Along the Dart Valley Way

1 Start the walk by going back along the road, then left into Seymour Road. At the main road turn left opposite Seymour Terrace to cross the late Georgian bridge. At the small roundabout turn left to walk through The Plains, and straight on. Follow the public footpath sign left along the edge of the river (pretty at high tide, muddy at low) to rejoin the road in front of the Steam Packet Inn.

2 Go left past the pub and across the road, then up the ramp to pass through open metal gates into Baltic Wharf; the footpath is signed here 'Dart Valley Way'. At the metal fence at the end of the compound the path turns right up steps and over a stile, then leads between wire fences above the Goss Challenges boatyard.

3 The path passes through a kissing gate, leads into mixed woodland, and down steps towards the river. The next gate leads into a meadow; keep straight on along the bottom to cross the next stile into a small copse. You're likely to see one of the popular river cruisers across the saltmarshes (left), en route for Dartmouth, a pleasant 1¼ hour trip downriver.

4 Pass over a small stile and wooden walkway by a little disused quarry, then up wooden steps and over a stile into a field. The next stile leads through a small plantation, then through a five-bar gate into a broad, undulating field with parkland trees. The path runs along the bottom edge and curves right, with views over the saltmarshes. A battered gate leads to an earthy path; a second gate leads to a farm track running through organic crop fields (the Sharpham Estate). Sharpham House was built between 1770 and 1824 for Captain Philemon Pownall, with prize money from the capture of a Spanish treasure ship, and the estate is now a working vineyard, situated on the warm south-facing slopes above the Dart.

5 When the path ahead is barred (private), pass through a metal gate then immediately right over a stile. Walk steeply uphill to enter a deciduous wood over a stile, then left along the edge of a larch plantation. This long, easy path gives way to a pretty wooded track (Leafy Lane), to meet the tarmac lane by the entrance to Sharpham Vineyard & Creamery. Go straight ahead along the lane to drop down into Ashprington village by the Durant Arms (left).

6 Ashprington is very quiet and well preserved, tucked away in a fold of the hills. It was recorded in the Domesday Book as the Manor of Aisbertona, and until an auction in September 1940 most of the greystone houses, with characteristic latticed windows and bargeboarded gables, belonged to the Sharpham Estate. St David's Church, passed on your way into the village, dates from the 12th century. To get back to Totnes simply retrace your steps.