Cullever Steps is a beautiful little pool nestled in a picturesque patch of moorland. It can’t be seen until you’re almost on top of it, so it feels like a lovely little surprise when it does come into view.
It’s a great swimming hole and though it’s not very deep, it is still deep enough for a proper swim. It’s also very easy to access, so it’s perfect if you only have a short amount of time, or don’t want to walk too far.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Cullever Steps Pool.
The walk to Cullever Steps Pool
The stats
Distance: 0.5 miles (800m) each way
Elevation gain: 80m
Difficulty: Easy
Finding the pool
From the parking area (details below) you head down the gravel road, past the no vehicle access sign. It’s downhill, but very gradual and as it’s a road it’s very easy terrain.
Road walks are never a favourite, but you’re surrounded by pretty scenery right from the off, so it’s not a bad start.
After 650m you’ll come to a bridge over the river, which is quickly followed by a second. After the second bridge you take an almost immediate left, onto the grassy path.
Roughly 30m beyond this you’ll see another trail heading off to the left. This leads to the pool.
If you’re interested in seeing a small tor before your swim, you can instead keep heading straight on. It’s only 270m further along the flat path, and with a name like Scary Tor, we couldn’t resist! It is small, but worth a peek.
After visiting the tor, retrace your steps to the the side trail and follow the path gently downhill. You’ll reach the pool in less than 100m.
Swimming at Cullever Steps
You’ll arrive at a large rocky area by the side of the pool, which is a nice spot to sit and relax. The rocks all around the pool are very grippy when dry, but the ones inside the pool are possibly the most slippery I’ve ever experienced. Just lower yourself in gently to avoid a fall.
The slippery rocks are also on the bottom of much of the pool, but as soon as you start swimming it’s not a problem.
It’s such a lovely place for a swim, it’s not a huge pool by any means, but it’s big enough to swim up and down a bit, and the views and little cascade are so picturesque. It has a very serene feel to it.
The water is cold (even in summer), but not freezing like you often find with waterfall swims. If the sun is out you’ll probably find it refreshing, but without the sun you’ll need to swim to keep warm.
What’s so good about this spot is that with such a short walk (10 minutes each way) you can squeeze it in even if you’re short on time. It was the perfect evening adventure to start our week in Dartmoor.
Parking and essential info for visiting Cullever Steps
The gravel parking area for Cullever Steps Pool can be found at these coordinates: 50.710544, -3.983712 (you can also find it on Google Maps by clicking here).
It is situated by the Okehampton Camp army base, so at times there is a firing range in operation. There are warning signs about this and where you need to avoid, and there will be flags up which let you know it’s taking place.
You can see exactly when firing is taking place here and it explicitly says when firing is not taking place too, so there’s no need to worry during your visit. It doesn’t seem to be very often, as during the six week period we could see the dates for during our visit, there was no firing taking place whatsoever.
Keep them wild
Please remember to take all rubbish with you and keep these places wild and pristine - as with anywhere in the outdoors. It’s important to leave them exactly as you found them so they will remain beautiful for generations to come. Thankfully there wasn’t any litter around at all when we visited, let’s keep it that way.
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