Most visitors to Cornwall stick to the coast. Locals know that Bodmin Moor — the wild granite uplands at the heart of the county — is where the other half of Cornwall hides. The walking here is open, brooding, and unlike anywhere else in the south west: hill-form tors rising straight out of the heath, Bronze Age remains scattered across the ground in every direction, choughs and ravens turning overhead, and a sense of space the cliff path simply cannot give you. For anyone willing to swap the famous coast for a day or two inland, the moor delivers some of the most rewarding hill walking in southern England.
This guide covers the moor’s best walking — Brown Willy and Rough Tor, the Hurlers and the Cheesewring, the Copper Trail, and a handful of quieter circulars that most guidebooks skip. Each route comes with the practical detail that actually matters on the day: rough distance, the kind of terrain to expect, where to leave the car, and the pub or cafe waiting at the end. Routes are grouped by difficulty so you can match the walk to the weather, the season, and the legs you have brought with you. The moor is the wilder cousin of the coastal routes in our complete guide to walking and hiking in Cornwall, and it deserves a place on any serious walker’s itinerary.
What Makes Bodmin Moor Special
Bodmin Moor is Cornwall’s only large area of genuine upland walking. Everywhere else in the county, the drama is at the edges, where land meets Atlantic. Here it is in the middle: roughly eighty square miles of open granite moor, cut by shallow river valleys and studded with the eroded tors that give the skyline its unmistakable profile. Brown Willy, at 420 metres, is the highest point in Cornwall, and its neighbour Rough Tor is only a little lower. Neither is a mountain by Lake District standards, but on a clear day you can see both the north and south coasts from the summits, and on a bad day the moor can feel every bit as serious as somewhere twice the height.
The moor also holds one of the densest concentrations of prehistoric remains in southern England. Stone circles, hut circles, standing stones, and burial cairns lie thick on the ground, most of them Bronze Age, some older. You can walk for an hour and pass a dozen monuments without a signpost or a fence anywhere in sight. Add the fact that the moor was designated an International Dark Sky Park in 2017 — one of very few in England — and you have a landscape that rewards walkers by day and stargazers by night.
What separates the moor from coastal Cornwall, above all, is the weather and the exposure. There is little shelter up top, few landmarks in mist, and no reliable phone signal across large stretches. This is what makes it magnificent, and it is also what makes it demand a bit more respect than a waymarked cliff path. Come prepared and the moor is one of the finest walking areas in the region.
Bodmin Moor Walks: The Classics
Rough Tor and Brown Willy Circular
Distance: around 7 km (4.5 miles). Time: 2.5 to 3 hours. Difficulty: moderate to challenging, boggy in places, with a little rock scrambling at the summits.
This is the moor’s signature walk: Cornwall’s two highest peaks in a single half-day. From the Rough Tor car park north of Camelford, the path climbs steadily to the summit of Rough Tor, a jumble of granite outcrops with Bronze Age stone settings among the rocks. From there you drop to the col and pick your way up Brown Willy, then loop back across open moor. Conditions make or break this walk. A clear day gives you views over both coasts and a genuine sense of standing on the roof of Cornwall; a misty day turns it into a navigation exercise where the summits appear and vanish. Save it for settled weather if you can, and never rely on the paths being obvious once you leave the main track.
The Hurlers and the Cheesewring
Distance: around 6 km (4 miles). Time: roughly 2 hours. Difficulty: moderate.
From the village of Minions — the highest village in Cornwall — this walk takes in more history per mile than almost anywhere on the moor. You pass the Hurlers, three Bronze Age stone circles set in a line, then climb gently to the Cheesewring, a natural granite tor stacked like a pile of plates by nothing more than millennia of weathering. The return threads through the abandoned Caradon mine workings, all engine houses and spoil heaps slowly greening over. It is one of the most rewarding short walks on the moor, and Minions itself has options for lunch a few steps from the car.
