To help us celebrate our 25th anniversary in 2025, our Head of Communications and Marketing Becky pledged to walk 25 miles at the lakes for her #ItsYour25 challenge. 

This is how she did it! 

Walk 1 

Tottiford and Trenchford – 3 miles, April 2025

We started in Trenchford car park, turned right and followed the lakeside path to the end of the lake, then diagonally up through the forest – complete with spooky huts and mysterious metal structures – to come out by the road next to Kennick, where we could see anglers lining the banks. We then followed Tottiford back in the direction we came, crossing the bridge halfway down and back past the dam to the car park. 

A beautiful, sunny spring day – lots of friendly people out enjoying the sunshine and walking their dogs. Topped off with a rather lovely Sunday roast from the Cleave Inn at Lustleigh. 

Walk 2 

Colliford and Kerdroya – 2.5 miles, April 2025 

We parked in the Simonstone middle car park by mistake, rather than the one right next to Kerdroya, but enjoyed a pleasant amble along the shoreline back towards the visitor information centre and Kerdroya. The lake looked gorgeous in the spring sunshine, with a distant angler enjoying the stillness on the far bank, and some inquisitive sheep along the road. 

We meandered along the footpaths to the centre of Kerdroya, appreciating the views of the lake as we came out between the stone hedges and marvelling at the different styles of stonework as well taking a few moments to pause now and again to read some of the plaques. There were several other couples and groups following the labyrinth but it’s laid out in such a way that you aren’t constantly passing each other. I’d love to do it again with a bit more time so I can be more mindful next time! 

Walk 3 

Siblyback – 3 miles, April 2025

We certainly picked a glorious day for our walk at Siblyback on Easter Sunday. In fact, by the time we arrived the car parks and café were heaving – we were lucky to get a spot!

This is the first time I’ve done the round-lake walk since 2022, when the lake was only 20% full so it was lovely to see it over 90% full this time. 

The walk is easy going meaning you can pay full attention to the beautiful surroundings of Bodmin Moor and its majestic tors. Despite the busyness of the car park and café, the path wasn’t crowded. Great to see so many dogs on leads – you can come again! Perfect for an hour’s amble. 

Definitely do the walk in springtime if you can – the lambs are adorable. 

We timed our walk to coincide with lunch service at Olive & Co. We had the vegetarian banh mi and BLT which were both delicious and very reasonably priced. Yum! 

Walk 4

Upper Tamar Lake – 3 miles, April 2025

Our luck must surely run out soon – another knockout spring day for our fourth lakeside walk, this time around Upper Tamar Lake. 

There was lots of activity out on the water with Upper Tamar Lake Sailing Club showing off their skills. 

The lake is rather deceptive as it’s not as round as Siblyback, it has got two distinct ‘arms’ which take you by surprise but mean the views never get boring.

From a professional perspective, it was nice to be able to see some of the signage I have worked on including the bird interpretation materials in the bird hide.

The route is an easy going, slightly undulating path with woodland sections and plenty of beautiful views. Yet more spring lambs to lift the spirits!

We rounded off our walk with a rather tasty toastie (brie and mushroom for me, brie and bacon for Ben) in the Tamar Lake Café, which also has a really lovely selection of bird paintings, glassware and mosaics for sale. 

Walk 5 

Fernworthy Reservoir – 3 miles, May 2025

The somewhat hair-raising drive down extremely narrow lanes with lots of potholes was worth it when we arrived at Fernworthy on another beautiful spring day. Sheep and lambs were sheltering from the sun in the shade of trees and dry stone walls. 

Coffee was acquired from Moorish Moments catering trailer and sun lotion was applied before we set off on the round-reservoir walk in a clockwise direction. 

We took a slight detour off the wide and well-maintained path to check out the fishing hut, which is packed with lots of information about invasive species and different types of fly. 

The walking was very easy going, with only one down and one up, after we had passed the dam. As well as walking by the water’s edge the path took us through the edge of woodland and rhos pasture. The carpets of bluebells were stunning and thousands of dandelion seed heads floated on the gentle breeze like snowflakes! 

You can’t walk across the dam, which is a shame but understandable, but instead you cross below it giving you the chance to marvel at the Victorian engineering. Then there is one section of gentle climb back to the car park.

As a reward for our hour of walking, we treated ourselves to a roast at the Ring of Bells in North Bovey – highly recommended.

