Tavy Cleave, Mary Tavy, Dartmoor National Park

Tavy Cleave, Mary Tavy, Dartmoor National Park

Roughly speaking, Dartmoor National Park consists of two areas of high ground separated by a central bowl. Rain falls on these plateaus, collects in rivers and then flows fast to the Devon coast. Fringing the plateaus are numerous stunning valleys and cleaves. Some of the most beautiful are heavily wooded. Others, like Tavy Cleave, have steep-sided rocky walls.

If these types of valleys are of interest, we'd very much recommend walking to Tavy Cleave. It's a remarkably beautiful place. The views from the mouth of the cleave at Ger Tor up to the high north plateau are as good as anything in the National Park.

We've positioned Tavy Cleave on Google maps so zoom in on the 'Satellite' setting to see its location. To visit, we'd recommend walking in from the car parking area at Lanehead which is just up the road from Mary Tavy on the western side of the National Park. It's an easy walk up Nattor Down to Ger Tor. Refer to the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL28 'Dartmoor' map for detail.

If you're into this type of landscape then we'd recommend visiting the Teign Gorge (National Trust) and Dart Gorge, Lustleigh Cleave and the area around Burrator Reservoir.