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East Okement River Trail – Black-a-ven Brook loop from Okehampton

Routes

Hiking trails & Routes

East Okement River Trail – Black-a-ven Brook loop from Okehampton

Moderate

4.9

(24)

hikers

East Okement River Trail – Black-a-ven Brook loop from Okehampton

03:02

10.8km

220m

Hiking

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: April 16, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Dartmoor National Park

Waypoints

Start point

Train Station

Get Directions

1.37 km

Ball Hill Footpath

Highlight • Forest

1.76 km

Conservation Area

Nature Reserve

2.53 km

This path winds through exquisite woodlands alongside the East Okement River and has a magical feel about it. Walking along this trail, you’ll see a wonderful waterfall, old oak trees and plenty of mossy rocks.

This trail is particularly glorious in late spring and throughout the summer thanks to its vivid greens and multitude of flowers and birds. You can walk it at any time of year, but wear sturdy boots during winter as the trail can get muddy and rough after wet weather.

Tip by

3.32 km

Viewpoint

4.85 km

Watchet Hill Cottage Ruins

Highlight • Structure

Watchet Hill Cottage, also know as The Black House, is the remotest house in Belstone parish, and last occupied in the mid 1960s. Built over 120 years ago, Eden Phillpotts stayed here to soak up the atmosphere before making the house one of the main locations in his famous novel The Secret Woman, published in 1905.

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5.82 km

Scarey Tor

Highlight • Natural Monument

Scarey Tor is a small, broken granite tor that is found above the East Okement River near to Cullever Steps and beneath the impressive range of tors that stud Belstone Common, meaning that it is often overlooked. Do not make that mistake, though, as there is an abundance of interest on the tor that makes it well worth a visit.

At the tor there is, on the south side very close to the summit, an abandoned millstone that rests on an angle, and there is more cut rock on the elongated, albeit heavily weathered, rock ridge that mounts the north slope of the hill. Another millstone can be located to the south of the tor at SX 60659 92366, this containing a tiny hole in the centre that was spotted by Steve Granger. Okay its summit rocks are a bit disappointing but rounding them on the north-west side there is a large split outcrop above a considerable clitter where much of the main substance of the tor seems to have toppled. It also a picturesque spot set as it is above the river. As the artefacts show the tor was partly plundered for its granite and that too might have diminished its stature. The vista from Scarey Tor is surprisingly very fine, despite its relatively meagre altitude; it embraces the East Okement's departure from the high moor where it enters the magical glen of West Cleave, bounded on its west (left) side by Halstock Wood. The ruin of Watchet Hill Cottage and the craggy outcrop of Cleave Tor are seen in the distance too with, beyond, the rolling fields of Devon. The tors on Belstone Common to the east assume impressive grotesque shapes, with an incredible amount of clitter blanketing the hill. To the south-west are the cascades on the river below Cullever Steps that are known locally as 'Slipper Stones' (Hemery 1983).

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6.22 km

Cullever Steps Ford

Highlight • Trail

Fords like this one litter the military roads around this part of Dartmoor. Of course, there are usually bridges nearby if you don't want to get your feet wet, but where's the fun in that?

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6.30 km

Black-a-ven Brook

Highlight • Natural

The Black-a-ven Brook flows from southwest of East Mill Tor to join the East Okement River at Cullever Steps. If you follow the brook upstream you will head into the Okehampton Range, so watch out for the red flags and check the live firing times before you do. It's all within Dartmoor National Park.

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