Things To Do near Houndtor Wood Bridge
Sextons Cottage and Church House (National Trust), Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
A sexton maintained church buildings and the graveyard. The sexton's cottage was his home. The 'church house was the medieval equivalent of the church hall. Its chief purpose was to house the festivals and church ales which raised funds for many an English parish church until the rise of Puritanism'...
Widecombe Fair, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
Whilst not the biggest, Widecombe hosts arguably the most famous of Dartmoor's many fairs and shows. It takes place on the second Tuesday of September so in 2016 Widecombe Fair is on Tuesday 13th September. The fair is synonymous with the Devon folk song Widecombe Fair which is celebrated in sign...
The Old Inn, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
Dartmoor's most famous village Widecombe-in-the-Moor is Dartmoor's most famous village. Easily accessible and located below some of the most beautiful moorland in the National Park, the area is packed with things to do and places to visit. Build your day around a pub lunch or cream tea in The Old...
Hameldown Beacon, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 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...
Grey Wethers and Blue Jug, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
'The stream on the eastern side of the hill forms the boundary between the common lands of Manaton and Widecombe, and this is drawn from its head to Hameldon Cross, the space between the two being marked by a couple of bondstones, the lower one being called Blue Jug, and the other the Grey Wethe...
Hamel Down, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 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...
Two Barrows, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 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...
Broad Barrow, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
Numerous cairns and barrows run along the spine of the vast Hamel Down. Broad Barrow sits on the highest ground 532 metres above sea level. The views up top are awesome. It's a particularly impressive place when the heather and gorse flower purple and yellow in early Autumn. A barrow is a mound o...
Hookney Down, Moretonhampstead, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
This is an area of moorland between, roughly speaking, Hookney Tor and Hameldown Tor and King Tor on the edge of the high moor near English Heritage's Grimspound. It's particularly beautiful in late summer when the heather flowers. It runs into the vast whale's back of moorland that is Hamel Down...
Single Barrow, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
The Dartmoor expert William Crossing writes 'this tumulus was opened in 1873 by the late Mr. C. Spence Bate, and was found to consist of earth with the exception of a low hedge of stones which encircled it, and a low cairn in the centre. About six feet from the latter a small heap of burnt human...
Canonteign Falls, Bovey Tracey, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
[Main photo: the Labyrinth at Canonteign Falls] Canonteign Falls is one of Dartmoor’s most popular family visitor attractions Canonteign Falls is one of Dartmoor’s most popular family visitor attractions. Located on the eastern border of the national park near Bovey Tracey,...
Shilstone Rocks Horse Riding, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 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...
Hamel Down Cross, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
In his 'Guide to Dartmoor', William Crossing notes that 'Hameldon Cross consists of a granite slab rather over four feet in height and about two feet in width, rudely fashioned into the form of the sacred symbol, and probably has never served any other purpose than that of a boundary sto...
Moretonhampstead to Butterdon Valley, Moretonhampstead, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
If you look at the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL28 'Dartmoor' map, you'll see a path marked as a broken green line running north of Moretonhampstead to Butterdon Down. On older Ordnance Survey maps, this is marked as part of the Dartmoor Way Walking Route. In Spring, when the wild flowers are out, the...
Hameldown Tor, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
Grimspound is an English Heritage site located in a dip between Hamel Down and Hookney Down towards the heart of Dartmoor National Park. Two tors stand guard over the prehistoric settlement. To the north west is Hookney Tor. To the south east is Hameldown Tor. The views from the cairn and trig point...