The Lych Way (Lich Path)

The Lych Way, also written Lich Way, Lichway or Lych Path, and sometimes called the Way of the Dead, is an old track that crosses central Dartmoor from the Bellever area to Lydford, where St Petroc's church stands. Most walking guides give it as about 12 miles, with other sources putting it between 11 and 13. The word lych comes from an old word for a corpse.

Why it existed

The farms of the central moor lay in the Forest of Dartmoor, within the parish of Lydford, and Lydford was the mother church, so burials were expected to take place there. The route is traditionally the way coffins were carried across the moor to be buried. The firmest date attached to the story is 1260, when tenants of the central moor are reported to have obtained permission from the Bishop of Exeter to use Widecombe church instead. That date is reported through Andrew Fleming's 2011 paper in the Transactions of the Devonshire Association. It shows the burial rule and the hardship it caused. It does not prove the exact line of the track, and the claim that coffins went along the whole of it is tradition.

The line today

Walking sources describe the route as running from Bellever past Cherry Brook, the West Dart and the Cowsic, over Conies Down, past Beardown Tors, across the Walkham and the Tavy, and on to Lydford by way of Coffin Wood. The eastern start is not settled: sources variously begin at Bellever, Cator Gate, Postbridge or Widecombe, and the crossing of the Tavy is placed at Cataloo Steps, Standon Steps or Hill Bridge by different authors. One walk write-up says plainly that there is no definitive Lich Way route, and Fleming is reported to argue for a shorter summer route and a longer winter one. Parts of the track are sunken and some are lost on open moor.

Before you go

Much of the middle section is open moor with no path, and parts of it pass through Ministry of Defence range land at Merrivale and Willsworthy, so check firing times before setting out. Take a map and compass, as the ground is wild and the weather can change quickly.

Connections

The route passes Bellever Tor, Cherry Brook, the Cowsic River, Conies Down Tor, Beardown Tors and Lydford Tor, and walkers record it passing close to Wistman's Wood, where visitors are asked not to enter the wood itself.

• Also called: Lich Way, Lichway, Lych Path, the Way of the Dead
• Between: the Bellever area and Lydford (St Petroc's church)
• Length: about 12 miles (sources give 11 to 13)
• Documented: the 1260 dispensation for Widecombe church, reported by Fleming (2011)
• Note: the exact medieval line is disputed