Where's it to?
The East Devon Trail takes in a number of different landscapes, from the Exe Estuary to the Pebblebed Heaths and the world renowned Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.
From expansive heathland to quiet wooded river valleys, striking coastline and verdant English pasture, here are some of the nature reserves you can expect to enjoy along the way. Each red Highlight on the map below shows a nature reserve, so don’t forget your binos!
For full route information, check out the five stages in the komoot Collection, which also links to the full route.
If you’d like a GPX download for another mapping platform, message us at eastdevontrail@gmail.com.
Goosmoor and Bowling Green Marsh RSPB
Where the River Clyst flows into the Exe, you’ll find the RSPB Goosemoor and Bowling Green Marsh reserves.
The display of migratory birds here around the year is astounding, including flocks of waders, ducks and geese both resting in the marshes and feeding in the mud flats.
Visit the Lookout hide for a great view of the marshes, and be sure to stop along the boardwalk cycleway to peer through the windows along the estuary. You can often see waders on the mud at low tide as you take the bridge over the Clyst.
Star species here include the black-tailed godwit, brent goose, wigeon, teal, and the RSPB’s emblem, the avocet.
The Pebblebed Heaths
After following the Exe out of Exeter, you’ll climb up into the hills of East Devon, ready for gravel heaven over the Pebblebed Heaths.
These commons and moors make up the largest single expanse of lowland heath in Devon, offering over 60 kilometres of trails. It’s unsurprising that it’s popular with walkers, riders and cyclists alike, not to mention training grounds for the local Royal Marines Commandos.
The Pebblebed Heaths are home to an impressive array of wildlife, including rare species such as Dartford warblers, nightjars, silver studded blue butterflies and southern damselflies. On a hot day, you might even come across basking adders.
In 2021, in recognition of the importance of these conservation sites, the Pebblebed Heaths were declared a national nature reserve.
The Otter Estuary
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), the Otter Estuary is managed by the Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust, and becoming increasingly well known for its growing mammalian population. No, not otters, but beavers!
Home to the River Otter Beaver Trial, led by the Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT), gives you the chance to see wild beavers in England for the first time in 400 years – if you’re very lucky!
Beavers have been known to live here since 2008, although when video recordings in 2014 showed that they’d had kits, the British Government had planned for their removal.
The DWT opposed the move, proposing instead a five year trial to assess the viability of reintroducing wild beavers to the UK and assessing their effects on the landscape. After a successful five year period, including the introduction of more beavers to the river system, Natural England gave the beavers the right to remain, paving the way for more reintroduction programmes across the UK.
You’ll have to be very lucky to see these shy creatures. For your best chances, stay locally and recruit the help of a local beaver guide, who’ll be able to give you the best chances of seeing this marvellous keystone species.
Another fascinating element of this area is the Lower Otter Restoration Project (LORP), which is currently underway to create 55 hectares of intertidal habitat for wildlife, restoring the valley to natural conditions from nearly two centuries ago.
Seaton Wetlands
A little further along the coast, after the gorgeous seaside village of Beer, you’ll find Seaton, and after heading inland from the coast, Seaton Wetlands. The site is managed by Wild East Devon, and made up of four areas: Seaton Marshes, Black Hole Marsh, Colyford Common and Stafford Marsh.
The East Devon Trail visits Black Hole Marsh, taking the bridleway trail past The Lookout information centre to the Island Hide.
From here, you have a near-360 degree view across this salt lagoon, which was previously drained agricultural land. Look out for oystercatchers, black-tailed godwits and ringed plovers searching for crustacean and mollusc snacks!
Trinity Hill
After dipping a toe into Dorset (or even the sea) at Lyme Regis, and perhaps trying your hand at fossil hunting, head inland for the return journey of the East Devon Trail, firstly up Trinity Hill, again managed by Wild East Devon.
This Dark Skies Discovery Site is an incredible place to stargaze thanks to the low level of light pollution. In the daytime a huge number of moths call this lowland heath home, including species such as true lovers knot, the drinker and the peppered moth.
In warmer months, look out for lizards basking on the warm earth, as well as linnets singing at the top of tall bushes in late summer. Although these pretty finches have a red conservation status in the UK, local populations are thriving on this patch of lowland heath.
Fire Beacon Hill
At the end of the East Hill ridge, you emerge from the woodland into the Fire Beacon Hill nature reserve, with glorious views to the coast, Sidmouth and Mutter’s Moor ahead of you, showing the way you’ve come days before.
The reserve’s name comes from its use to host a beacon, warning Elizabethan London of the incoming Spanish Armada. Back then, this whole ridgeline would have been valuable lowland heath, although it has since been managed for forestry plantation.
Look out for some rare species here, including the Dartford warbler, which can often be seen sitting in the bushes below more conspicuous stonechats. At dusk, it’s a great place to search for nightjars, who hunt moths here at night.
Managed by a partnership of the RSPB and Wild East Devon, you can find Exmoor ponies and Belted Galloway cattle grazing here as part of the management plan.
Killerton Estate National Trust
A stately home, landscape gardens, woodland, parkland and farms rather than a nature reserve, the ride around the Killerton Estate still offers plentiful wildlife.
A network of bridleways and cycle tracks means you can ride through these different habitats, and you can pop into the Stables Coffee Shop here too, without having to pay the entry fee.
Read more about the Green Recovery project at Killerton and how they’re managing the estate for a more sustainable future.
Keep an eye out for the lovely Limousin cattle that are reared around the estate. Their glorious ginger colouring means they’re hard to miss!
East Devon AONB
Most of the East Devon Trail falls within the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), which incorporates 32% of the East Devon District.
The partnership behind this designation, which includes government bodies as well as the organisations that manage all the nature reserves you’ll ride through on the East Devon Trail, works to conserve and enhance this unique landscape, from biodiversity to geology, local communities and cultural heritage.
Current initiatives include community art projects to engage rurally isolated communities with nature, conservation projects such as #SavingSpecialSpecies centred around East Devon’s ‘elusive eight’, and ongoing support for local farmers to increase the scale of conservation across the region.
Get in touch at eastdevontrail@gmail.com
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