Ideford Common

Ideford Common is a beautiful reserve of lowland heath on the southern edge of the Haldon Hills.

Location

Ideford Common is on the southern edge of the Haldon Hills quite close to Ashcombe. Leave the A380 at the Ashcombe Cross junction and take the B3192 Teignmouth Road. Take the first right (400m after the roundabout) down an unsigned lane. Just as this lane turns sharp left you will see the Ideford Common car park in front of you.

Know before you go

Size

39 hectares

Entry fee

Free

Parking information

Car park at main entrance (not managed by DWT)

Access

Once at the nature reserve there is a network of tracks which provide access around the site. Three of the tracks are designated public bridleways and access on horseback and bicycle is permitted over those. All other tracks, one of which is designated as a public footpath, are pedestrian access only. Although many of the trackways are quite level in gradient and therefore suitable for less mobile people, their surface consists of eroded, exposed flints. Therefore they are not suitable for conventional wheelchairs, electric scooters and pushchairs.

Dogs

On a lead

When to visit

Opening times

Open at all times

Best time to visit

All year

About the reserve

Great Haldon Heaths were notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1988. Ideford Common falls within this SSSI. Ideford Common represents about 2% of the remaining lowland heath in Devon.

Typical heathland species are abundant across the site and there are areas of silver birch and willow scrub, valuable for feeding nightjar, on the margins. These birds arrive in spring and depart in August. Visit the nature reserve at dusk during this time to hear their amazing churring calls.

Other of Ideford Common's birds include stonechats and Dartford warblers, while it is also a refuge for reptiles including common lizards and adders.

Visit in September to see a spectacular display of pink and purple coloured heather blooms.

A trip to Ideford Common also offers great year-round views across the Teign Valley and beyond to Dartmoor.

Ash dieback

The disease ash dieback is now widespread in the UK and is present at many of our nature reserves, so we carry out tree felling across our sites in winter months. For your own safety please observe temporary path diversions and closures.

Where possible we will leave affected ash trees in place to decay naturally as an important habitat for wildlife. We plan to only fell diseased ash trees which pose a threat to people or infrastructure. Before trees are felled, we will check whether any rare or protected wildlife is present. If it is, we will postpone or avoid felling these trees. No felling will take place during the bird nesting season.

DWT’s Saving Devon’s Treescapes project are working with communities, landowners and businesses to help make Devon's precious treescapes more resilient in the face of ash dieback. Find out how you can get involved here.

NOTICE: If you are visiting our reserves, please note that there have been instances of H5N1 Avian bird flu found in birds in Devon. There is very low risk to public health, but we do ask that if you come across any unusual or unexplained bird deaths on or near our reserves, please do not touch them and avoid allowing your dog to come into contact with dead birds. Please report them to Defra here or call 03459 335577 and also report your findings to DWT by email at contactus@devonwildlifetrust.org.