Things To Do near Down Ridge

Hart Tor Stone Rows, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 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...

Drizzle Combe Settlements, Sheepstor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)

Look at the Upper Plym Valley area (follow the River Plym upstream from Cadover Bridge to Plym Head) on the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL28 'Dartmoor' map and you'll see a high number of settlements. By Drizzle Combe, there are the remains of a large settlement at Whittenknowles Rocks a...

Down Tor, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)

Down Tor is a beautiful cluster of outcrops relatively close to the eastern end of Burrator Reservoir and Norsworthy Bridge. It offers 360 degree views of Dartmoor's western tors, south moor and sublime Burrator Reservoir. Down Tor Stone Row (Hingston Hill Stone Row), which is one of the National Pa...

Ditsworthy Warren, Sheepstor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)

Study a map of Dartmoor and you'll see plenty of names with the word 'warren' in them. Perhaps the most well-known example is Headland Warren by The Warren House Inn in the heart of the National Park. Another is Ditsworthy Warren in the Upper Plym Valley in the southern section of Dartmoor. Warre...

Wistman's Wood Weir, Two Bridges, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)

There's a weir north of Wistman's Wood National Nature Reserve on the fringe of Dartmoor's north plateau. Given that Wistman's Wood and Wistman's Wood Ford are both relatively close by, we've named this Wistman's Wood Weir for ease of reference when walking in the area. T...

Stall Moor Stone Row, Cornwood, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)

Stall Moor Stone Row is said to be the longest stone row in the world. Roughly speaking, it runs north/south in the heart of Dartmoor's south moor. About 3.4 kilometres/2.1 miles long, it's an extraordinary sight. There's an impressive stone circle called The Dancers at the southern e...

Dartmoor Live Firing, Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)

If you see one of these flags then the army are using the area for live firing. You'll hear the gunfire well before you see red flags but, still, do look out for them. They're positioned on the highest ground so you can't miss them. Dartmoor has three army ranges: Okehampton, Wilsworthy and Merri...

River Meavy, Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 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...

Drizzle Combe Stone Rows, Sheepstor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)

In his superb 'The Field Archaeoogy of Dartmoor', Phil Newman writes: 'The majority of menhirs are associated with stone rows, forming the terminals at one end of the row. These may have existed before the rows were added or were erected as a deliberate element of the row. The three stone rows at...

North Hessary Tor and Radio Mast, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 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...

Drizzle Combe Giant's Basin, Sheepstor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)

In 'High Dartmoor', Eric Hemery wrote: 'The huge despoiled cairn near the barrow heading the southernmost row is known as Giants Basin [sic]; Bill Pengelly told me that many of its stones were taken by Ditsworthy warreners for constructing their rabbit-buries.'

Stall Moor The Dancers Stone Circle, Cornwood, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)

Travel around the Westcountry and you'll come across plenty of stone circles named after dancers who were turned to stone. For example, the Nine Maidens Stone Circle is up on Dartmoor's north moor close to the village Belstone. Stall Moor The Dancers Stone Circle is on the south moor at the southern...

Wistman's Wood Ford, Two Bridges, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)

Wistman's Wood is an extraordinary National Nature Reserve located in a valley cut by the West Dart River on the egde of Dartmoor's high north plateau. Wistman's Wood Ford is a place where you can, in good conditions, cross the West Dart River. The ford is roughly one kilometre north of...

Black Tor (West Dartmoor), Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)

There are lots of tors and hills named 'Black' on Dartmoor. The Black Tor in the western section of the National Park is situated by the B3212. There's a small car parking area by the road here. Visit Black Tor Stone Row and Hart Tor Stone Rows whilst you are there. We've positioned Black Tor (We...

Holming Beam Bridge, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 5 miles away)

There's a car parking area at Holming Beam offering access to the Merrivale Range area of Dartmoor National Park. This is a British Army firing range but it's open to the public for large chunks of the year. The car parking area is above a beautiful valley cut by the River Cowsic as it fl...