Stover Country Park and Local Nature Reserve, Exeter, South Devon
Great local nature reserve by the eastern border of Dartmoor National Park
Stover Country Park and Local Nature Reserve 'contains over 114 acres of woodland, heathland, grassland, lake and marsh and a substantial variety of wildlife'. (Devon County Council website)
We'd recommend following the The Ted Hughes Poetry Trail that runs around the central lake. There are various wood sculptures and poems to inspire as well as raised viewing platforms from which to enjoy the park's natural beauty and wildlife. The arboretum has a concentration of wood sculptures and poems.
The Templer Way runs through here from/to Haytor Rocks to/from the River Teign and Estuary at Teignmouth.
Location of Stover Country Park and Local Nature Reserve
Stover Country Park and Local Nature Reserve is located between Bovey Tracey and Newton Abbot close to the eastern border of Dartmoor National Park. We've positioned it on Google maps so zoom in on the 'Satellite' setting to see its location and general layout.
There's plenty of parking but charges apply. You'll also find a visitor centre and public toilets.
The Ted Hughes Poetry Trail
Ted Hughes is one of the great English poets. He lived much of his life in North Tawton on the northern fringe of Dartmoor National Park.
The Ted Hughes Poetry Trail is within Stover Country Park and Local Nature Reserve. Many of his poems are reproduced on wood posts as you follow the trail through this beautiful landscape. If you like poetry and nature, we cannot recommend the experience highly enough.
There's a memorial to Ted Hughes in Westminster Abbey's Poets' Corner. More appropriately, there's another memorial on a chunk of granite by the source of the River Taw on the northern high plateau of Dartmoor National Park.
Stover/Templer Way Heritage Trail
'The Heritage Trail is a circular route of 4 miles in the middle of the Templer Way based on Stover Country Park.' (Information board at Ventiford Basin on Stover Canal)
The Stover/Templer Way Heritage Trail is clearly visible on the Ordnance Survey Explorer 110 'Torquay & Dawlish' map. On that map, locate Stover Lake within Stover Country Park and Local Nature Reserve. From the eastern border of the lake, you'll see the Templer Way splitting off in two directions. These two Templer Way paths join at Ventiford Basin on Stover Canal (Disused) thus forming a loop.
The Heritage Trail enables you to explore the area where the Haytor Down Granite Tramways meets Stover Canal (Disused). The tramway and canal were once used to transport granite and ball clay from the area. Granite from Haytor Quarries was used to build London Bridge.
Stover Canal (Disused)
Stover Canal is a disused canal running between Ventiford and Jetty Marsh Nature Reserve on the northern fringe of Newton Abbot.
The canal was part of Stover Estate owned by the Templer family. '[James] Templer paid for and built the Stover Canal between 1790 and 1792 as a means of increasing his income from the rapidly expanding ball clay industry.' (Information board on Stover Canal)
Haytor Down Granite Tramways was built in the early 19th century to connect Haytor Quarries with Stover Canal and the Teign Estuary beyond. Today, the Templer Way pretty much follows the route of the tramway and canal.
To visit Stover Canal, we'd recommend following the Templer Way from Stover Country Park and Local Nature Reserve. The Templer Way is clearly marked snaking through Stover Country Park and Local Nature Reserve and following the line of Stover Canal to Jetty Marsh Nature Reserve.
Trago
Trago is a vast shopping and leisure attraction just north west of Newton Abbot in Devon. As you travel the A38 between Exeter and Plymouth, you'll see Trago's distinctive white towers by the Newton Abbot/Bovey Tracey exit. Given its size, Trago gets very busy.
Once described to us as 'every Devon person's guilty secret'.
Other nature reserves in the local area
If nature reserves are of interest, in this part of Devon also visit East Dartmoor Woods and Heaths National Nature Reserve and Dart Valley Nature Reserve in Dartmoor National Park.
On the coast, we'd suggest you explore Dawlish Warren National Nature Reserve and Berry Head National Nature Reserve (Berry Head & Sharkham Point).
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