Things To Do near Babeny
Tunhill Rocks, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
Tunhill Rocks is the most dramatic tor on Blackslade Down. A jumble of giant, rocky outcrops located on moorland that drops down reasonably steeply to farmland and hamlets south of Widecombe-in-the-Moor, Tunhill Rocks is just south west of Pil Tor. The prehistoric barrow Wittaburrow is a short strol...
Avon Head, Hexworthy, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
Avon Head, or Aune Head, is situated on the north western flank of Ryder's Hill. Ryder's Hill is the highest point on Dartmoor's south moor. The headwaters are surrounded by Avon Head Mires so the specific area is best avoided. That said, an ancient track called the Sandy Way runs north of Avon Head...
Wheal Emma Leat (Dry Channel), Hexworthy, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
A wheal is a mine. A leat is a man-made waterway used to channel water from, say, a river down to a mine, mill or town/city. Wheal Emma Leat is the now dry channel of a leat built in 1859 that once collected water from near the source of the River Swincombe as it flows past the eastern side of Foxto...
Water Hill, Postbridge, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
The B3212 is Dartmoor's main trans-moorland road. The Warren House Inn is located on this road looking out across spectacular moorland to Headland Warren, Birch Tor, English Heritage's Grimspound and Hamel Down. Given these beautiful views, most people walk in this direction. However, the pub sits b...
East Webburn River Valley, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
Widecombe-in-the-Moor is located towards the middle of the East Webburn River Valley. As a consequence, the valley is one of the most visited in the National Park. The upper section of the valley is dominated by Hamel Down. The lower section is heavily wooded where the East Webburn River meets th...
King's Oven, Postbridge, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
One of Dartmoor's many curious place names, the Dartmoor expert William Crossing states that' we shall hardly be wrong in supposing that [the name King's Oven] was derived not from being a furnace connected with tinworks belonging to Henry III., but to a much earlier king, for there cannot be a doub...
Wittaburrow, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
In his excellent 'The Field Archaeology of Dartmoor', Phil Newman notes that 'the term 'barrow' may be defined as a mound of earth or stone, usually covering one or more inhumations or cremations. On Dartmoor, where the majority of these monuments are constructed mostly from ston...
Wistman's Wood Circular Walk, Two Bridges, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
There's (limited) parking by the disused quarry near Two Bridges. This is marked on the Ordnance Survey OL28 Dartmoor map. Start here. Head north up the well worn path to Wistman's Wood National Nature Reserve. From there, trend north east to Longaford Tor. From this large and rocky tor, there ar...
The Devil's Playing Cards/The Ace Fields, Postbridge, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
According to the Dartmoor expert William Crossing, 'Jan Reynolds once entered into a compact with a stranger, who turned out to be the Prince of Darkness, and failing to keep it became his victim. Seven years after the meeting Jan was discovered indulging in a nap in Widecombe Church on a Sunday...
Ryder's Hill, Dartmeet, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
Dartmoor National Park consists of two high moorland plateaus separated by a central dip and fringed by stunning wooded valleys. High Willhays is the highest point on the north plateau. Ryder's Hill is the highest point on the south plateau. Ryder's Hill is a shallow dome of moorland near the sou...
Grey Wethers and Blue Jug, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
'The stream on the eastern side of the hill forms the boundary between the common lands of Manaton and Widecombe, and this is drawn from its head to Hameldon Cross, the space between the two being marked by a couple of bondstones, the lower one being called Blue Jug, and the other the Grey Wethe...
Crock of Gold, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
The Crock of Gold is a cairn circle and cist by Conchies Road roughly a mile and a half east of Princetown. One of Dartmoor's most famous cists with, arguably, the most evocative name, the Crock of Gold burial site is very easily accessible on foot. A crock is an earthenware pot or jar. Pres...
Longaford Tor, Two Bridges, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
Longaford Tor is a big, impressive rocky outcrop that rises above Wistman's Wood National Nature Reserve on the edge of Dartmoor National Park's high north plateau. The views from Longaford Tor are spectacular so, given that the tor is very easily accessible, we'd very much recommend visiting. The t...
Hameldown Tor, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 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...
Foxtor Farm, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 4 miles away)
Foxtor Farm is a collection of ruined buildings and enclosures east of the infamous Foxtor Mires. Fox Tor, a series of rocky outcrops on the edge of Dartmoor's south plateau, is to the south. Today, the farm ruins are in a remote and quiet area of the National Park. On the route of ancient paths and...