South West England - public access to military areas
Source: gov.uk (2025-01-23)

Information about public access to military-owned land in South West England.

Accessing the training estate safely (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/safe-access)

South West firing times (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/firing-notice#south-west-england)

South West byelaws (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/byelaws-south-west)

Respect the range

Braunton Burrows Training Area

Location

The training area is located on the peninsula southwest of Braunton, North Devon, with Barnstaple and Bideford Bay to the west, the Taw and Torridge Estuary to the south and Braunton Marshes to the east.

Site description

The site is a complex dune system and beach managed by the Christie’s Estate, which is leased by the MOD to conduct dismounted, vehicle, surf and helicopter training.

Access restrictions

Appropriate signage is displayed to warn the public of military training.

The MOD employs staff to manage public safety where appropriate.

Access opportunities

The public can access the site from several points and paths. Parking is available at Sandy Lane car park.

Contact
- MOD Training Safety Officer: xx-xxxx-xxxx
- Duty officer: xx-xxxx-xxxx (out of hours and weekends)
Related information

South West firing times (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/firing-notice#south-west-england)

Dartmoor Training Area

Location

Dartmoor Training Area, Devon, comprises Okehampton, Merrivale and Willsworthy Ranges which are used for live firing and training on foot.

Site description

Military training has taken place on Dartmoor since the early 1800s. Today the MOD uses around 11,000 hectares of Dartmoor National Park’s 94,400 hectares.

Access restrictions

When the ranges are used for live firing, red flags (day) or red lights (night) are displayed and access is prohibited.

The ranges are subject to Devon byelaws. Land where MOD byelaws apply is excluded from the Countryside and Rights of Way Act. Range Danger Areas (RDA’s) are not depicted as public access land on Ordnance Survey maps.

Access opportunities

There is access land and a limited network of public rights of way across the training area.

Guaranteed access periods are published here: Dartmoor guaranteed public access (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dartmoor-guaranteed-public-access).

Contact
- Telephone: xx-xxxx-xxxx (free) or xx-xxxx-xxxx
Related information

Dartmoor firing times (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dartmoor-firing-programme)

MOD byelaws: Devon (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mod-byelaws-devon)

Langport Range and dry training area

Location

Langport Range is located on Paradise Lane just north of Langport, Somerset.

Site description

The range consists of a 600 yd, 8-lane Gallery Range (GR), open farmland and Great Breach Wood.

The training area is used for dismounted, vehicle and helicopter training, and is marked with appropriate MOD signage and warning flags.

Access restrictions

When the range is used for live firing, red flags are displayed, access is strictly prohibited and all public rights of way are closed.

Access opportunities

Access through the training area is only permitted along the limited public rights of way during non-firing periods.

Contact
- MOD Training Safety Officers/Site Range Control: xx-xxxx-xxxx or xx-xxxx-xxxx
- Duty officer: xx-xxxx-xxxx (out of hours and weekends)
Related information

Langport Range and dry training area firing times (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/langport-range-and-dry-training-area-firing-notice)

MOD byelaws: Somerset (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/somerset-byelaws)

Lulworth Ranges

Mupe Bay warning: stay clear of the north half of the beach at Mupe Bay for your safety. Due to the possibility of rock fall you are strongly advised to observe warning signs in the area.

Location

Lulworth Ranges are located on the south coast of Dorset, between Weymouth and Poole.

Site description

The ranges cover more than 2,830 hectares. The area is both a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

As with most of the Dorset coastline, this area has high geological interest. There is a mixture of limestone, chalk sands and clays, and in many places you can see clear distinctions between the different ages of rock strata.

Access restrictions

When the ranges are used for live firing, red flags (day) or red lights (night) are displayed and access is prohibited.

Access opportunities

Public access is permitted along the Dorset Coast Path running through the area, and several circular walks within the ranges.

There is car parking available at Whiteway and Tyneham and picnic facilities at Whiteway car park. Worbarrow Beach is also open to the public when the ranges are open.

Contact
- Telephone: xx-xxxx-xxxx
Related information

Lulworth firing times (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lulworth-firing-notice)

MOD byelaws: Dorset (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dorset-byelaws)

Penhale Camp

Location

Penhale Camp and training area is located on the North Cornwall coast, south of Newquay, between Holywell and Perranporth.

Site description

Penhale is a designated SSSI and Special Area of Conservation (SAC). There are two Scheduled Ancient Monuments: an Iron Age promontory fort on Penhale Point and Bronze Age barrows on Ligger Point. The sand dune system is also renowned for its beauty, with some of the highest dunes in the country.

The camp is on the coast of North Cornwall overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, and is used by the armed forces and cadets for training.

Access restrictions

There is no permitted public access south and southwest of the dunes, except for the designated South West Coast Path.

Access opportunities

Access is only permitted along the South West Coast Path which follows the seaward edge of the training area. The rocky headland is open access land.

Contact
- Telephone: xx-xxxx-xxxx
Salisbury Plain Training Area

Location

Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA) is located north of Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Site description

The current SPTA estate is just over 38,000 hectares and occupies about one ninth of Wiltshire. It is the largest area of chalk grassland in northwest Europe, and contains 40% of this remaining habitat in the UK.

Around 20,000 of the area’s hectares are a designated SSSI; a SAC and a Special Protection Area (SPA) for birds.

SPTA also has around 2,300 archaeological sites, with Roman settlements that date back to 4000 BC. The area has one of the highest concentrations of ancient long and round barrows in Britain.

Access restrictions

When the training areas are used for live firing or major exercises, red flags (day) or red lights (night) are displayed and access is prohibited.

