Distance 4 miles (6.4km)
Classification Easy
Duration 2 hours
Begins Killerton House
OS grid reference SS97700016
Walk in a nutshell
This leisurely stroll up to Ashclyst Forest will take you on an enjoyable long, winding loop through the trees. The route takes in sunken lanes and woodland rides (some of which are muddy, so makes sure you bring appropriate footwear), as well as the broad-leaved and coniferous woodland.
Why it's special
If you're a fan of butterflies, this walk will have you soaring on an entomological cloud nine. If you're not sure whether you're into butterflies, this walk will almost certainly convert you. And if you can't stand butterflies, there are also deer, nightjars and plentiful trees to keep you happy (but do seek professional help).
Keep your eyes peeled for
Butterflies! At different points on the walk you're likely to spot different species. At step 1, peacocks, green‑veined whites, and orange tips (pictured) are found in spring, or gatekeepers and speckled woods later in the year. At step 2 you can expect to spot small pearl‑bordered fritillaries, as well as their larger and dark‑green cousins. Further in you could see white admirals in high summer and pearl-bordered fritillaries in spring, or their smaller cousins from mid-May to mid‑June. Marbled whites, ringlets and common blues can also be found around here. Check the bramble patches at step 5 for more white admirals, and the tops of the oaks for purple hairstreak. The broad ride to the Douglas fir at the next step is good for silver-washed fritillaries. You then enter a stretch where the white admiral is king and the purple emperor is, well, emperor. Snaffle Park Drive is a top spot for pearl, small pearl and silver-washed fritillaries, plus large skippers and ringlets. The bracken and ride edges attract pearl-borders. The penultimate part of the walk is good for green-veined whites and orange tips in spring, and speckled woods all summer. The final part of the walk is a free-for-all, where many of Ashclyst's various butterflies tend to flit.
Recover afterwards
At the Red Lion Inn, a 16th-century country pub with open fires and real ales.
If it's tipping down
Bury yourself in Exeter's warren of 14th-century Underground Passages.
How to get there
From either Exeter Central or Tiverton Parkway railway station, take the Stagecoach 1A or 1B jumping off at Killerton.
Step by step
1 From Killerton visitor car park walk out on to the approach road, cross it and take the footpath directly opposite Killerton House drive entrance. Continue through Sparrow Park and out on to the road passing Old Budlake post office. Cross the motorway bridge and, at the Killerton junction turn right on the B3181 (towards Cullompton). After 250m and at the crest of a low hill, turn right up the National Trust footpath along a sunken way. Follow it until you reach a gate. Turn left into a field and follow the now grassy footpath downhill. Cross a stream bridge. Follow the waymarked path to the right and then uphill along a hedge, turning right by the road corner. Keep on the path until you reach a road at the hunting gate. Turn right on to the road and follow it for 300m, then turn right into a bridleway at the start of the forest.
2 The bridleway runs along a short, shady section before rising up and broadening out into an open area of bracken and birch. Continue straight ahead.
3 Head into the woodland, then follow the bridleway markers uphill. Just past the crest of a rise, bear left and then right, following the bridleway (and avoiding two paths straight ahead and the footpath). This takes you downhill through conifer woodland and along to the road.
4 Upon reaching the road, turn left and immediately right, squeezing under the barrier and proceeding downhill to the left. Cross the stream then continue up into the broad ride known as The Wayleave (under the electricity cables). Follow it round to the left, then turn left into a narrow shady path on the far summit.
5 The path twists round to meet a lane. Turn right and walk down towards the cottages, turning left by the bench. Take the surfaced path through tall oak and holly woodland to Forest Gate car park. From here follow the surfaced Purple Trail.
6 At the corner by the road, turn right down a long straight and open section of ride that leads into Douglas fir plantation. Turn right at the junction here, following the Purple Trail down and around. Towards the bottom, in damp woodland, leave the Purple Trail (which bears right) by carrying straight on along the bridleway with tall sallows on your right. The newly surfaced track bends to the left and opens out just past a minor stream and a pond.
7 Just after the ride opens and dries out, turn sharply left up a broad open ride called Snaffle Park Drive, until you reach the road.
8 Walk up a short section of shady lane, to a T-junction and turn left.
9 Walk through Rewes Cross car park and along a shady ride through a conifer plantation. Turn right at the minor junction and head downhill for 250m. Follow this ride round to the left until you reach a T-junction. Turn right and after about 100m turn left. Follow the route you took up to the forest earlier and back to the Killerton junction.
