TRUSHAM ROUND
Distance: 6.3 Km (3.9 miles) over country lanes; two steepish sections.
Time: 1.5 hours
The walk: Starting at The Cridford Inn, point ‘A’ on the map, turn left and walk up the lane towards Trusham Cross, point ‘B’. This is really a T junction with the ’main’ road bearing left towards the Haldon Forest. Bear right, signed Chudleigh and follow the lane downhill and then up, going past a footpath on your left. The lane continues downhill and after an area of woodland on your left, opposite the entrance to Shortridge, the lane bends right, then left and crosses first Bramble Bridge, then Higher Ranscombe Bridge (where the footpath from Trusham meets the road). The next road junction at point ‘C’ is taken to the right, past some charming cottages and then uphill into a narrow valley which broadens towards the top. After a right hand bend there is a T junction at which you turn right, point ‘D’.
From here the lane passes Combeshead Farm, to the right, downhill and then rising towards some farm buildings. After this the lane descends past the turn off to Ruggadon, point ‘E’ (and another footpath to Trusham). From here the lane goes down and up a couple of times before the long descent of Farley Hill, this being the principal reason the walk is done in a clockwise direction.
At the bottom of Farley Hill, at the junction, point ’F’, to the left is the road to Crocombe Bridge and the B3193. However, continue in a straight line, up the hill, back to Trusham. From the first deviation in the lane, known as the ‘dark’ corner, there are enclosures with various exotic animals, including Rhea. The large, white male, is particularly aggressive, so be warned; his field ends at the ‘light’ corner. From there continue up the final hill into the village, ignoring any minor roads until you reach The Cridford Inn.