Access to Imber Range (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/salisbury-plain-public-safety-at-imber) is out of bounds whether the flags/lights are displayed or not. Imber is subject to the Imber Ranges Byelaws 1963.

Bulford and Larkhill Ranges are subject to the Bulford Ranges Byelaws 1970 and Larkhill Artillery Range Byelaws 1965.

All green space is subject to the Salisbury Plain Military Lands Byelaws 1981.

Access opportunities

A network of public rights of way provide access across the training area.

Access to Imber Village and Imber Church is permitted during Easter, on the August bank holiday and Christmas.

Contact
- SPTA headquarters: xx-xxxx-xxxx
- Telephone (automated): xx-xxxx-xxxx
Related information

Salisbury Plain firing times (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/salisbury-plain-training-area-spta-firing-times)

MOD byelaws: Wiltshire (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wiltshire-byelaws)

Brochures

Public information leaflet - Salisbury Plain Training Area (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-information-leaflet-salisbury-plain-training-area)

Salisbury Plain: public safety at Imber (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/salisbury-plain-public-safety-at-imber)

Salisbury Plain: greenlaning (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/salisbury-plain-green-laning) - a guide for greenlaning best practice on SPTA

Straight Point Range Complex and Woodbury Common Training Area

Location

Straight Point Range Complex (SPRC) is located 10 miles south of Exeter, between Sandy Bay and Otter Cove.

Access restrictions

SPRC - When the ranges are used for live firing, red flags (day) or red lights (night) are displayed and access is prohibited; the Sea Danger Area (SDA) is closed and patrolled by a dedicated Range Safety Craft (RSC).

WCTA – When the Grenade Range (GR) is used for live firing, red flags (day) or red flags are displayed. Access to the RDA is prohibited.

Access opportunities

There are access routes through Devon Cliffs Holiday Park at Sandy Bay. The firing range covers the peninsula area south of the South West Coast Path.

Woodbury Common is leased land, owned and managed by Clinton Devon Estates (CDE). Full public access is allowed outside of the RDA and GR.

Contact
- MOD Training Safety Officers/Site Range Control: xx-xxxx-xxxx or xx-xxxx-xxxx
- Duty officer: xx-xxxx-xxxx (out of hours and weekends)
Related information

Straight Point Ranges and Woodbury Common firing times (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/straightpoint-and-wcta-grenade-range-firing-times)

MOD byelaws: Devon (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mod-byelaws-devon)

Tregantle ranges and Antony training area

Location

The ranges are in southeast Cornwall, west of Plymouth.

Site description

Owned freehold by the MOD, the area stretches from Whitsand Bay in the south across 350 hectares of pasture to the mud estuary of the River Lynher.

The coastal fringes are designated SSSI’s, and there are two forts within the training area: Tregantle and Scraesdon, which are both Scheduled Ancient Monuments built in the 1850s.

Access restrictions

Tregantle ranges are subject to the Tregantle ranges byelaws 1982.

When used for live firing, red flags are displayed and access is prohibited.

Access opportunities

The beach is open for public use when the ranges are not being used for live firing. Access is via the permissive path which runs from the car park alongside the highway to the beach.

The South West Coast Path runs along the back of the ranges. When firing is in progress it is diverted and runs alongside the B3247 north of the Fort.

There is also a public picnic site at Wacker Quay alongside the Lynher River.

Contact
- Telephone: xx-xxxx-xxxx
Related information

Tregantle live firing times (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tregantle-firing-notice)

MOD byelaws: Cornwall (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cornwall-byelaws)

Wyke Regis Training Area and Chickerell Camp

Location

The areas are located near Weymouth, Dorset.

Site description

Wyke Regis Training Area is part of the Defence Training Estate (DTE) and is located 3 sites:
- Chickerell comprises a camp and rifle range which is used for marksmanship training, as well as basic fieldcraft and patrolling exercises.
- The Bridging Camp alongside the Fleet at Wyke Regis was established in 1928, and is still used for the Royal Engineers’ training. Both regular and reserve forces use the camp for building bridges and ferries.
- The third site is located at Verne Yeates on the island of Portland, and is used for bridging and signals training.
Chesil Beach and the Fleet, as well as parts of Chickerell Range are recognised as World Heritage Sites. The fleet is also a European SAC, and much of Chickerell Camp and Verne Yeates are designated SSSI’s.

Access restrictions

When the ranges are used for live firing, red flags (day) or red lights (night) are displayed and access is prohibited.

Access opportunities

All 3 sites have a limited network of public rights of way.

The South West Coast Path runs along the northern boundary of Wyke Regis Bridging Camp.

The path runs along the southern boundary of Chickerell Range: when red flags are flying walkers are diverted inland around the back of the range before returning to the coastal path.

Contact
- Telephone: xx-xxxx-xxxx
Related information

Chickerell Ranges firing times (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/chickerell-firing-times)

MOD Byelaws: Dorset (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dorset-byelaws)

Yoxter Range and dry training area

Location

Yoxter Range and dry training area is located within the Mendip Hills between Charterhouse and Priddy, approximately 5km east of Cheddar and 7km north of Wells.

Site description

The training area consists of a gallery range and open farmland used for dismounted, vehicle and helicopter training.

Access restrictions

Public access is limited to public rights of way.

The training area and RDA boundary is well-defined and marked with MOD signage and warning flags.

Access opportunities

The site is closed for public access except along a single public footpath to the north of the range.

Contact
- MOD Training Safety Officers/Site Range Control: xx-xxxx-xxxx, xx-xxxx-xxxx
- Duty officer: xx-xxxx-xxxx (out of hours and weekends)
Related information

Yoxter Range and dry training area firing times (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/yoxter-range-and-dry-training-area-firing-notice)