Post-Christmas Walking
Strides towards fitness - Part 1

If we divide the region up into seven areas there should be at least one route near to you. The areas are: Somerset and Exmoor, South East Devon – Dorset Border, Dartmoor and South West Devon, North Devon and North Cornwall, Mid and South East Cornwall, West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Let’s work the list backwards:

The Scillies are quite simply one of the best walking areas in the country because, apart from the amazing maritime views, there is so little traffic. The islands are also pretty flat so they’d make an ideal location for walking off the Christmas flab.

I realise not many readers are likely to be going there in the next week – but if you are fortunate enough to be flying out to the Fortunate Isles, then the four mile walk around the perimeter of lonely St Agnes would probably be at the top of my list of ideal post festive strolls to be enjoyed anywhere in Britain or beyond.

Not only will you be walking around the most south-westerly place in the UK, you will also stand a good chance of seeing some rare migrant bird or other which has been blown off course by winter gales. And you can rest your weary limbs at the end of this gentle but wild meander with a pint in the excellent Turk’s Head.

West Cornwall: Christmas is meant to be about God so why not throw a church into our walking recipe? Church Cove, on the Lizard’s west coast, not only boasts a wonderful old temple by the seashore, it also offers some easy strolls.

My recommended walk starts at Winnianton, walk back up road to Halzephron Cliff, join coast path back to Church Cove - then take right of way across golf course inland (beware low flying balls) and join road down to Poldhu Cove before eventually taking coast path back to start.

Mid and South East Cornwall: Oddly enough you can walk around the very roof of this region without having to get out of breath, thanks to the old quarries railway that runs around Caradon Hill. Where there’s a disused railway, there’s usually a very flat stroll…

The fact you are on the roof of South East Cornwall is reinforced by the massive television mast which crowns the hill. The 750-foot transmitter provides half the peninsula with its TV signal - you can see it for miles. Conversely, you can see for miles if you walk to the top of the hill.

Simply start at the village of Minions (where there’s a pub that does excellent food, if you are still peckish after the festive rush) and walk around the mast in which ever direction you choose.

North Devon and North Cornwall: Mention the hamlet of Morwenstow and most local walkers would puff and blow at the mere thought. The coast path that runs from Hartland Point to Bude is one of the most roller-coaster-ish stretches to be found around the peninsula, but there is a wonderful little stroll you can do from the church at Morwenstow that will not over-do the post Christmas cardiovascular limits.

Walk down past the rectory to St John's Well to find footpath along the bottom of the valley to the sea cliffs. Turn left here and there is one steep climb up the SW Coast Path which you take to Higher Sharpnose Point. However, don’t go as far as to descend into the Tidna Valley – turn inland near to where Parson Hawker’s remarkable hut is located on the cliffs and follow the footpath back across the flat hilltop fields to the first class pub near the church.

Dartmoor and South West Devon: Bellever Tor in the very heart of Dartmoor is both convenient to the few road routes across the centre of the national park and, thanks to its pine-woods, relatively sheltered when the midwinter weather is inclement.

It also offers some of the flattest walking on Dartmoor, being situated in the big wide central basin of the plateau. You can reach the tor – which is nothing more than a knoll sticking out of the woods – from several of the car parks that surround it, and make your walk as long or short as your over-stuffed limbs will allow.

South East Devon - Dorset Border: Woodbury Common offers some of the finest inland walking to be found in the southeast Devon area – and the lofty plain is fairly flat so you can enjoy the views without getting to exhausted.

Paths criss-cross the various commons and it's easy to make up your own route as you go. I’d recommend a gentle meander through the southerly limits of the area's fascinating Triassic pebblebeds - to give them their official title – there are plenty of interpretation boards with maps showing waymarked routes

Somerset and Exmoor: if you are looking for a really level walk so as not to strain over-fed self then, of course, an area which includes the world “level” in its name must come up trumps.

The Somerset Levels is a wonderful place to walk at any time of year, but right now you will be treated to one of the greatest aerial displays in nature if you go late in the afternoon. The great starling roosts of Sedgemoor should be listed as one of the seven wonders of the UK.

The walk from Maunsel Lower Lock car park on the Taunton - Bridgwater Canal is one of the least energetic I know anywhere. Walk north, along the towpath, beyond Godfrey's Corner to Whites, then south over the rhynes to Wisteria Farm and Coxhill Bridge - and back along the canal.

Next week I’ll be reporting on some slightly more arduous walks in a bid to get fit after the New Year festivities.