Rider's Rings, South Brent, Dartmoor National Park
Rider's Rings, or Ryder's Rings, is an ancient settlement on high moorland situated on the western lip of the Avon Dam Reservoir Valley.
We've positioned Rider's Rings on Google maps. Zoom in on the 'Satellite' setting to see its location. To visit, head for the car parking area at Shipley Bridge. Wander up the tarmac road that runs next to the River Avon. Before you come to the bridge that spans the river, you'll see a path to your left that takes you up to the Black Tor area. Wander across the moor and you'll pick up another path that leads to Rider's Rings. Alternatively, walk the first section of the Zeal Tor Tramway (Dismantled) and loop around.
The setting and views are stunning. On a clear day, you'll see the South Devon coast and sea.
In 'High Dartmoor', the Dartmoor expert Eric Hemery wrote:
'The settlement of Ryders Rings [sic], although not remote by Dartmoor standards, is far enough from a road to be little visited; it is always, for me, a place more fascinating than the much-visited Grimspound (W. Webburn), an impression enhanced by the river below in its great trough, the shining Small Brook across the valley and the long line of Smallbrook Plains rising to Dockwell Ridge with the rim of Harbourne Head beyond; Black and Shipley Tors overlook the gorge southward, while northward lies the glassy face of the reservoir backed by Brock and Grippers Hills and the valley of Brockhill Water.'
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