The Exe Valley Way is a long-distance route exploring the length of the beautiful river valley.  It is almost 80km/50 miles in length stretching from the Exe Valley estuary in South Devon to Exford in Exmoor National Park, Somerset. The route takes in beautiful valley scenery, following the river Exe, from the broad estuary, pastoral landscapes and moving into narrower, heavily-wooded valleys to open moorland. The terrain is a mix of quiet country lanes and footpaths, woodlands and moorland, with some strenuous climbs. The route can be split into 10 stages, each of which can be walked in half a day by experienced walkers.

Bampton is on stage 6 of the route, taking walkers from Tiverton to Bampton, with stage 7 continuing on to Brushford in Somerset.  On Bank Holiday Sunday, 28^th May, Bampton Heritage and Visitor Centre ran two free walks both of which took in part of the Exe Valley Way.  There were  24 walkers in total, enjoying between them a shorter route of 4.5 miles or a longer route of 6.8 miles.  Starting in the centre of the town, walkers were able to get free water refills in local cafes and a toilet stop before setting off.  The circular routes returned to Bampton Heritage and Visitor Centre, where tea and cake provided welcome refreshment.

If the challenge of the long distance Exe Valley Way attracts you, you can find out more at this link https://www.exploredevon.info/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/exe-valley-way_2021amended-2.pdf  Bampton makes a perfect overnight stopping off point, with plenty of B & B and Air B & B accommodation, award winning cafes and restaurants and a variety of local independent shops. You can call into the Heritage Centre to learn more about the story of Bampton over past centuries.

Bampton Heritage and Visitor Centre runs free walks every bank holiday weekend. The skills of the walk leaders include bird identification and rural landscape and map history. There are bus services to Bampton from Tiverton and Bampton to Dulverton. There are  public toilets including an accessible toilet and most of Bampton’s cafes and restaurants offer free water refills.

See the website https://www.bampton.org.uk/BHVC/index.html and social media platforms https://instagram.com/bamptonheritagecentre    and https://www.facebook.com/bamptonheritage   for more information and to book your place on one of the  bank holiday walks.