Princetown to Burrator Loop
18 miles | 5/10 difficulty | 3–4 hours
About this route
This route is one of the nicest I’ve published!
Some fantastic, rideable gravel with only a few short gnarly technical parts with nice and easy baby hills. It also includes the infamous Grimpen Mire (Fox Tor Mire), home of The Hound of the Baskervilles and Ditsworthy Warren House of Stephen Spielberg’s War Horse fame (link to film trailer).
There are pubs and cafes at the start/finish point of Princetown, as well as a pub midway at Meavy, allowing for a nice Dartmoor experience on this “leisurely” route, hopefully with time to visit the National Park Visitor Centre that was previously the Old Duchy Hotel where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stayed, which inspired The Hound of the Baskervilles. There’s also the Dartmoor Prison museum and Dartmoor Brewery where they make the infamous Jail Ale and Three Hares.
I did this final recce on a wet, windy, bleak Dartmoor day and the route still only took me 3 hours in total including time for taking pictures, but I know the route really well so did not have any navigational issues.Weather
The weather can change quickly on Dartmoor and although the route is not very hilly, it is very exposed in places, so I would always advise on carrying clothing for bad weather.
Map
Start point
The route is a loop so you can start at any point but for me, Princetown is the best start point for this ride as there are pubs and cafes for post-ride food and drink, various car parking options and even a campsite if looking to do a number of nearby routes over a few days. The Plume of Feathers has B&B rooms, a bunkhouse and a campsite, and the Prince of Wales has B&B rooms and a bunkhouse. There are also various shops and cafes.
Route overview
You leave Princetown straight onto the tracks and out over the moor, following a direct route to Nun’s Cross Farm. As you head downhill, just before the farm, the infamous Fox Tor Mire is over to your left. Not obvious to the eye but walking across you’d know you’re there when you’re waist-deep in a bog. You might also come across Childe’s Tombe that lies on the fringe of Fox Tor Mire.
You then head up the track and through some rocky parts, one of the MTBesque technical bits, descending down past the old tin mines, through the rocks again before veering left onto a grassy track that takes you to Ditsworthy Warren House.
Try not to be tempted by the pristine gravel straight ahead!
It can be quite busy at Ditsworthy on a sunny day so whilst it’s a nice spot to stop, you may prefer to avoid any crowds and continue along the track until you arrive at the road.
Turn left and follow what is mainly road until you get to Burrator Reservoir.
But, just before you get to Meavy the track heads down to the right so if you’re not 100% confident on riding your gravel bike like a mountain bike, stay on the road which only goes one way and will bring you out in the same place as the track at a big stone cross.
NOTE: This particular short track is steep, rocky, rutty and rooty making it quite technical on a gravel bike. I sometimes have to dab even though I've ridden it quite a few times! The road brings you to the River Meavy with a shallow ford and stepping stones, or you can stay on the road. There’s a really nice pub on the village green so even if you’re not planning to stay, it’s worth the small detour into the village before taking the tough little climb onto lovely tracks that take you along edge of Burrator Reservoir before joining the old railway line that takes you all the way back towards Princetown, with some great views as you ride along.
As you ride around King’s Tor and back towards Princetown you will see Foggintor Quarry on your left. You come to a track crossroads where the left track will take you to the quarry, made “famous” by Bear Grylls as he has used the quarry to take celebrities into wild remote Dartmoor as part of some kind of survival game. It’s no more than a mile from the main road and only a couple of miles from Princetown, so whilst not really that wild, if you’ve got time it’s worth making the detour as it’s an interesting place to see.
The route from Burrator is very exposed so can be hard going in bad weather, but on a nice sunny day, this is as good as it gets on Dartmoor.
NOTE: This is a simple but really enjoyable route and I would consider it suitable for any level. 
Route grading
I would consider the route 100% rideable, 5% technical and 0% walking.
I rate this route as 5/10 for difficulty because there are so few technical parts or significant hills.
- Rideable: tarmac, gravel or hard short grass.
- Technical: easy on an MTB with suspension forks, hard on a gravel bike.
- Walking: steepness, grip or gnarly but rideable on an MTB.
NOTE: I’m an average MTB rider so my version of “gravel” may be slightly more aggressive than other views of gravel. But, I have ridden the entire route on my gravel bike so do not expect any major issues for anyone on a gravel bike.
Weather risk
Dartmoor weather can change very quickly from strong winds to hard rain to very thick fog. The terrain is featureless in many places making it VERY easy to get lost and disorientated.
The most exposed parts of this route (most of it) where weather risks are highest:
- Princetown to Nun’s Cross Farm: Mile 0–4/KM 0–6.
- Burrator Reservoir to Princetown: Mile 10–18/KM 16–28.
Navigation
Navigation is very straightforward on this route, plus if you make any errors, it’s easy enough to either go back or continue on with your unplanned diversion, before navigating your way back onto the track.
The GPX file
I’ve made this a Google Drive link available to anyone. This will open a text file, top right there is a download link to allow you to save it to your computer.
RWGPS version
A lot of people use Ride with GPS so this version may make it easier to add it straight to your phone and/or device.
March 2021
