Medium difficulty. Distance 4 miles (6.5 km)
A circular walk along old lanes and tracks including footpaths on Stockland Hill with fine views. First part is fairly gentle with some ups and downs then rising quite steeply over the footpaths and back downhill to the village. Distance is approximately 4 miles; time 2 hours. Can be wet in places!
Begin at Stockland Village Hall (ST246047). Turn right and then immediately left; follow the lane around the back of the church, turning left at the end of the lane towards the footpaths. However, just before the field gate, turn right and follow an old ‘green lane’ (White’s Lane or locally known as Clay Lane) for approx. half a mile until you reach the Honiton to Stockland road. Turn left and walk uphill for another few hundred yards until you reach the top of the hill. Here at Hornshaye Knap, turn right along another old track or green lane for another half a mile until you reach the next surfaced road. Turn left and walk downhill past Lake Farm; continue up the hill until the road incline levels out. Just before you reach a junction with a grass triangle in the middle of the road, you will see two footpath signs close together on your right – take the second, through the gate and walk along a track which follows fairly steeply upwards for three fields. Continue until you reach the Seven Mile Straight at the top.
Turn right taking care along this busy road, for a few hundred yards and take the first footpath on your right. This follows downhill alongside the hedge and then diagonally across an open field – stop here to catch your breath, the views will keep you going! You then reach a track which takes you down through the woods until you reach Featherlake, at the southern end of Quantock turbary.
Continue down the concrete road until once again you reach the grass triangle on the lane. This time turn left and walk downhill on the lane past Langbeer Farm on your left. (King Athelstan in the 10th century massed his army at Langbeer Down to fight the Danes – this may be an old name for Stockland Hill?).
At the bottom of the hill, after passing Hornshayes Farm, you will cross the Honiton to Stockland road to the footpath opposite. This will take you along the Corry Brook, across a wooden bridge, across a lane and further along the brook until you reach Millhayes. Along the way the path follows an old mill leat (water channel to the mill), through a garden until the lane is reached. Turn left, and then shortly afterwards right again to follow the path along the stream for another few hundred yards until you reach a gateway.
Here turn left onto the lane and walk steeply uphill to Groundhead Road – there is a fine panoramic view of the village from here. Turn right, and you have a choice of routes. The first footpath you encounter on your left will take you straight back through open field to the church. Alternatively, you can continue on this road to Rodway Cross and turn left downhill until you see the footpath sign on the left. Follow this footpath which brings you out back at the church via Langlands Lane. (Until the 1950s, at least, this path was used as a shortcut to Stockland School for many of the pupils from the outlying farms and hamlets.)