Trethevy Quoit and Stowe’s Hill
Distance: around 5 km (3 miles). Time: about 2 hours. Difficulty: easy to moderate.
Starting near St Cleer, this route brings you to Trethevy Quoit, a 5,000-year-old chambered tomb that is one of the best preserved in Britain — a great slab of granite balanced on standing stones, still doing its job after five thousand winters. From there you cross moorland to Stowe’s Hill and can return past the Hurlers. It is the best short introduction to the moor’s prehistory, and the walking is gentle enough for a relaxed morning.
Golitha Falls and Draynes Wood
Distance: around 3 km (2 miles). Time: roughly an hour. Difficulty: easy.
On the moor’s southern edge, the River Fowey tumbles through ancient oak woodland in a series of small cascades. This is the walk to keep in your back pocket for a foggy day, when the high moor is a write-off and you want something sheltered, green, and still lovely in the rain. Parking is free at the roadside, the path is short and mostly level, and the woodland is a favourite with families. It also sits neatly alongside the routes in our guide to woodland and river walks in Cornwall away from the coast, if the weather keeps you off the tops for longer than a day.
The Copper Trail
Distance: around 60 km (37 miles) for the full circuit. Time: 4 to 6 days. Difficulty: demanding multi-day walking.
The Copper Trail is the classic long route on Bodmin Moor, a waymarked circuit that rings the entire moor over several days. It links the Hurlers, Brown Willy, Rough Tor, Dozmary Pool — the lake where legend says King Arthur returned Excalibur — and the old copper-mining country around Caradon Hill. Done properly, it is a small walking holiday in its own right, with nights spent in the villages that ring the moor. If the idea of walking day after day with a bed booked ahead appeals, our guide to Cornwall walking holidays and multi-day routes explains how luggage transfer and self-guided itineraries work in practice.
Easier Bodmin Moor Walks
Not every day on the moor has to be an expedition. Several routes give you the atmosphere of the high ground, or the shelter of its wooded valleys, without the commitment of the tops.
Dozmary Pool Circular
Distance: around 4 km (2.5 miles). Time: about 1.5 hours. Difficulty: easy moorland walking.
A gentle loop around the legendary lake said to hold Excalibur. The walking is flat and the ground generally firm, making this a fine first taste of the moor for anyone nervous about the higher, boggier routes. Even here, though, the weather can change quickly, so bring a layer more than the car park suggests you need.
Cardinham Woods
Distance: anything from half a mile to six miles of marked trails. Difficulty: easy.
Run by Forestry England on the moor’s western edge, Cardinham Woods is the reliable family option: several waymarked loops of different lengths, mountain-bike trails, a cafe, and proper toilets. Streams run through it, so children rarely get bored, and the surfaces are good enough for a robust pushchair on the shorter routes. It is one of the best all-weather walks in this part of Cornwall and a sensible choice in the shoulder season.
Siblyback Lake
Distance: around 5 km (3 miles). Time: about 1.5 hours. Difficulty: easy.
An easy lakeside circuit with a cafe and a watersports centre, Siblyback works well as a relaxed half-day, especially with children in tow. Pair it with a visit to the Hurlers, a short drive away, for a day that mixes gentle walking with a dose of prehistory.
Challenging Bodmin Moor Walks
For experienced walkers who are confident with a map and compass, the moor has longer, wilder days that see a fraction of the traffic of the honeypot routes.
The Five-Tor Round
Distance: around 18 km (11 miles). Time: a full day. Difficulty: demanding.
This is the classic Bodmin Moor expedition, a full-day circuit taking in Brown Willy, Rough Tor, Garrow Tor, Brown Gelly, and Catshole Tor. Long stretches are pathless, so navigation is essential rather than optional, and the ground is rough underfoot throughout. Pick a settled day, start early, and treat it with the seriousness you would give a hill day anywhere.
Twelve Men’s Moor
Distance: around 12 km (7.5 miles). Time: roughly 4 hours. Difficulty: moderate to demanding.
