Things To Do near Hembury Woods (National Trust)

Hameldown Beacon, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a beacon as 'a fire or light set up in a high or prominent position as a warning, signal, or celebration’. There is a chain of beacons on Dartmoor running from the edge of the north moor down to the edge of the south moor. Hameldown Beacon is, roughly spe...

Black Hill (East Dartmoor), Haytor Vale, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)

For a National Park with a reputation for being bleak, it's unsurprising that there are a couple of Black Hills on Dartmoor. The remote, rough-cut Black Hill on the north plateau is covered with a thick layer of peat and deserves its name. The Black Hill near Manaton, Lustleigh and Bovey Tracey...

Red Lake Railway (Dismantled)/Puffing Billy Track, Harford, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)

Red Lake Railway transported workers and equipment from Bittaford and the Ivybridge area to Red Lake China Clay Works. It carried back waste material to be used as fertiliser. Built between 1910 and 1912, the remaining trackbed is now a long but solid path that takes you into the heart of Dartmoo...

Hole Rock, Haytor Vale, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)

Between the cairn on Black Hill and Smallacombe Rocks are a number of rocky outcrops running from the flat top of the hill down the flank of moorland towards a public footpath and then Becka Brook. These rocky outcrops are marked Hole Rock on the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL28 'Dartmoor' map. The...

Tavistock to Ashburton Packhorse Track, Ashburton, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)

This ancient track is shown on the Harvey British Mountain Map 'Dartmoor' map. Unsurprisingly, it runs between Tavistock on the western border of the National Park to Ashburton on the eastern border. The central section of the track pretty much follows Conchies Road. We include Tavistock to Ash...

Plym Head, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)

Walk the South West Coast Path between Plymouth and Bigbury-on-Sea/Bantham and you'll encounter the stunning estuaries of many famous Devon rivers. They all rise on Dartmoor's south plateau relatively close to one another. The headwaters of the River Plym are on Crane Hill near Erme Head and within...

Ullacombe Farm Shop, Haytor Vale, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 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...

Erme Head, Sheepstor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)

Famous South Devon rivers such as the Plym, Avon, Yealm and Erme rise in the heart of Dartmoor's south plateau. The Erme takes the longest and most dramatic route across the moor to Ivybridge and then down to the South Devon coast at Erme Mouth between Wonwell Beach and Meadowsfoot Beach. It's also...

Quirky Dartmoor, Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)

Once, there was a giant chair but, sadly, they took it down. You'll still find plenty of other quirky sights and names across the moors. There are exquisite sculptures dotted around the landscape and in the towns and plenty of weird rock structures. Many of the ponies are remarkably small, some o...

River Swincombe, Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)

By Dartmoor standards, this is a short river that rises on the edge of the National Park's south plateau and meets the West Dart River in Dartmoor's central bowl near Hexworthy. The river rises at Swincombe Head above what the Harvey British Mountain Map 'Dartmoor' map refers to as Suns...

Crane Hill, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)

It's not the most inspiring place on Dartmoor but if you want to explore the National Park's south plateau then you're going to spend a lot of time skirting Crane Hill's flanks or wandering over its top. The River Plym rises here. The Abbot's Way arcs around its south west side. Ducks' Pool is on...

Swincombe Headweir Ford, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)

The River Swincombe and Strane River (having been fed by Nun's Cross Brook) meet at the eastern end of Foxtor Mires near the beginning of the old Wheal Emma Leat (Dry Channel). Just before they meet, there are two fords spanning each waterway. After a spell of dry weather, the ford across th...

Two Barrows, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)

There's a display cabinet in Postbridge National Park Visitor Centre which contains a replica of the Hameldon Dagger or Hamel Down Dagger. The display reads: 'Hameldon dagger. In 1872 the original dagger was found with a burial of burnt human bones in a cairn or barrow at Hameldon. It cons...

Ugborough Beacon, Harford, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)

One of a number of 'beacons' on the southern border of the Park offering stunning views across South Devon. Ugborough Beacon is an impressive collection of granite outcrops to the west of South Brent and east of Harford. To the north east is Brent Hill and to the north the landscape around Avo...

Hamel Down, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)

Drive along the A30 that skirts the northern boundary of Dartmoor National Park and you'll see the unmistakable dome of Cosdon Hill topped by Cosdon Beacon. Further south, towards the heart of the National Park is the equally vast Hamel Down topped by a tor, barrows and its own beacon. The views fro...