Things To Do near Shaptor Rock
Hamel Down, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 6 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...
Hookney Down, Moretonhampstead, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 6 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...
Broad Barrow, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 6 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...
Two Barrows, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 6 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...
Single Barrow, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 6 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...
Hamel Down Cross, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 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...
Hameldown Tor, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 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...
Teign Gorge and Fingle Woods to Steps Bridge Walk, Chagford, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)
You can pretty much follow the River Teign from the mouth of the Teign Gorge below the National Trust's Castle Drogo all the way east to Steps Bridge at the far end of Fingle Woods. Whilst it seems like a long way, you're walking by a river so it's reasonably flat. About 20km there and back (detours...
Best Dartmoor Views, Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)
Views from tors North. Belstone Tors and Tors End and Higher Tor to Dartmoor's high north moor. East. Rippon Tor to Haytor Rocks. Blackingstone Rock across the hills of north east Dartmoor to the high north moor. South. Sharp Tor (South Dartmoor). West. Great Links Tor dow...
The Ten Commandments Stones, Buckland in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)
Walking/attraction/views There are plenty of slabs of rock on Dartmoor into which verses and names have been carved. From the Heath Stone to the Lydford Viking Rune Stone, Datuidoc's Stone to the Ted Hughes Memorial Stone, these carved stones tell fascinating stories. The most impressive, however...
Church Way, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)
The Lichway/Lych Way is a well known and reasonably well signposted long distance walking route that runs from the heart of Dartmoor across a section of its high moorland to Lydford St Petroc's Church on the National Park's western boundary. People who lived in the heart of Dartmoor were required to...
Buckland Beacon, Buckland in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)
Many Dartmoor locals think the views from Buckland Beacon are the best in the National Park. Most views this big and special take a lot of effort to get to. Buckland Beacon is very easily accessible and a simple stroll from car parking areas along the nearby road. The Oxford English Dictionary de...
Cranbrook Castle Hillfort, Chagford, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)
The National Trust's Castle Drogo dominates the western end of the Teign Gorge. Move east through this exceptionally beautiful area of high gorge walls and steep-sided wooded valleys from the Teign Gorge into Fingle Woods and you'll be passing three other 'castles'. Dating from the Iron Age, these '...
Grimspound (English Heritage), Postbridge, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)
There are a number of amazing facts about the prehistory of Dartmoor National Park.* It has the greatest concentration of Bronze Age sites in Britain. It's home to the longest stone row in the world. It has 60% of England's stone rows. It's home to more than 5000 hut circles or ancient homes. Despit...
Prestonbury Castle Hillfort, Drewsteignton, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 7 miles away)
There are four 'castles' in the Teign Gorge/Fingle Woods area of Dartmoor National Park. The National Trust's Castle Drogo guards the mouth of the gorge. South of the River Teign, overlooking Drogo, is the Iron Age hillfort Cranbrook Castle. Downstream, towering above the Dartmoor beauty spot Fingle...