If you’re planning a visit to Bovey Castle, then you will know we have the best range of activities for one of the best adventure holidays in Devon this year. From exhilarating off road driving tracks to peaceful visits to our Deer Park we have something for everyone. You will have so much fun at Bovey Castle, why not come and find out for yourself?
We couldn’t run our activities department without our fantastic team, and we are so grateful to have our very own female Bear Grylls right here at Bovey Castle, meet our Activities Manager, Hannah! We asked Hannah a few questions so you could get to know her before visiting, if you’re interested, please keep reading…
Growing up, what did you want to be when you were older?
A dentist or a dancer which I still do.
How did you get into the activities role you are in now?
I had worked here previously in activities from 2008 for 3 years. I had other jobs in between but was looking for an outdoors activity job again years later and the timing was right as they were hiring again. Have been back about 4 years now.
What season is your favourite at Bovey for activities?
Spring because the flowers are just stunning here.
You are a qualified 4×4 driving instructor, tell us about how you got your qualification?
Other instructors and I go to train up at Honiton with Land Rover Experience on their tracks there. I am BORDA British off-road Driving qualified and passed the ‘higher standard’.
What do you do in your spare time? Any interesting hobbies?
I love dance and performing, horse riding and clay shooting. I am a trainee horse trick rider and our team perform in jousting and trick shows up and down the country.
Favourite animal spotting on the estate?
Little baby stoats playing. I love ferrets so it’s a wild version of that.
If you were a Disney character, which one would you be?
Merida from Brave, as she is a strong character and can handle a bow and arrow!
If you could have dinner with one famous person, dead or alive, who would it be?
Dawn French because she’s really funny and likes chocolate a lot!
What are two items on your bucket list?
Long horse-riding holidays and an aeroplane wing walk.
What would be your dream holiday?
Horse riding across Canada staying in ranches as I go.
If you could choose any superpower, what would it be?
To stop time, as there’s never enough hours in the day!
If you could time travel, where would you go?
VE day on 8 May 1945. There were lots of celebrations and street parties to mark the end of the war, everyone would have been in such good spirits.
If you had a magic lamp, what would your three wishes be?
To have massages every day. Never get old. It not to rain.
Now you know more about Hannah, why not come down and meet her? We have so much to do here and Hannah is very excited to meet you! Discover adventure holidays at Bovey Caslte… Plan your stay here or book your activities here.
The golf experience at Bovey Castle has been adjusted to ensure compliance with government guidance. The full code of conduct is detailed below:
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BOOK, PLEASE EMAIL golf@boveycastle.com
Course Access and Booking
To access the course, a player must:
Before play
During your round
After your round
We will review this new code of conduct on a weekly basis and make any amendments we feel are appropriate to ensure your continued safety.
The best way to unwind this spring is with a refreshing spring staycation on Dartmoor.
Enjoy fabulous sunsets over the rolling Dartmoor hills, long scenic walking routes visiting the quaint South Devon villages and exciting daily activities to get involved with on site at Bovey Castle.
To help you plan your break, we’ve suggested how to discover the best spring staycation in the UK…
If you’re a nature lover, looking for the great outdoors and some fresh air on your spring staycation, get your walking boots on and discover Dartmoor National Park, we have 275 acres on our doorstep or if that’s not enough we can suggest plenty of scenic strolls around the local villages and beyond.
Explore the nearby village of North Bovey on your walk, with beautiful scenic views of quaint white thatched English cottages and a large village green.
For a more challenging walking route, why not try visiting the nearby Castle Drogo with plenty of walking trails with magnificent views over the Teign Gorge and you can even take your pooch! Castle Drogo was constructed between 1911 and 1930, it was the last castle to be built in England, the rich history of the area can be explored on the many walking routes.
Venture out to Exeter, a 30 minute drive away from Bovey Castle, you will find the Princesshay centre for chain stores and if you look to visit the Castle Quarter you will find independent shops. Fore Street is a haven for hip and historic shops in West Quarter where you will find treasures including vintage clothing and electric guitars.
If you’d rather not travel, we have a wonderful selection of gifts, toys and children’s games, books and outdoor attire for sale in our boutique store on site at Bovey Castle. You can browse high end and designer brands all stocked in our store with no need to leave the hotel!
There’s so much to explore on site at our resort, we have an abundance of activities available daily and suitable for all ages. From deer park tours to horse drawn carriage rides, with so much choice there’s no need to leave the hotel grounds…
If you’re looking for something more hands-on why not try your hand at clay pigeon shooting or archery with one of our experienced activities leaders to guide you through these fun-filled activities.
