Discover Luppitt

Luppitt is a destination for travellers who want to explore its landscape and local history. The common land, Hense Moor and the parish church of St Mary offer different points of interest: moorland and pasture landscapes sit alongside a church building altered over several centuries and other places of remembrance. If you’re looking for a hotel for a stay in Luppitt, these themes can help shape your plans, depending on whether you’re particularly interested in nature, architecture or a cycling tour.

Common land and Hense Moor

Luppitt has 617 acres of common land, spread across Luppitt Common, Hartridge Common, Hense Moor and Dumpdon Hill. Hense Moor lies at the upper end of the Luppitt Valley. The area consists of marshy pasture, heath and moorland; the headwaters of the River Love are found here. The different habitats give the landscape its distinctive character, without reducing the moor to a single landscape type.

Some of the richest areas for wildlife in the Luppitt Valley include moors along the spring line, the river corridor and deciduous woodland. These are joined by unimproved common land and unimproved, drier meadows on the valley slopes. This diversity of habitats helps put the landscape in context beyond its individual landmarks.

Hense Moor has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) since 1983. The designation reflects the unusually large extent of habitats that have become rare elsewhere in the Blackdown Hills. Dumpdon Hill, also one of the four areas of common land, is crowned by an Iron Age hillfort.

Parish church and local history

The Church of St Mary is a Grade I listed parish church in Luppitt. It was rebuilt in the late 13th to early 14th century. In the 15th century, it was renovated and given a new tower and a south porch. Three of the four bells reported there in 1553 survive. The church therefore offers a glimpse of several distinct stages in its building history.

Other places and buildings also bear witness to the past. Luppitt’s war memorial lists the names of ten soldiers who died in the First World War. The Hawker chest tomb commemorates James Hawker, who died in 1727. Antelope Cottage originally consisted of two cottages and was later used as an inn. The history of the parish of Luppitt in Devon spans the period from the Domesday Book to the present day.

Cycling routes and riding trail

The “Honiton, Luppitt, and Combe Raleigh” cycle tour is described as a moderate 11-mile route. It includes challenging climbs and descents. These details help you assess the route’s distance and elevation profile; check the current route status before setting off, as route details can change.

The “Luppitt and Upottery” route offers views across the tributaries of the Otter and is one of five riding trails in the Blackdown Hills National Landscape. It starts and ends at Hartridge Common. When planning, you can distinguish between a cycle tour with a stated difficulty rating and a riding trail with named start and end points, without treating the two routes as the same.

A stop in the village

The Luppitt Inn is a traditional farmhouse pub in the village of Luppitt and serves locally brewed beer. As pub offerings and availability can change, check what is currently on offer before visiting. Along with the landscape and history, this stop offers another point to consider when deciding which aspects of a stay in Luppitt matter most to you.

Discover more destinations: Yarcombe, Lamerton, Woolacombe, Clovelly, Drewsteignton, Shaugh Prior, Black Torrington, Payhembury

For the wider travel overview: Devon.