A wild, little-walked area east of Minions, Twelve Men’s Moor rewards those who want solitude. Bronze Age remains are scattered across it, and on a clear day the walking is superb; in mist it is unforgiving, with few landmarks to steer by. OS Explorer 109 is essential here, and clear weather is strongly advised.
Getting There and Parking
Bodmin Moor sits square in the middle of Cornwall, and the A30 runs straight across it, which makes access surprisingly easy for such a wild-feeling place. Most walkers arrive by car — there is no realistic way around this, as public transport to the moor’s edges is thin and the walking start points are rarely near a bus stop. From the A30, Bodmin, Launceston, and Liskeard all make convenient jumping-off towns, and the villages of Minions, St Cleer, St Breward, and Bolventor put you right on the moor.
Parking is the thing to plan for. The two big honeypot walks have proper car parks: Rough Tor has a free car park at the end of a narrow lane north of Camelford, and Minions has parking in and around the village for the Hurlers and Cheesewring. Golitha Falls, Cardinham Woods, and Siblyback all have their own car parks too, some with a modest charge. Elsewhere, you are relying on small lay-bys and verges, and the golden rule is to park considerately: do not block gates, passing places, or field entrances, because farm vehicles and emergency access need them. The lanes are single-track in most places, so allow extra time and be ready to reverse.
Best Time of Year to Walk Bodmin Moor
The moor changes character completely through the year, and the right season depends on what you want from it.
Spring, from March into May, brings the fewest crowds and lengthening days. The bracken is still brown and flattened, which makes the archaeology easier to read and the going a touch drier than high summer. It is a fine time for the longer routes, before the vegetation grows up and the ticks arrive in force.
Summer, June to August, is the warmest and busiest, though “busy” on Bodmin Moor still means a fraction of the crowds on the coast path. The heather starts to colour towards the end of this window, and long daylight gives you room to attempt the bigger circuits. Humid, still days can bring midges to the wetter hollows and haze to the views, so an early start pays off.
Autumn is arguably the moor at its best. The heather peaks in late August and into September, painting whole hillsides purple, and the walking weather is often crisp and clear once the summer haze has gone. September and October give you settled days, quiet ground, and the low golden light that landscape photographers travel for.
Winter, December to February, is for experienced walkers only. The moor can be genuinely dramatic — mist, driving rain, occasional snow lying on the tors — but daylight is short, the ground is at its wettest, and navigation is hardest of all. If you know what you are doing it can be the most rewarding season of the lot; if you are unsure, save the high routes for spring.
Terrain, Navigation and Staying Safe
Bodmin Moor is not a place to wing it. The single most useful piece of kit is OS Explorer 109, which covers the whole moor, carried as a paper map alongside a compass you actually know how to use. Phone signal is patchy to non-existent across large areas, so a navigation app on its own is a poor plan; download offline maps by all means, but do not rely on them as your only means of finding the way.
The weather is the real hazard. Mist can roll in within minutes, turning a clear morning into fifty-yard visibility by lunchtime, and on the open moor there is little to guide you once the landmarks disappear. Boggy ground is the other constant. Even in a dry summer, peat hollows can swallow a boot to the ankle, and after wet weather whole stretches turn to sponge. Proper walking boots are the minimum; trail runners are not enough for the moor, whatever they manage on a firm coast path. For a full rundown of what the moor and the wider county demand, see our guide to what to pack for walking in Cornwall.
A few habits keep moor days safe. Tell someone your intended route and rough return time. Allow more time than the distance suggests, because rough, pathless ground is slow going. Carry more food and water than you think you need — there are no shops or taps out on the moor. And remember that cattle, sheep, and ponies graze freely across most of the open ground, so keep dogs under close control and close every gate behind you.
What to Pack for a Day on the Moor
Moor walking asks for slightly more than a coastal stroll. The essentials come down to a small, sensible list:
- OS Explorer 109 as a paper map, plus a compass.
