Things To Do near Challacombe Down
Moor Brook, Okehampton, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 10 miles away)
Moor Brook rises near West Mill Tor on Dartmoor's north plateau. It flows down to Okehampton Camp on its way to Lower Halstock. The brook tumbles through Halstock Wood and meets the East Okement River at West Cleave in the East Okement Valley. This last stretch of Moor Brook is stunning. We've po...
Feather Tor, Merrivale, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 10 miles away)
Feather Tor is a small rocky outcrop on Whitchurch Common on the western side of Dartmoor National Park. It rises above Windypost Cross and Grimstone and Sortridge Leat. The tor provides top views and is part of some great circular walks in the area. We've positioned Feather Tor on Google maps so...
Cross Gate/Lowery Cross, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 10 miles away)
This cross is situated by Cross Gate as marked on the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL28 'Dartmoor' map. It's also known locally as Lowery Cross. Zoom in on the 'Satellite' setting of the accompanying Google map to see its location. Cross Gate/Lowery Cross is on both the Buckfast to Tavistoc...
Windypost Cross, Merrivale, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 10 miles away)
Owing to its location, Windypost Cross is one of the most visited stone crosses in the National Park. Situated on Whitchurch Common above Tavistock and by the B3357, Windypost Cross is very easily accessible from the large car park at Tavistock View Point. It stands next to the Grimstone and So...
Whitchurch Common, Merrivale, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 10 miles away)
Zoom in on the 'Satellite' setting of the accompanying Google map and you'll see lots of grass paths and tracks crossing moorland. These give you a sense of the popularity of Whitchuch Common. Other clues are provided by the size of the car parking area by the B3357 and the fact that the area is a w...
Starling Roost Okehampton Camp, Okehampton, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 10 miles away)
Okehampton is a major Dartmoor gateway town located on the north west border of the National Park. A road climbs from the centre of town to Okehampton Camp. This army camp sits below the highest ground in southern England and is where you'll see vast flocks of starlings roosting in the trees that fr...
Moor Brook Stepping Stones, Okehampton, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 10 miles away)
In the western section of Halstock Wood, near Lower Halstock, is a small set of stepping stones next to what looks like a ford that you can use to cross Moor Brook. They are impassable after heavy rain. When they are impassable, use the public footpath that runs through Lower Halstock. Paths are mar...
Branscombe's Loaf (and Cheese), Sourton, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 10 miles away)
In her work 'The Outline of Dartmoor's Story', Sylvia Sayer tells the story of Bishop Bronescombe and his loaf: 'Bishop Bronescombe often travelled on the Moor himself ... [He] was a great character and well known to his flock, who loved to tell stories of his doings as they sat around their peat...
Peek Hill, Yelverton, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 10 miles away)
Part of a circular walk that we recommend, the views from Peek Hill down to Burrator Reservoir and across to Sheeps Tor are exceptional. If you can make it on a sunny day in autumnal October then you're in for a treat.
Best Dartmoor Wildlife, Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 10 miles away)
National Nature Reserves East Dartmoor National Nature Reserve. England's first National Nature Reserve in the east section of Dartmoor near the National Park gateway town Bovey Tracey and the iconic tor Haytor Rocks. Black-a-Tor Copse National Nature Reserve. Once featured on the BBC's '...
Ashbury Tor, Okehampton, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 10 miles away)
Ashbury Tor isn't marked on the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL28 'Dartmoor' map which is a shame as the views from the top of its outcrops are wonderful, especially if you like a mix of wooded valley and high moorland. We've positioned Ashbury Tor on Google maps so zoom in on the 'Satellite' setting...
Shelstone Tor, Sourton, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 10 miles away)
Some of Dartmoor's most beautiful tors are either far from towns and villages or tucked away in less well known areas of moorland. Shelstone Tor is an example of the latter. Located near the north western border of Dartmoor National Park where the Upper West Okement Valley meets Meldon Reservoir,...
Red-a-ven Brook Valley, Okehampton, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 10 miles away)
Stand on top of Yes Tor looking north west to Meldon Viaduct and you'll see a beautiful steep-sided valley cut by a brook. This is Red-a-ven Brook Valley. The valley stretches from the ford at Red-a-ven Brook below Black Down all the way down to Meldon Aplite Quarries where it meets and wider and bi...
Yellowmead Circles/Multiple Stone Ring, Sheepstor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 10 miles away)
This is one of our favourite prehistoric attractions in Dartmoor National Park. It's a beautiful sight in a stunning location. Philip Newman has a section on 'multiple stone rings' in his book 'The Field Archaeology of Dartmoor'. These monuments comprise thin slabs of stone set on edge...
Roman Chair, Okehampton, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 10 miles away)
In his work 'High Dartmoor', the Dartmoor expert Eric Hemery writes: 'On the north slope of the hill, a little below the Iron Age fort and surrounded by furze bushes of great height, is a small unrecorded outcrop presenting the appearance of a huge stone chair. John Hodge [a local farmer] was tol...