Yelverton lies on a route connecting Tavistock via Clearbrook to the eastern part of Plymouth. There is also a shorter wildlife trail at Burrator Arboretum, a listed church in Yelverton and gardens in Buckland Monachorum. When planning your stay, you can weigh up different interests: walking, nature and history.

Drake’s Trail and the section to Clearbrook

Drake’s Trail (NCN 27) connects Tavistock via Yelverton and Clearbrook to the eastern part of Plymouth, and is accessible to pedestrians, wheelchair users and cyclists. The Drake’s Trail Walking Spur 1 section runs from Yelverton to Clearbrook and is five miles long. It starts in the centre of Yelverton, at the information board beside the bus stop.

The section follows Drake’s Leat, built in 1591. The route is generally easy and mostly flat, although it does include some gradual climbs and descents. This gives a more nuanced picture than the distance alone: the path is mostly flat, but not completely level.

Nature Trail and Burrator

The wildlife trail at Burrator Arboretum is 1.5 kilometres long, easily accessible and suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs. This is a considerably shorter route than the five-mile Walking Spur. The Burrator Discovery Centre focuses on other things: it offers exhibitions, oral history and short films. This provides a way to explore the subject of Burrator through stories and audiovisual offerings as well. Burrator Reservoir is near Yelverton in Devon; the postcode is PL20 6PE.

Church and gardens

St Paul’s Church in Yelverton was built between 1910 and 1912 and is a Grade II listed building. In Buckland Monachorum, the Walled Garden at Garden House combines an area of two acres with the remains of a 16th-century rectory. The Jubilee Arboretum at Garden House includes more than 100 selected specimen trees. Garden House itself was the former home of the rectors of Buckland Monachorum and was built in the early 19th century.

When choosing between the routes, distance and trail profile are separate considerations: the five-mile Walking Spur is generally easy and mostly flat, but does include some gradual climbs and descents. At 1.5 kilometres, the Burrator trail is considerably shorter and suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs. Drake’s Trail, in turn, allows pedestrians, wheelchair users and cyclists to travel along the connection between Tavistock and the eastern part of Plymouth. These features can help you consider the desired route length and suitable mode of travel separately.

Discover more destinations: Cornworthy, Tipton Saint John, Stoke Gabriel, Clovelly, Broadwoodwidger, Saint Giles in the Wood, Yarcombe, Dunsford.

For the regional travel overview: Devon.