- Waterproof boots with a good sole, worn in before the day.
- A proper waterproof jacket and, for the longer routes, waterproof trousers.
- Warm layers even in summer, because the tops are cooler and windier than the car park.
- More food and water than you expect to need.
- A fully charged phone with offline maps as backup, and a power bank on longer days.
- A whistle, a small first-aid kit, and a hat and sun cream in bright weather.
None of this is exotic, and most of it lives in a daypack the year round. The point is simply that the moor gives you nowhere to buy what you have forgotten.
Dogs and Families on Bodmin Moor
The moor can be brilliant for dogs and children alike, provided you pick the route to suit them. High-energy dogs love the open ground of the tors, but livestock graze almost everywhere, so leads are essential near sheep, cattle, and ponies, and you will need to carry water because the moor offers little a dog should drink. Adders live on the drier, sunnier slopes and bask on warm days; bites are rare, but it is worth keeping a dog out of deep bracken in high summer. For a fuller picture of where dogs run free and where they should not, our guide to the best dog-friendly walks in Cornwall covers the moor alongside the coast and woodland.
For families, the honeypot routes work well. The Hurlers and Cheesewring loop is short, full of things to climb and clamber on, and never far from the car. Cardinham Woods and Siblyback Lake are the safe bets with younger children, with cafes, toilets, and gentle surfaces. Save Brown Willy and the longer rounds for when the children are older and used to rough ground; a bad-weather retreat from the middle of the moor is no fun with tired legs. If you are travelling with little ones, our guide to family-friendly walks in Cornwall with pushchairs and young children points you to the gentlest options across the county.
Combining the Moor with Nearby Cornwall
One of the quiet pleasures of Bodmin Moor is how easily it slots into a wider Cornwall trip. Because it sits in the middle of the county on the A30, it is an easy detour from almost anywhere, and a single day inland makes a superb contrast to a run of beach days. Golitha Falls or Cardinham Woods in the morning and a coast walk in the afternoon is a very achievable day.
The moor also pairs naturally with Cornwall’s history and heritage. The Bronze Age monuments up top are among the finest in the county, and if the ancient sites capture your imagination, our guide to Cornwall’s heritage, castles, legends and ancient sites puts them in context alongside the county’s castles and Arthurian myths. To the south and east, the twin harbour villages of Looe and Polperro are within easy reach for an afternoon by the sea; our guide to Looe and Polperro covers the best of that stretch of the south-east coast. And on a wet day, the woodland and estuary routes elsewhere in Cornwall give you a sheltered alternative when the tops are out of the question.
Wildlife and Heritage on Bodmin Moor
The moor supports Cornish chough, raven, kestrel, and skylark, and otters live along the Fowey valley below Golitha. Wild ponies graze the open ground in places, and on a still evening the moor comes alive with the calls of birds that have largely vanished from the farmed lowlands. The Bronze Age remains are the headline, though: the Hurlers with their three stone circles, the 5,000-year-old Trethevy Quoit, the Stripple Stones, the enigmatic earthwork known as King Arthur’s Hall, and dozens of hut circles marking where people lived and farmed thousands of years ago. Industrial heritage layers over the top of all this — the granite quarrying that shipped stone as far as London (the Cheesewring quarry famously supplied granite for major Victorian works), and the copper-mining ruins around Caradon Hill that speak to the moor’s boom in the nineteenth century.
Best Pubs and Lunches Near Bodmin Moor Walks
Part of the pleasure of a moor day is the pub at the end of it, and the villages around the edge are well supplied. Jamaica Inn at Bolventor sits at the very heart of the moor and trades on its Daphne du Maurier fame; it is a natural lunch stop mid-crossing. The Cheesewring Hotel at Minions is a few yards from the start of the Hurlers walk, and the Crows Nest Inn at Darite is an atmospheric edge-of-moor local. The Old Inn at St Breward claims the title of Cornwall’s highest pub, out on the western edge, and the Rising Sun at Altarnun is a quiet village pub that does the job nicely after a walk. A good moor pub is not just refreshment; it is where you dry out, warm up, and swap route notes with the walkers at the next table.
