Exmoor National Park is the perfect place for ambling and rambling – over 1000kms of footpaths and bridleways and 18000ha of ‘access land’ await your discovery. Two thirds of the network is designated as bridleway and the area is excellent for exploration of horseback or by bike. if you are visitng Exmoor with your horse, you may find the BHS leaflet on Hill and Moorland Riding [pdf, 99KB] useful (this leaflet is being reviewed and a reprint will be issued soon).
There are many places on Exmoor where you may leave the road and walk over moorland or through woods as long as you use public rights of way, permitted paths or access land.
Public rights of way are way-marked with coloured markings or signs, blue for bridleways (horses, bikes and walkers) and yellow for footpaths (walkers only). Dogs must be on a lead or under close control. You may leave a path where necessary to take a short detour around an obstruction like a fallen tree. All rights of way are clearly shown on Ordnance Survey maps. Open Access Land where you can walk freely is shown as a shaded area on the 1:25 000 OS Explorer map. Paths and access land are also shown on the paths and access map.
If you are unsure about where you are allowed to walk or how to navigate safely, why not book on to one of our events aimed at improving your confidence in the countryside?
Please see the path news page for details of any closures or restrictions to paths and access land.
Whenever you are out in the open countryside remember that the main occupation on Exmoor is farming and that all the land is used in some way. Always use the Countryside Code in order to avoid causing any problems to farmers.
Advice about your dog in the countryside can be found in the Exmoor: Dog Walkers Welcome leaflet.
Most of the land in Exmoor National Park is privately owned and so even where there are no buildings and the land is uncultivated or appears unoccupied the general public may not have the right to enter. This can even be the case if the landowner is an organisation such as the National Trust or the Forestry Commission.
For information about access to land for educational purposes please see the education pages.