Things To Do near Avon Dam Reservoir Valley
Plym Ford, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)
There are many fords on the upper section of the River Plym between Plym Head and Ditsworthy Warren House. Some are marked on the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL28 'Dartmoor' map. Others are visible when you walk the river from source to sea. The most used is Plym Ford near Plym Head connecting the high...
Northmore's Cross/Crane Hill Cross Stone (Harvey/OS maps), Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)
A giant chair and stepping stones, a fairy bridge and ancient travel routes have all disappeared from Dartmoor over the years. Sadly, the tiny Northmore's Cross/Crane Hill Cross Stone can now be added to that list. Somebody snapped it off the stone in October 2014. The lump of granite and th...
Plym Steps, Sheepstor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)
'Steps' on Dartmoor usually refer to stepping stones. Stepping stones are often necessary to cross the National Park's many rivers. However, stones are often moved by the power of the water when rivers are in spate. When this happens, the stones can either be repositioned or the set of stepping ston...
Evil Combe, Sheepstor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)
The moor around Plym Steps is full of points of interest with evocative names. There's Grim's Grave, Deadman's Bottom, Giant's Hill and Great Gnats' Head. Arguably the best, and appropriately named, is Evil Combe. The upper section of the combe is steep and scarred by the remains of the tin mining i...
Sharp Tor (Dartmeet/East Dartmoor), Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)
Many of Dartmoor's classic views are provided by tors overlooking steep-sided wooded valleys and gorges. There's Sharp Tor in the Teign Gorge, Ger Tor above Tavy Cleave and the Dewerstone above the Dewerstone Valley. Perhaps the best of the lot is the view from Sharp Tor above Dart Gorge. If you can...
Lower Hartor Tor, Sheepstor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)
It's great fun to walk the River Plym from source to sea. As you wander the west bank downstream from Plym Head, having avoided Evil Combe, you come to Lower Hartor Tor. A cluster of outcrops sit at the top of the steep slope that's covered with granite boulders all the way down to the River Plym an...
Goldsmith's Cross, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)
Goldsmith's Cross is one of a high number of crosses marking the route of the ancient Buckfast to Tavistock Monastic Route as shown on the Harvey British Mountain Map 'Dartmoor' map. Goldsmith's Cross is located just south of the infamous Foxtor Mires that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used as in...
The Forest Inn, Hexworthy, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)
High moor, rivers and stepping stones The Forest Inn sits at the foot of Dartmoor's south moor. The West Dart River flows below on its way to meet the East Dart River at Dartmeet. Numerous sets of stepping stones span the rivers here. The extraordinary Dart Gorge is to the east. The Forest Inn is...
Sharp Tor (Dartmeet/East Dartmoor) Circular Walk, Dartmeet, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)
This is a short walk but it takes you to one of Dartmoor's classic viewpoints. From the outcrops at the southern end of Sharp Tor, you look down the Dart Gorge to the South Devon coast area beyond. It's a super place for a picnic. Note that in the morning the light comes up the gorge so if you want...
Higher Uppacott Longhouse, Poundsgate, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)
Exeter has a superb museum. In its medieval section is a model of a house with toy animals at one end and living space at the other. The model is popular with children and is a great introduction to a Devon longhouse. There are dozens of these longhouses in and around Dartmoor National Park. The...
Penn Beacon, Cornwood, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 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. Penn Beacon is at the edge...
Shell Top, Shaugh Prior, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)
The views from Shell Top are immense. The rocky outcrop looks down on the China Clay Workings, Plymouth and Plymouth Sound. The South Devon coast runs east. The East Cornwall coats runs west. You can also see the Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Bodmin Moor and Cornish Alps beyond.
Dartmeet Stepping Stones, Dartmeet, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)
The East Dart River and West Dart River converge at Dartmeet to form the River Dart or Double Dart. At Dartmeet, a bridge spans the East River Dart next to a ruined clapper bridge. To cross the West River Dart here, you need to walk across an arc of stepping stones. Whilst these stepping stones p...
Hexworthy Bridge, Hexworthy, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)
Hexworthy is a hamlet located at the foot of Dartmoor's south moor. The West Dart River flows by Hexworthy on its way to meet the East Dart River at Dartmeet. There are numerous sets of stepping stones on this stretch of the West Dart River. The safest crossing point is the pretty Hexworthy Bridge....
Wheal Emma Leat (Dry Channel), Hexworthy, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)
A wheal is a mine. A leat is a man-made waterway used to channel water from, say, a river down to a mine, mill or town/city. Wheal Emma Leat is the now dry channel of a leat built in 1859 that once collected water from near the source of the River Swincombe as it flows past the eastern side of Foxto...