We have so much more to explore on our resort, play a round of golf on our 18 hole championship golf course, relax in the Elan Spa or discover the many more activities we have to offer.
If you’re ready to explore all that Dartmoor has to offer, why not make the most of your visit with our spring staycation offer?
Our exclusive offer includes one night’s overnight accommodation in a Classic Room, a refreshing glass of Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Champagne and dinner in Smith’s Brasserie. After a relaxing night’s sleep, you can also dig into a delicious full English Breakfast.
With prices from £339.00 per room, per night call our team on 01647 445007 or book online.
Choose to extend your stay with us and spend more time exploring with a two night trip and enjoy all of the above plus full afternoon tea with a glass of Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Champagne.
To book our two night spring staycation offer from £339.00 per room, per night, please call our team on 01647 445007 or book online.
We look forward to welcoming you to Dartmoor on your spring staycation this year.
With two distinct coastlines, one facing the Atlantic Ocean and the other overlooking the English Channel, Devon has plenty of attractive golf courses to explore.
However, the county also stands out from the rest of the south west because of its inland courses; some of which overlook dramatic natural scenery; not least those in the National Park of Dartmoor. If you usually play on the Costa Del Sol or the Algarve, then Devon cannot necessarily guarantee similar weather. But, it can promise the exhilarating experience playing golf in a unique environment matching anything in southern Europe. For a golf resort in the UK where golfers can enjoy in perfect scenery, why look at anywhere other than Devon?
One of the top luxury golf resort destinations in Devon is Bovey Castle. Designed in the 1920s, it is located between the villages of Moretonhampstead and Lettaford in the heart of the National Park. A truly stunning 18-hole championship course, it was first devised to match the splendour of Gleneagles and Turnberry and, by the time it opened in 1930, it had certainly achieved that aspiration. The golf course architect, J F Abercromby, a highly regarded course designer of the twentieth century.
The River Bovey runs by the luxury golf resort; an almost ever present feature of the first few holes. The use of this natural feature in the course design is what Bovey Castle is all about. Although your ball may end up in the river, it is not deep or wide and therefore your ball can be retrieved without much fuss. The third and sixth holes are a particular delight to play and involve plenty of potential water traps, despite both being deceptively easy par threes. The seventh is named after the Open Championship winning Henry Cotton. He listed it as among his favourite holes to play in the UK. It, too, features the river as it meanders its way through the plush estate.
Although the course is established as one of the best golf courses in Devon, there are more reasons to visit. A golf resort that UK visitors can all truly enjoy, it provides a fully-equipped and modern clubhouse plus a driving range, a golfing academy and a brasserie for meals and snacks. Indeed, luxury golf packages can easily be combined with stays at Bovey Castle’s excellent hotel, making it an ideal choice for corporate golf days, for example.
Rated as a 5-star hotel, Bovey Castle features a luxuriously appointed spa and a fine dining restaurant, named the Great Western. There are 60 bedrooms in total, all of which have been individually styled to match the splendour of the manor house. Many of the rooms overlook the golf course and wider views of the natural scenery that Dartmoor provides.
Why not discover more about our golf packages?
The golf course at the 5 Red Star Bovey Castle Hotel is a challenging and beautiful 18-hole championship course, designed in 1926 by J F Abercromby, one of the finest British golf course designers of the last century.
When the course opened in 1930, it quickly gained national acclaim for its reputation as one of the most enjoyable places to play golf.
Designed to rival its sister courses at Gleneagles and Turnberry, our Bovey Castle golf course has been described as an experience of golf never to be forgotten, presenting the pure challenge of golf to professional and amateur alike. The course meanders through the hotel estate, surrounded by idyllic landscape and challenges to meet any handicap.
To understand the beauty, as well as the complexity of our golf course, we have created a step by step guide to each hole that accurately describes them:
This opening tee shot at Bovey Castle is inviting in the extreme, plunging down into the river valley onto a newly reshaped fairway and leaving a short shot across the River Bovey onto the green.
As the river is very much in play from the tee, it is wise to lay up with a long iron or a wood.
The 2nd is a treacherous hole where placement is everything. A dogleg to the left around a wood, it’s all too easy to over-shoot the fairway. Stay as tight to the left as possible to leave the best line into the green here at Bovey Castle, which again, is on the far side of the river.
Whilst not wanting to come up short, be sure not to over club as two pot bunkers await you.
The river again dominates the 3rd, although the lake around the green is actually an ornamental feature here in the Bovey Castle gardens. The green is sited on a natural promontory and is a target that is almost entirely surrounded by water.
The right half of the green is the side to aim. Here, there is a little more room than the view from the tee may suggest.
