Things To Do near Hayne Down
Yarner Wood Bird Hides, Bovey Tracey, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
'The internationally important upland oak woodlands in this National Nature Reserve are one of the best places to see woodland birds of many kinds but especially the enigmatic pied flycatcher, secretive lesser spotted woodpecker and vocal wood warbler.' The Natural England information boards at the...
Yarrow Mine/Devon Wheal Francis/Yarner Copper Mine, Bovey Tracey, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
At Yarner Wood Reserve Base, painted on an angled wood panel, are depictions of the Yarner Wood area through history. One, particularly dark, is of a bleak landscape. In the foreground is a mine. It's hard to imagine when wandering around this wood today that there was once a thriving copp...
Hookney Tor, Postbridge, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
English Heritage's Grimspound sits in a saddle of moorland below two tors. Hameldown Tor is to the south east. The superb stacks of granite that form Hookney Tor are to the north west. Hookney Down pushes east to King Tor and is beautiful when covered in heather in late summer. Headland Warren Farm...
Tunhill Rocks, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
Tunhill Rocks is the most dramatic tor on Blackslade Down. A jumble of giant, rocky outcrops located on moorland that drops down reasonably steeply to farmland and hamlets south of Widecombe-in-the-Moor, Tunhill Rocks is just south west of Pil Tor. The prehistoric barrow Wittaburrow is a short strol...
Yarner Wood Templer Way Walk, Bovey Tracey, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
Yarner Wood is part of the East Dartmoor National Nature Reserve. The Templer Way is a long distance footpath running between Dartmoor and the South Devon coast following, as far as possible, the route of the old granite railway. This walk takes in some of the best sections of the wood and railway....
Blackslade Down, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
According to the Dartmoor expert William Crossing, it was on Blackslade Down 'that the wicked Jan Reynolds once entered into a compact with a stranger, who turned out to be the Prince of Darkness, and failing to keep it became his victim. Seven years after the meeting Jan was discovered indulgin...
Bagtor Down, Haytor Vale, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
As you climb the B3387 from Bovey Tracey past Haytor Vale to the high moors, Haytor Down runs north of the road and Bagtor Down to the south. Note that the River Sig rises on Bagtor Down from two boggy sections of moorland. The western section is called Bag Tor Marsh and is best avoided. If you...
Church Way, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
The Lichway/Lych Way is a well known and reasonably well signposted long distance walking route that runs from the heart of Dartmoor across a section of its high moorland to Lydford St Petroc's Church on the National Park's western boundary. People who lived in the heart of Dartmoor were required to...
Rippon Tor, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
People visiting the eastern section of Dartmoor National Park tend to head up to Haytor Rocks to enjoy the views of both the National Park and South Devon. Arguably the most extraordinary views in this section of Dartmoor are from the top of nearby Rippon Tor. At 473m above sea lev...
Ullacombe Farm Shop, Haytor Vale, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
Approx halfway up the Bovey Tracey to Haytor road keep an eye out for this excellent farm shop that stocks a wide range of local produce including meat, vegetables, cheeses, cakes, jams. The sizeable and inviting cafe, which includes an outdoor seating area, is run by very friendly and helpful staff...
Wray Valley, Moretonhampstead, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
In the north eastern section of Dartmoor National Park, between, roughly speaking, Moretonhampstead and Lustleigh is the Wray Valley. Cut by Wray Brook, today the A382 runs along the valley floor connecting the east of the National Park around Bovey Tracey to the north around Chagford and Whiddon Do...
Shapley Tor, Moretonhampstead, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
Some Dartmoor tors are big and dramatic stacks of granite that command the surrounding landscape. Others are small and rather unassuming. Shapley Tor is among the latter. A scatter of granite towards the top of Shapley Common, it's one of those tors you tend to pass through on your way to another...
Challacombe Valley and Farm, Postbridge, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
This beautiful valley sits between Hamel Down to the east and Challacombe Down to the west. At the top of the valley are Headland Warren Farm, Hookney Tor and English Heritage's Grimspound. At the bottom of the valley, by Challacombe, the land flattens out into an area of farmland leading down t...
Shilstone Rocks Horse Riding, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
Nestled down a tiny lane a mile or so from the moorland village of Widecombe in the Moor, next to a stud that breeds Dartmoor Ponies. The horses range from sturdy Highland ponies to lighter breeds and the rides take you up onto Hamel Down, Bonehill Rocks and Buckland Beacon. The guides are responsib...
Challacombe Medieval Hamlet, Postbridge, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
Dartmoor's most famous deserted medieval settlement sits below Hound Tor towards the eastern side of the National Park. An English Heritage site, it attracts plenty of visitors and bus loads of school kids learning about Dartmoor's past. Clearly, it's not the only deserted medieval settlement on Dar...