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The city of Exeter has a wealth of opportunity for walking – alongside the river and canal, through its valley parks, and the 12 mile green circle route – to name just a few.

This walk starts close to the centre of the city, at Exeter Arena, but for the majority of the seven mile circular route you'd never know the heart of Exeter was beating so close below.

It follows bridleways, footpaths, and fields, touches on the green circle, a valley park that was once a landfill site and offers many stunning views.

It was suggested by Peg Wiseman and Pauline Beare, who are more used to donning trainers than walking boots, being the founders of the Women’s Running Network, which this year is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Peg said: "It's a route that we have run on numerous occasions. Pauline and I tend to get out a map see what paths are there, link them up and then surprise unwary members of the Women's Running Network.

"You'll see when you reach the top that there are some lovely surprises to be found on Stoke Hill, many and varied, some historical, some visual and some a complete mystery."

Being one of those "unwary members" of the network myself, I had an inkling the surprises would no doubt involve some climbing and I certainly wasn't wrong there!

Peg and Pauline admire the view

From the arena car park in Summer Lane, turn right uphill and cross at the traffic lights into Pinwood Lane, shortly turning right along a track signed as a bridleway and within a few minutes leaving the houses behind.

The track rises through the Beacon Heath estate to Beacon Hill, passing through an open meadow en route, and through a metal gate on to the Stoke Canon to Pinhoe Road.

Turn left, taking care as there are no pavements. Gaps in the right-side hedge offer the first of many stunning views you'll see on the route, here across Poltimore, Killerton and Exeter Airport.

Just past a house called Oceania, turn left over a stile, signed public footpath. Keep to the left hand hedge through fields, and when you come out to a wide track, continue ahead. This leads past Goffins Farm, to a path between a fence and the right hand hedge.

It was early autumn when we did the walk and the blackberries were plump, plentiful and delicious.

A stile takes you into a farmyard, keep straight ahead, and at Rixlade Cottage follow the drive out to the road, then turn right.

As the road begins to descend just after Pear Tree Farm, turn left where it's marked public bridleway. This track, following the field edge, can be quite muddy, but affords fine views over Stoke Canon and across the Exe Valley.

It leads through a gate into an open field, where Peg hushed us to be quiet. On the hill ahead was the magnificent and unmistakeable outline in silhouette of a stag deer.

The stag standing guard on the top of the hill

"Do you think he's heard us and is listening?" asked Peg. "How close do you think we can get?"

As we crept ahead he remained motionless – and you can be confident he'll be there if you follow the same path as he is in fact a wonderful willow stag, standing guardian over what is a former Roman lookout beacon.

At Stoke Hill Farm, just before the stag, turn left through the gate and past the house, following a tree-lined muddy bridleway, which leads to the top of Pennsylvania.

Turn left after Rollestone Farm, on to what is a section of the green circle route, heading down a permissive bridleway signed to Mincinglake Valley Park ¾ mile.

You get the first sense of being a part of the city again, as houses back on to this wooded track, which opens out to a meadow.

Pauline said she first discovered this peaceful spot when one of her running group took her there, and both agreed that running has taken them to places they would never have known otherwise.

Peg said: "It makes you explore because when you run you go so much further. If I didn't run I would never have discovered half the paths I know. It's wonderful."

Cross Stoke Hill Road into the valley park, which until 1980 was a council tip.

Peg said: "I remember when it was a smelly landfill site with seagulls and towering rubbish piles. Now it's all covered over, trees have been planted, and the lower meadows are fantastic for butterflies and birds – a real wildlife haven."

At the park you could choose to simply continue on the stone track back to Beacon Heath, and return through the estate, but to do so would be to miss out the last and arguably most spectacular view of all.

So, if your legs feel up to it, having crossed the road and entered the park, turn left and make your way up hill on a series of paths through open fields. A conveniently placed bench provides a good place to take in the fine views opening up across the Exe estuary.

But the fields and paths continue on higher still, out to Mile Lane, an atmospheric tree-lined Anglo Saxon track that used to lead to Heavitree Church.

On reaching the lane turn left, following it briefly, and then off right into what is Drakes Meadow. These are more fields, which were loaned to the city a few years ago to extend the valley park.

There's one last pull uphill and if you can resist the temptation to look behind you until you reach the bench at the top, the stunning panoramic views should prove ample reward for all that effort.

They are truly magnificent, from East Hill and Sidmouth Gap to the left, across the Exe estuary and the sand bar at Exmouth, round to Haldon on the right and in the foreground a bird's eye view of Exeter and its rooftops.

From here the path really is all downhill. Keep ahead to the far hedge and follow it down to an opening into an orchard, then make your way down hill through a series of fields, which eventually begin to level out, with housing to the right, along with the now diminishing view of the estuary.

The last field connects you back via a five bar gate to the original bridleway, where turning right, then left into Pinwood Lane, you can retrace your steps to the arena.

With all our stops and starts and time to admire the views we completed the walk in about three hours, more than twice the time if we'd been running.

But as Peg said: "Being at a much slower pace it has given us a lot more opportunity to enjoy the views and I think I'm going to be going up there at a slower pace on other occasions."

Whether you choose to walk or run, I'm sure you'll think the views are worth the effort.