A classic hole in the heroic mould awaits you on the 4th here at Bovey Castle. The river catches the eye line from the tee and runs alongside the 4th fairway.
Bunkers and trees lurk on the far side of the fairway for those who take the cautious line, whilst the river awaits those who are over optimistic. The approach to the green is heavily bunkered so lay back to leave a full shot in.
The downhill tee-shot is an inviting one on the 5th here at Bovey Castle, although the trees to the left and right can easily encroach on the demanding second shot back over the River Bovey.
The less powerful may be well advised to lay up. If you do ‘go for it’ it’s wise to take one more club than the yardage suggests.
The 6th is an attractive downhill par three plying back across the river that runs through our magnificent Bovey Castle Golf Course. The green is angled, so that the back right portion is tucked behind the right-hand bunker. Shots to this section of the green need to fly the full distance, although the right to left wind and downhill shot makes this almost a club shorter than normal.
This famous (and equally infamous) hole has tantalised, infuriated and charmed golfers since its creation here at Bovey Castle. Sir Henry Cotton recognised its undoubted quality by listing it in his favourite 18 holes in Britain.
The river meanders in a dangerous fashion down the right. The green is a classic example of Abercromby’s flair for design.
The final river hole in one of the most daunting opening stretches of golf here at Bovey Castle. Here, the river nibbles in alongside the landing area and the green is set alongside a stream that winds all down the left hand side of the green and the approach.
The bold line from the tee will hug the left so that a shot up the length of the green is set up.
Newly restored from Abercromby’s original design, the 9th hole is a par 3 with a small green that is closely guarded by 6 treacherous bunkers. Choose your club wisely.
The 10th is the only par 5 on the back 9. It plays across a valley through a saddle in the hill here at Bovey Castle… leaving a second shot across another valley. Players laying up need to be wary of the ditch at the bottom of the hill.
Players going for the green in 2 must carry the 3 big bunkers short of the green.
This is a superb par 4 with a dramatic approach across our lake-filled, Bovey Castle valley. Any shot even slightly short of the green is likely to roll back down into trouble. Many should lay up, but even this leaves a demanding pitch to an elevated green.
Take plenty of club on this shot as well, because it predominantly plays into the wind.
The final short hole may be the hardest of them all. From the back tee, it is frighteningly tight with an angled green guarded by a deep front bunker. The prospect from the forward tee is a little less daunting, but still calls for a deceptively long uphill shot.
It is certainly better to be long than short, as the back of the green is free of bunkers.
The 13th provides possibly the first light relief of the round and is in range from the tee for the longer players. Bunkers hug the left hand side of the fairway for the last 100yards and any shot destined for the green must flirt with them. The green is on 2 levels so an accurate approach is essential to create a birdie opportunity. The right side of the green runs off quickly, so it is usually better to aim a little left with the approach shot.
Another short par 4 through a narrow gap in the trees, the 14th is a fun hole, rewarding accuracy rather than raw power. The bunker in the fairway is the line, everyone having to decide how to carry or circumnavigate it.
More powerful players will drive straight over it and may well reach the green, although the green’s cunning undulations make putting a challenge.
This hole swings to the left around a dense stand of fir trees. The ideal line is to stay on the left half of the fairway making the approach shot shorter. On a course where most of the greens are small, this hole differs
by providing a generous target, but it is elevated. Take plenty of club, especially if the flag is cut behind the bunker.
If conditions are firm and fast, stay right of the marker post but be careful to avoid the bunkers. Longer players may fancy hitting it to the right, but this leaves an awkward angle to approach the green.
A running approach shot is often a good idea to this small green. Anything over the green is not easy, so it is better to be a little on the short side.
The key to the 17th hole is choosing the right line from the tee. For the longer players straight over the top of the highest tree, whilst the shorter player should hug the right of the copse. Once over the hill, the green is an inviting target, but testing to hit from a downhill lie.
This hole requires a drive up around the bunkers if the green is to be in view for the second shot. Drives hugging the left will leave a shorted second, but will be blind with the approach to the green tilting sharply from left to right.
Bovey Castle also offers a fully-equipped club house, driving range, golf academy and brasserie for pre and post-match meals and snacks to complement the golf course.
If you would like more information about our golf course, or golf holiday offers to play the course at Bovey Castle, please contact the golf team on 01647 445009 or email golf@boveycastle.com.
Eden Hotel Collection is part of Rigby Group (RG) plc.
Bovey Castle Property Limited is a company registered in England and Wales with Company Number 09552863.
Registered office address: c/o Eden Hotel Collection, Bridgeway House, Bridgeway, Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6YX
VAT Number: 806641241