Walk 6 

Shipley Bridge to Avon Dam – 3.5 miles, June 2025

Despite the blazing sun and temperature in the mid-20s when we left the house, the clouds had gathered, the rain was falling and the wind blowing when we got to Shipley Bridge. So far, so Dartmoor!

Despite the weather, this was a lovely walk. The surfaced path follows the meandering River Avon, with beautiful moss and lichen-covered trees along its banks and glimpses of the occasional mysterious Dartmoor ruin. We saw several people paddling, fishing and even wild swimming – they obviously breed hardy folk in the South Hams. It’s refreshing to be able to appreciate the wild scenery of the moor as well, without having to constantly look at your feet.

The impressive dam towers above you as it comes into view. We opted to follow the path as far as we could, then we went off-road to the left to climb up to the lake itself but there is a gentler, longer climb to the right as well. The lake looked particularly brooding, reflecting the large rain cloud above so we headed back immediately. On a nice day the lakeside would have been the perfect spot for a picnic, but a warming drink from Taylor Made Coffee Van back at Shipley Bridge was a more suitable choice on this occasion.

Walk 7

Roadford Lake: café to sundial and back through the forest – 2 miles, June 2025

Despite being based at Roadford Lake I very rarely get to leave the office to enjoy the scenery! So this week, my colleague Briony and I decided to have a ‘walk and talk’ meeting instead of sitting at a desk. 

We walked from the highly recommended Roadford Lake Café to the always impressive Jubilee Sundial then went a bit rogue on the way back and ended up getting a bit disorientated in the forest, which was lovely and shady on a hot day. But it gave us time for a good exchange of ideas for summer and for Briony to add to her own #ItsYour25 challenge of identifying 25 different wildflowers at the lakes. 

Walk 8 

Burrator Reservoir: Norsworthy Bridge, Cuckoo Rock, Down Tor Stone Row and Circle – 3 miles, July 2025

A typical Dartmoor ‘four seasons in one day’ walk with everything from blazing sunshine to rain and howling winds! 

Starting at Norsworthy Bridge, we followed the green lane away from the reservoir and climbed steadily to Cuckoo Rock. The views got more spectacular the higher we got and were definitely worth the effort.

Striking out across open moorland (cue howling winds) we walked to the remarkable Down Tor Stone Row and Circle. While not the longest stone row on Dartmoor, it is certainly striking.

The going back to the car park was much easier with the rocky outcrops and unruly bracken of Down Tor giving way to gentle grassy paths, the reservoir acting as a beacon.

We rewarded ourselves with a delicious Sunday roast at the Burrator Inn in Dousland, well worth a visit. 

Walk 9

Squabmoor Reservoir: Wheathill Plantation and Woodbury Common – 2 miles, August 2025

Squabmoor is the closest of our lakes to me, but this was my first visit. We parked in the Wheathill Plantation Car Park (shout out to the Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust, who look after the East Devon Pebblebed Heaths) and followed the most obvious trail. The common was looking gorgeous with gorse, fern and heather much in evidence. We took a circular route following a variety of wide, pebble-strewn tracks and forest footpaths with some great views of the surrounding farmland on our way to Squabmoor. 

We arrived at the dam end of the reservoir, where there are some really beautiful lilies, and I had the pleasure of meeting David, one of our volunteer bailiffs, who was chatting to some anglers. I also spotted the crayfish sculpture on the side of the dip tank, made by ZenWoodDesigns and installed to raise awareness of the importance of practising biosecurity to prevent the spread of invasive non-native species. Another lovely touch was all the individual swims had carved wooden plaques for the swim names. It really is a very tranquil spot. 

You can’t walk all the way around the reservoir, but we followed the footpath along the eastern bank and back through the trees to the car park. Our reward was a very tasty Sunday lunch at The Maltsters Arms in Woodbury – also highly recommended.

TOTAL: 25 miles

Becky says: “Thank you to my husband Ben; neighbours Ali and Zoe; in-laws June, Cindy and Ella; and colleague Briony for keeping me company on my perambulations.” 

Get involved

Make a pledge to do 25 things at the lakes this year to help us celebrate our 25th anniversary! 25 could mean lots of different things: 25 miles, 25 visits, 25 lakes, 25 different activities...

Email your personal #ItsYour25 challenge pledge to [email protected] 

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