scheme. Book via Heddon Valley shop on 01598 763402. It is possible to charge mobility scooters and battery powered wheelchairs using an electrical socket by Ranger's Office.
Total stages: 8
Total stages: 8
Start point
National Trust gift shop, grid ref SS655480
Stage 1
With the National Trust shop on your right, walk down the road towards the Hunter's Inn. Keeping the Inn to your right, follow the road over the River Heddon and carry on as it curves up to the left and then to the right over the stone bridge. Please be aware of the traffic on this section.
Stage 2
Head 33yd (30m) past the stone bridge then turn right and go through the gate along the footpath signposted for Heddon's Mouth. You will follow these signs all the way to the beach. Please close all gates behind you.
Stage 3
Follow the footpath until you reach the next gate. As you are walking look across the river into the meadow and up into the woodland to your left, home to sessile oaks, ash and some rare whitebeams. If you are lucky you might even see an otter in the river. Go through the gate and carry on straight. The path is gently undulating and passes a stretch of traditional dry-stone wall, a thriving habitat for insects. You will also see large patches of scree left over from the last Ice Age.
Walkers at Heddon Valley, Devon | © National Trust Images/Chris Lacey
Stage 4
Carry on past the wooden bridge. The valley now opens out. Vast stretches of heather light up the slopes in August and in early autumn the air is tinged with the coconut smell of bright yellow gorse flowers. Just beyond the top of a slight incline the path reaches its end at the 19th-century lime kiln at the beach. For your own safety, please do not enter the kiln. This is a wonderful viewpoint down onto the pebble beach, up to the top of the cliffs and back along the valley behind you. Rest a while and absorb the myriad of sounds: waves crashing on the beach, pebbles rolling back and forth, and the birdsong. If you walk down onto the beach, please keep away from the base of the cliffs.
Stage 5
Retrace your steps back along path, with the river now on your left, down the slight incline to the wooden bridge. Turn left and cross the wooden bridge over the river taking the time to look upstream and downstream. You might just see a heron or some dippers. At the end of the bridge turn right and follow the path upstream, keeping the river to your right.
Stage 6
Stay on the path as it winds its way up a short incline past more scree slopes. In autumn and winter keep an eye out for robins, cheeky woodland inhabitants that will often fly alongside you as you walk. They sometimes stop on nearby bushes providing a perfect photo opportunity. Continue along the path, now on the side of the hill above the river. As you walk along look up and across the water to your right where the valley side reaches seemingly endlessly upwards, allowing you to fully appreciate the scale of the Heddon Valley and the way it was sculpted during the last Ice Age.
Stage 7
You will start going down a slight incline to come level with the meadow that you first viewed from the other side when you walked down to the river mouth. In spring this meadow is filled with wild flowers. You might also see local Devon ruby red cattle grazing. Stay on the path past the stone bridge over the river. Where the path splits, follow the right-hand fork along the river bank. In autumn there are different types of fungi in the woods on both sides of the river. They are lovely to look at and fun for children to identify, but please do not pick any as some are poisonous.
Stone bridge at Heddon Valley, Devon | © National Trust Images/Chris Lacey
Stage 8
Carry on up an incline and a few steps to where the footpath joins a bridleway. Keep to your right down a slight slope where the path rejoins the river bank. Go up another short incline. Here the footpath meets an old carriageway built in the late 1880s by Colonel Benjamin Lake to transport tourists from his resort in Woody Bay to the Hunter's Inn in Heddon Valley. At the carriageway turn right and walk back down to rejoin the road past the Hunter's Inn public house on your right back to your starting point at the National Trust gift shop and ice cream parlour.
End point
National Trust gift shop, grid ref SS655480
Trail map
Heddons Mouth circular walk, Devon | © Crown copyright and database rights 2013 Ordnance Survey
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