Dalwood brings together architectural and commemorative history, walks, garden visits and the story of a vineyard. For planning your trip, the variety is key: the Church of St Peter and Loughwood Meeting House represent different religious traditions, while Dalwood War Memorial commemorates the First World War. Outdoors, you can distinguish local walking paths, the “Dalwood and Yarty Valley” circular route and a longer walk to historic destinations by their respective character. Burrow Farm Gardens has its own focus on plants and views.

Churches and Remembrance

The Church of St Peter is a Grade I listed building. It dates entirely from the 15th century and was restored in 1881. These two dates are not interchangeable: the 15th century marks its construction, while 1881 refers to its later restoration.

Loughwood Meeting House represents a different religious and architectural tradition. This 17th-century thatched Baptist meeting house is built into a hillside and has remained virtually unchanged. It is one of the earliest surviving Baptist churches in the country. Visitors interested in historic religious buildings can see a church and a Baptist meeting house as two distinct types of building here.

Dalwood War Memorial was erected around 1920 as a memorial to the First World War. The roughly 1.8-metre-high, roughly hewn granite cross bears a Celtic cross head. The plinth is inscribed “TO OUR DALWOOD HEROES 1914-1919”; below it are sixteen names. The inscription and approximate date of erection refer to different points in time: the years appear on the memorial, while its erection is dated to around 1920.

Walking in the Blackdown Hills National Landscape

Dalwood lies within the protected landscape of the Blackdown Hills National Landscape. The local walking paths start and finish at The Tuckers Arms Public House. The “Dalwood and Yarty Valley” circular route passes through Dalwood and follows various sections of the River Yarty. This makes it possible to distinguish the local paths, which share a starting and finishing point, from the circular route named after sections of the river.

Another, longer walk leads to Shute Barton and Loughwood Meeting House and takes just under three hours. This route combines walking with a destination that is also of interest for its architectural and religious history. The time estimate gives you a practical guide when working out how to fit this excursion into your day.

Gardens and the history of winegrowing

Burrow Farm Gardens covers 13 acres and features unusual trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. Visitors can stroll through a wildflower meadow and enjoy views of Devon’s rolling hills. The garden offers a different focus from the historic buildings: here, plants and landscape take centre stage.

The history of Dalwood Vineyard also has a clearly defined beginning: the first vines were planted in 2009, and the first acre was devoted to the Seyval Blanc grape variety. Together with Dalwood’s buildings from different periods, this provides a series of clearly distinct historical reference points—from the 15th century, through the 17th-century meeting house, to the start of winegrowing in 2009.

If you would like to combine culture and exercise, Loughwood Meeting House is a shared point of interest: it is a historic destination in its own right and also lies on the longer walk, which takes just under three hours. For a different focus, you can make the local walking paths, the circular route along the River Yarty or a garden visit the centrepiece of your trip planning.

Discover more destinations: Cullompton, Ipplepen, Hartland, Saint Giles in the Wood, Wotter, Bratton Fleming, Georgeham, Parracombe

For the broader travel overview: Devon.