Things To Do near Great Gnats Head
Penn Beacon, Cornwood, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 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...
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,...
Piles Valley Weir, Harford, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
We include Piles Valley Weir as a point of reference. It's at the northern end of a track/road that runs up the wetsern side of the River Erme in Piles Valley. The track/road provides decent walking access to Dartmoor's south moor and is one of the routes you can take to see the longest stone row on...
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...
Burrator Plantations, Yelverton, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
Explore the Burrator Reservoir area and at some point you'll be walking in one of the many plantations that fringe the reservoirs and extend up nearby valleys. Access/points of interest in these plantations are covered below. Peekhill Plantation. The Granite and Gears Princetown Ra...
Hart Tor, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
A high number of tors circle Princetown. Some, like Great Mis Tor, are dramatic. Others, like Little Mis Tor, are more understated. Hart Tor is one of the latter. A relatively small rocky outcrop, it sits on a spur of land between the upper section of the River Meavy and Hart Tor Brook about a mile...
Trowlesworthy Settlements, Shaugh Prior, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
The Upper Plym Valley in Dartmoor National Park is known for its concentration of Bronze Age and medieval sites. It was clearly an important and populated area. The high number of settlements are recorded on the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL28 'Dartmoor' map. There are some fine examples of settlement...
Hart Tor Stone Rows, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
A double stone row and a single stone row run in different directions from two cairns situated side by side below Hart Tor. Stone rows and cairns occupy a strange location in a dip in the landscape by the River Meavy. The double stone row is impressive. The single stone row is less easy to see as it...
Devonport Leat Aqueduct, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
In his book 'Walking the Dartmoor Waterways', Eric Hemery writes: 'This well-known beauty spot is scarcely enhanced by the iron pipe delivering the waters of Hartor Brook into the leat, but compensation exists in the sparkling cascade on the west slope of Raddick Hill ... the water crossing the a...
River Meavy, Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
The River Meavy runs from the outskirts of Princetown to the north eastern end of Burrator Reservoir. At the southern end of the reservoir, it resumes its course past the village Meavy towards the River Plym. The combined river flows through Plym Valley to Plymouth and Plymouth Sound. If you look...
Eastern White Barrow, South Brent, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
This is arguably the most distinctive barrow in Dartmoor National Park. Many barrows are larger. None has such an exaggerated shape. The views from the top are immense. It's also relatively easy to get to. We've positioned Eastern White Barrow on Google maps. Zoom in on the 'Satellite' setting to...
Stalldown Stone Row, Cornwood, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
Many people think this is the most impressive stone row in Dartmoor National Park. Its giant stones can be seen from miles around. If you didn't know they were there, from afar, you'd assume they were a long line of people wandering to or from the heart of Dartmoor's south moor. These days, the...
Sheepstor St Leonard Church, Sheepstor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 3 miles away)
According to the Devon Historic Churches Trust, 'there has been a church on this site since the early thirteenth century. The present building dates from the 1450s'. Refer to their site for more information. There's also a more detailed PDF outlining the history of the church on the West Dartmo...
Abbot's Way, Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
The Abbot's Way is marked, in part, on the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL28 'Dartmoor' map. You can follow the path marked Abbot's Way on that OS map from the moor just west of Buckfastleigh across Dartmoor's south plateau to the Plym Ford area. After that, you can continue to Tavistock. The Ab...
Trowlesworthy Stone Row (East), Shaugh Prior, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
There are a couple of stone rows situated below the Trowlesworthy Tors on the south western border of Dartmor National Park. The western stone row runs east/west. The eastern row runs pretty much north/south. The eastern row is more impressive and is topped by a circle of stones and bisected by...