Things To Do near Vale Down
Swincombe Reservoir, Hexworthy, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 11 miles away)
Most Dartmoor reservoirs are large, impressive and reasonably easily accessible. Swincombe Reservoir is small and fenced off from the public. The moorland around the reservoir is flat, boggy and tussocky. Whilst there's a metal bridge at the eastern end of the reservoir, it's closed to the public so...
Burrator Arboretum and Nature Reserve, Yelverton, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 11 miles away)
An information board on site reads: 'The Burrator Arboretum was created following the storms in the late 1980s, as a collection of native and non native specimens. One of its primary functions is to provide easy access to reservoir visitors who may struggle to explore other areas of the site.'
Best Chagford Walks, Chagford, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 11 miles away)
Chagford Chagford sits below Meldon Hill. The views from up top are magnificent. Yomp up the hill from the centre of town or try the Meldon Hill Circular Walk. It's a short walk from Chagford to the stunning Teign Gorge. Follow the Two Moors Way by the River Teign to the mouth of the gorge. Ca...
Tamar Trails Horse Riding, Tavistock, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 11 miles away)
If you enjoy riding in and around Dartmoor's wooded valleys then we'd also recommend a day out at Tamar Trails on the Devon/Cornwall border just west of Dartmoor. There are a number of off-road multi-use trails open to horse riders. These wind their way through a section of the extraordinari...
Swincombe Bridge (Swincombe Fairy Bridge/Swincombe Ford Bridge), Hexworthy, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 11 miles away)
The River Swincombe rises on the edge of Dartmoor's south plateau. It flows into Foxtor Mires where it meets Strane River at Headweir Ford. From there, it picks up speed and tumbles through a very pretty valley to a reservoir. Downstream of the reservoir, by the ruined buildings at Swincombe, is the...
Hutchinson's Cross/Devonport Leat Cross, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 11 miles away)
In his 'Walking The Dartmoor Waterways: A guide to retracing the leats and canals of the Dartmoor country', Eric Hemery writes: 'Above the right bank [of the Devonport Leat] stands a modern granite cross erected in 1968 by Lieutenant Commander B. Hutchinson of Stoke Fleming, in memory of his moth...
Burrator Discovery Centre, Yelverton, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 11 miles away)
If you're visiting the Burrator Reservoir area, we'd recommend popping into the Burrator Discovery Centre first. It provides a great introduction to the local area, its history and attractions. There's information about the construction of the reservoir and its two dams in addition to the Princetown...
Grimspound (English Heritage), Postbridge, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 11 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...
River Swincombe, Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 11 miles away)
By Dartmoor standards, this is a short river that rises on the edge of the National Park's south plateau and meets the West Dart River in Dartmoor's central bowl near Hexworthy. The river rises at Swincombe Head above what the Harvey British Mountain Map 'Dartmoor' map refers to as Suns...
Foxtor Mires, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 11 miles away)
There are some places on Dartmoor that are best avoided. Raybarrow Pool by Cosdon Hill on the north moor is a dangerous place. Down on the edge of the National Park's south plateau, Foxtor Mires is another. Said to have been the inspiration for Grimpen Mire in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Hound of...
Swincombe Headweir Ford, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 11 miles away)
The River Swincombe and Strane River (having been fed by Nun's Cross Brook) meet at the eastern end of Foxtor Mires near the beginning of the old Wheal Emma Leat (Dry Channel). Just before they meet, there are two fords spanning each waterway. After a spell of dry weather, the ford across th...
Down Tor Stone Row (Hingston Hill Stone Row), Princetown, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 11 miles away)
This is arguably the most extraordinary stone row on Dartmoor. Whilst Stall Moor Stone Row is the longest in the world and Stalldown Stone Row has the tallest collection of stones, for sheer presence it's hard to beat Down Tor Stone Row (Hingston Hill Stone Row). This is essential visiting when...
Burrator Reservoir, Yelverton, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 11 miles away)
Stunning reservoir fringed by plantations and tors in the south west section of Dartmoor National Park Burrator Reservoir, or Burrator, is an exceptionally popular Dartmoor beauty spot in the south west section of the National Park. It sits below the busy B3212 between Princetown and Yelverton....
Wheal Emma Leat (Dry Channel), Hexworthy, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 11 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...
Longstone Manor (Ruins), Sheepstor, Dartmoor National Park (approx. 11 miles away)
An information board on site reads: 'These are the ruins of the manor house at Longstone, the ancestral home of the Elford family, who were Lords of the Manor and Free Hamlet of Sheepstor and lived here until the middle of the 18th century. It has been suggested that much of the present building...