Things To Do near Tamar Trails Cycling
River Taw, Belstone, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 17 miles away)
For anyone who loves the poetry of Ted Hughes, the River Taw should be a very special place. Near Taw Head, where the river rises, is a simple granite memorial stone to the Poet Laureate. Sunk into a mound on the west bank of the river, a visit to the memorial stone on a walk from Belstone is a grea...
Two Barrows, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 17 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. 17 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. 17 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. 17 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...
Broad Barrow, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 17 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...
Gidleigh Park (North/South Park), Gidleigh, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 17 miles away)
Gidleigh Park Hotel is widely recognised as being one of the best hotels in the UK. It's located in beautiful, wooded landscape on the fringe of the high moors near the Dartmoor National Park gateway town Chagford. The woodland is called Gidleigh Park and a section of the Mariners' Way runs through...
Hameldown Beacon, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 17 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. Hameldown Beacon is, roughly spe...
Spitchwick (Deeper Marsh/Spitchwick Common), Buckland in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 17 miles away)
Wild swimming/picnic and walking On maps, Spitchwick is usually marked as Deeper Marsh/Spitchwick Common. Most people, however, refer to the area as Spitchwick. There are a small number of places in Dartmoor National Park that can get exceptionally crowded. Spitchwick is one of...
Hamel Down, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 17 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...
Blackadon Local Nature Reserve, Poundsgate, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 17 miles away)
Blackadon is a wonderful but relatively undervisited local nature reserve on Dartmoor If you look at Ordnance Survey Explorer mapping, you’ll see a strip of open access moor and heavily wooded valley to the west of the River Webburn. This is Blackadon Local Nature Reserve. Topped by a tor,...
Gidleigh Tor, Gidleigh, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 17 miles away)
One for the Dartmoor tor bagger, Gidleigh Tor is a small rocky outcrop situated between Scorhill Gorge and Gidleigh near the edge of the National Park's north moor. If you're walking a section of the Mariner's Way, it's a nice place to stop for a rest. There's also room for a car or two by the path...
Shapley Tor, Moretonhampstead, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 17 miles away)
Some Dartmoor tors are big and dramatic stacks of granite that command the surrounding landscape. Others are small and rather unassuming. Shapley Tor is among the latter. A scatter of granite towards the top of Shapley Common, it's one of those tors you tend to pass through on your way to another...
Shapley Common, Moretonhampstead, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 17 miles away)
The B3212 rises gently from Moretonhampstead past the Miniature Pony Centre and the luxury Bovey Castle Hotel to the high moors. Where the road meets moor, above Lettaford, is a popular viewpoint. There's a spacious car park, ice cream van in the holiday season and you can usually find ponies in the...
Throwleigh Common, Throwleigh, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 17 miles away)
Throwleigh is a village on the edge of Dartmoor National Park's north moor. Throwleigh Common is the name given to the moorland that rises above the village. Village and moor are separated by a narrow road. A rocky outcrop called Shilstone Tor is a great starting point from which to explore Throw...