Where to Stay for Bodmin Moor Walking
The best bases depend on which corner of the moor you are drawn to. Minions puts you at the centre of the eastern moor, walkable to the Hurlers; Bolventor is handy for the Jamaica Inn country and the middle of the A30 crossing; Camelford sits close to Rough Tor and Brown Willy in the north-west; and Bodmin or Liskeard give you more shops and services within easy reach of everything. Many of the pubs and small guesthouses around the moor are used to walkers, offering drying space, early breakfasts, and packed lunches on request. For help choosing the right sort of stay, our complete guide to bed and breakfast stays in Cornwall is a good starting point.
Common Mistakes on Bodmin Moor
A handful of errors catch people out on the moor, and all of them are avoidable. The most common is treating it like the coast path — setting off in trail shoes with a phone for a map and no thought for the weather. The moor is rougher, wetter, and far easier to get lost on than a waymarked cliff, and it punishes casual planning. A close second is underestimating how long rough ground takes; paper miles on the moor walk much longer than the same distance on a firm path, so build in extra time, especially on the pathless rounds.
Other regular slips: not carrying enough water, on the assumption there will be somewhere to fill up (there won’t); letting dogs off near livestock; and heading for the tops in marginal weather in the hope it will clear. When mist is forecast for the high moor, the smart move is to swap to a valley walk like Golitha Falls or Cardinham Woods and save the summits for a better day. The moor is not going anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions About Bodmin Moor Walks
What is the highest point on Bodmin Moor?
Brown Willy, at 420 metres, is the highest point on the moor and in Cornwall as a whole. Its neighbour Rough Tor is only a little lower, and the two are usually walked together in a single half-day circular from the Rough Tor car park.
Is Bodmin Moor safe to walk?
Yes, with sensible precautions. Carry an OS map and compass, watch the weather, and tell someone your route and expected return. Mist is the biggest hazard, followed by boggy ground, so settled conditions and proper boots make all the difference on the higher routes.
Can you walk on Bodmin Moor without a map?
Not safely on the higher ground. Even the popular Rough Tor and Brown Willy circular has pathless sections, and phone signal is unreliable across much of the moor. OS Explorer 109 as a paper map, with a compass, is essential kit for anything beyond the waymarked woodland walks.
Are dogs allowed on Bodmin Moor?
Yes, but keep them on leads near livestock. Cattle, sheep, and wild ponies graze across most of the open moor, and there is little safe water for a dog, so carry your own. The lower woodland walks like Golitha and Cardinham are the more relaxed choice for dogs.
How long does it take to walk Brown Willy?
From the Rough Tor car park, the round trip taking in both Rough Tor and Brown Willy is roughly 2.5 to 3 hours at a steady pace. Brown Willy alone, out and back, is around 2 hours, though rough ground and poor visibility can add to both.
What is the easiest walk on Bodmin Moor?
Golitha Falls, Cardinham Woods, and Siblyback Lake are all easy and well suited to beginners or families, with good surfaces and short distances. The Dozmary Pool circular is the gentlest introduction to the open moor itself.
When is the best time to walk Bodmin Moor?
Late August and September are hard to beat, when the heather is at its purple peak and the walking weather is often crisp and clear. Spring is the quietest, and winter is dramatic but best left to experienced walkers who are comfortable navigating in poor visibility.
Bodmin Moor is the version of Cornwall locals love and visitors keep meaning to explore. A single day up top is a brilliant counterpoint to the coast; a long weekend is enough to understand why so many of Britain’s finest landscape writers, from Daphne du Maurier to Charles Causley, rooted their work in this ground. Bring a map, a thermos, and the right boots, and the moor will do the rest.
