LOCATION: Haytor on Dartmoor to Teignmouth on the South Devon coast.

DISTANCE: 18 miles / 29 km

SUMMARY:  An 18‑mile (29 km) waymarked trail running from Haytor on Dartmoor to Teignmouth on the South Devon coast, following the industrial spine created by three generations of the Templer family: the Haytor Granite Tramway, the Stover Estate, the Stover Canal, and finally the Teign estuary to the sea. It is one of Devon’s most historically coherent walks—every mile tells part of the same story.

Historical Spine of the Route - The Templers: Three Generations, One Landscape

• James Templer I (1722–1782) Exeter‑born, made his fortune through government dockyard contracts, bought Stover Estate in 1765 and rebuilt Stover House.
• James Templer II (1748–1813) Expanded the estate and built the Stover Canal (1790–92) to move ball clay efficiently from the Bovey Basin to Teignmouth.
• George Templer (1781–1843) Son of James II. Built the Haytor Granite Tramway (1820) to carry Dartmoor granite down to the canal. Ultimately overstretched himself financially and sold the estate, canal and tramway to the Duke of Somerset in 1829.

The Templers were not the most powerful family in Devon, but they were hugely influential industrialists, reshaping the landscape from moor to sea.

Stover Estate Today

The estate is now split between:

• Stover School — an independent school occupying Stover House.
• Stover Country Park — a 114‑acre nature reserve managed by Devon County Council, preserving lake, woodland, canal heritage and the heart of the Templer Way’s interpretation.

This makes the section through Stover one of the most historically layered sections of the walk.

Ball Clay: Why It Mattered

Ball clay is a fine, highly plastic white‑firing clay—perfect for blending into ceramic bodies. It was essential to:

• Clay pipes
• Fine earthenware and porcelain
• Wedgwood’s production, among others

The Bovey Basin was one of Britain’s major sources. Exports were large enough to justify building the Stover Canal, and by the mid‑19th century the Teign saw around 1,000 barges a year, each carrying roughly 25 tons of clay. This was a nationally significant industrial commodity, not a local curiosity.

Stover Canal: Then and Now

• Opened: 1792
• Length: ~1.7–2 miles
• Cargo: Ball clay; later Haytor granite
• Closed: 1930s–40s
• Status today: Derelict but intact, with active restoration work by the Stover Canal Trust. Sections are visible and walkable as part of the Templer Way.

The canal is no longer navigable, but it remains one of the most evocative industrial relics in Devon.

Granite Extraction on Dartmoor

Haytor granite was used in major national projects:

• The British Museum
• The National Gallery
• London Bridge (1831)

The granite tramway—its rails still visible on the moor—was a remarkable engineering feat. Extraction was substantial, though not on the scale of Cornwall’s china‑clay industry..

TEMPLER WAY ROUTE OVERVIEW (Haytor → Teignmouth)

Start Point: Haytor

• OS Grid Reference: SX 759 767
• What3Words: ///umbrellas.surging.ringers This is the upper Haytor car park, giving immediate access to Haytor Rocks and the tramway.

Stage 1 — Haytor Rocks & Quarries → Yarner Wood

Pick up the granite tramway at Haytor Quarries and follow its rails across the moor. Wide views to the coast.

Stage 2 — Yarner Fringe → Bovey Tracey → Great Plantation → Stover

Leave the National Park boundary, pass through plantations and farmland, and enter Stover Country Park.

Stage 3 — Stover Heritage Trail & Canal

Interpretation boards explain the canal, tramway junction at Ventiford Basin, clay workers’ cottages, and estate history.

Stage 4 — Teigngrace → Newton Abbot

Follow the canal corridor and permissive paths into Newton Abbot’s industrial fringe.

Stage 5 — Newton Abbot → Shaldon (Teign Estuary)

A beautiful estuary walk with foreshore sections, wildlife, and historic quays.

Stage 6 — Shaldon → Teignmouth

Cross via the Shaldon–Teignmouth ferry (tidal, seasonal). Finish at Teignmouth’s historic quayside, where granite and clay once departed for London and Europe.

Difficulty & Conditions

• Distance: 18 miles / 29 km
• Time: 8–10 hours
• Terrain: Mostly easy to moderate; moorland at the start, then gentle canal and estuary walking.
• Season: Year‑round; estuary best in dry weather.
• Tides: Check tide tables for foreshore sections and ferry operation.

PUBS: The Rock Inn, Haytor Vale; Cromwell Arms, Bovey Tracey; Star Inn, Liverton; Coombe Cellars Inn, Combeinteignhead; London Inn, Shaldon; The Ship Inn, Teignmouth