Things To Do near Down Tor
River Plym, Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
The River Plym rises at Plym Head on Dartmoor's south moor. Plym Head is close to Ducks' Pool and the William Crossing Memorial Stone/Monument on Crane Hill. The moorland forming Crane Hill is surprisingly easy to walk given the number of mires and headwaters in the general area. From Plym Head,...
Princetown St Michael & All Angels Church, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
The beginning of the 19th century saw French and American prisoners of war arrive at Dartmoor Prison. Between 1810 and 1814, these prisoners of war built Princetown St Michael & All Angels Church. After decades of hard weather, the fabric of the building fell into a bad state of repair...
The Royal Oak Inn, Meavy, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
Great pub location This is one of Dartmoor's great pub locations. The Warren House Inn is on high moorland. Fingle Bridge Inn is in a classic Dartmoor steep-sided valley. The Royal Oak Inn is in a picture-postcard village by the village green. Highly recommended when on holiday in Dartmoor Nation...
Swincombe Headweir Ford, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 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...
Fox Tor, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
In comparison to the larger north moor, the National Park's south moor has relatively few tors. One of the most impressive is Fox Tor. Situated on the edge of Dartmoor's south plateau, overlooking the infamous Foxtor Mires to which the tor gave its name, Fox Tor provides magnificent views over Da...
River Swincombe, Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 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...
Childe's Tomb and Cross, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
Who was Childe? Whilst hunting on Dartmoor, Childe was overwhelmed by a snowstorm. To survive, he killed his horse, disembowelled it and then climbed inside for shelter. The snowstorm continued and Childe froze to death. Upon the event of his death, it became known that he'd leave his lands at Plyms...
Black Lane Peat Pass, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
The name Black Lane Peat Pass suggests a tidy, sunken road with high, black peat walls offering easy passage through difficult terrain. Whilst this might once have been the case, and there are still such peat passes on the north moor, if you walk Black Lane Peat Pass today you'll expe...
Dartmoor Prison, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
Drive the B3212 from Two Bridges to Princetown and you come to a lay-by offering views of the formidable Dartmoor Prison. Today, it's a prison housing low risk inmates. At the beginning of the 19th century, it was built to house French and American prisoners of war. During the Napoleonic Wars, Fr...
Conchies Road, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
During WW1, many Conscientious Objectors were housed in Dartmoor Prison. In this time, they built what is know locally as 'Conchies Road' which runs from the Tor Royal area just east of Princetown across the moors towards Swincombe Bridge. The road stops about half way between these points. Roughly...
Shavercombe Head, Sheepstor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
Langcombe Hill is a huge, flat area of moorland on Dartmoor's high south moor. Many rivers and brooks rises on its flanks. Erme Head is to the north. Yealm Head is to the south. Shavercombe Head is to the west. From its headwaters, Shavercombe Brook runs down to Shavercombe Waterfall and Shaverco...
Dartmoor Prison Museum, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
Two of the most grim yet fascinating visitor attractions in the Westcountry can be found on its high moors. On Bodmin is Bodmin Jail. On Dartmoor is Dartmoor Prison Museum. Dartmoor Prison dominates Princetown. Just up the road from the prison's famous main entrance, in a building that was once t...
Ducks' Pool, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
Dartmoor has a north and south plateau separated by a central bowl. Both high plateaus have iconic and remote pools and letterboxes that attract high numbers of Dartmoor enthusiasts. The north's most famous pool is Cranmere Pool with its letterbox. The south's most famous is Duck...
William Crossing Memorial Stone/Monument, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
At Ducks' Pool, in a remote section of Dartmoor's south plateau, are a letterbox and monument to the celebrated Dartmoor author William Crossing. A plaque reads: 'IN MEMORY OF WILLIAM CROSSING. AUTHOR OF MANY INSPIRING BOOKS ON DARTMOOR WHOSE GUIDE IS A SOURCE OF INVALUABLE INFORMA...
North Hessary Tor and Radio Mast, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
Princetown sits below a high dome of moorland. At 517m above sea level, this dome is topped with a giant radio mast and a trig point on a rocky outcrop. These are North Hessary Tor and Radio Mast. The views from the trig point are huge and it's a short, sharp walk from Princetown so we'd ver...