Sharrah Falls

The River Dart, where it passes through the Dart Gorge, is one of the most beautiful and wild places in Dartmoor National Park. The stretch between Dartmeet and New Bridge is particularly beautiful and rugged and in places it is only accessible by the most experienced walkers. At Sharrah, the river cascades and tumbles over polished granite rock and after heavy rain, the noise can be awesome. The falls here, called Sharrah Falls, or Surprise Surprise if you are into kayaking, are extremely photogenic particularly if there is a lot of activity on the river. In spate this is a glorious place to photograph sports canoeists as they tackle one of the River Darts most extreme locations.

In terms of access, Sharrah Falls is located about half way along the Dart Gorge between Dartmeet and New Bridge. For the greater majority of photographers, especially with gear, access will always be from the New Bridge side as there is a good track here with a path that run along the southern bank of the River Dart from New Bridge (Newbridge) which is by Spitchwick (Deeper Marsh/Spitchwick Common).

The initial forestry track runs through the National Trust's Holne Woods (National Trust) until it connects with a narrow, winding path. You cross a waterfall and descend to a flat area of woodland next to the river. There's a fence, stile and post on which, presumably, was once a National Trust Holne Woods sign. The stretch of river next to the woodland here is Sharrah Pool. It's lined with granite boulders and you'll see mini sandy beaches that act as entry points.

Overall, it takes around an hour to get to Sharrah Falls / Pool, about a 4.5km walk. Of course, this is dependent on the speed at which you walk.

While there are other ways to walk to Sharrah Falls, we don't recommend them unless you are a a confident and experienced walker and travelling light.