Things To Do in Dartmoor
Scorhill Gorge, Chagford, Dartmoor National Park
Dartmoor National Park is fringed by some of the UK's best wooded valleys (often referred to as cleaves) and gorges cut by rivers that flow down from the high moors to the coast. Many of these valleys and gorges are classed as access land which means you can follow many paths within them. Others, li...
Drizzle Combe Stone Rows, Sheepstor, Dartmoor National Park
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...
Wooston Castle Hillfort, Drewsteignton, Dartmoor National Park
Look at the location of Wooston Castle Hillfort on the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL28 'Dartmoor' map and you'll see that it appears to occupy a strange site in woodland about half way up a valley wall in Fingle Woods (National Trust/Woodland Trust). Visit and you'll be rewarded with exceptional views...
Gidleigh Castle (Landmark Only), Gidleigh, Dartmoor National Park
An information leaflet from the church next door to the castle reads: 'Gidleigh Castle dates from about 1324 and was built over an earlier castle by William le Prouz, a powerful knight and overlord in the district. It was never a true castle in the military sense, but rather a fortified manor hou...
Upper Plym Valley (English Heritage), Sheepstor, Dartmoor National Park
The English Heritage Handbook states that the Upper Plym Valley has 'some 300 Bronze Age and medieval sites, covering 6 square miles of Dartmoor landscape'. Roughly speaking, these sites can be found on the moor between Plym Head and Cadover Bridge. Between these two points of interest, the...
Clifford Bridge, Dunsford, Dartmoor National Park
Clifford Bridge spans the River Teign in, roughly speaking, the middle of Fingle Woods in the north eastern section of Dartmoor National Park. As such, we've split this listing into two sections outlining points of interest and things to do on either side of the bridge. First, its location. We've...
Wray Cleave Bluebell Walk, Moretonhampstead, Dartmoor National Park
Grab a copy of the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL28 'Dartmoor' map. Follow the Wray Valley south east of Moretonhampstead and you'll see Pepperdon Down above Steward Wood, Wray Barton and Wray Cleave. There's limited parking available at the top of Pepperdon Down along the side of the road. Start...
Drizzle Combe (Drizzlecombe), Sheepstor, Dartmoor National Park
Drizzle Combe is a short valley in the southern section of the Dartmoor National Park. It's situated between Burrator Reservoir and the high south moor. Cut by a brook, the area is known for its prehistoric sites and is part of the Upper Plym Valley (English Heritage). In his book 'High Dartmoo...
Meldon Woods, Okehampton, Dartmoor National Park
Meldon is a hamlet near Okehampton on the north west border of Dartmoor National Park. The local reservoir, viaduct and quarry are named after the hamlet. So too is a stretch of woodland through which the West Okement River flows. It's a beautiful place full of wildlife, flowers and local history. M...
Gidleigh Tor, Gidleigh, Dartmoor National Park
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...
Meldon Quarry, Okehampton, Dartmoor National Park
Spend time on Dartmoor and you'll come across a high number of disused quarries. Meldon Quarry near Okehampton was mothballed during the Great Recession triggered by the collapse of financial markets in 2007/8. The quarry provides ballast for railway trackbeds. It's private property so sta...
Gidleigh Holy Trinity Church, Gidleigh, Dartmoor National Park
The north and eastern fringes of Dartmoor's north moor are lined with villages and hamlets and their churches. Moving clockwise, the towers of Belstone, South Tawton, Throwleigh and then Gidleigh churches rise against the backdrop of high moorland. Gidleigh Holy Trinity Church is...
Ryder's Hill, Dartmeet, Dartmoor National Park
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...
Meldon Aplite Quarries, Okehampton, Dartmoor National Park
A local information board reads: 'These small quarries expose one of south-west England's most famous rocks - the Meldon Aplite. This rock forms a wide, steep-sided vein which crosses the Red-a-ven Brook and has been worked in two quarries, a small northern quarry and a large southern quarry ......
Red Lake Railway (Dismantled)/Puffing Billy Track, Harford, Dartmoor National Park
Red Lake Railway transported workers and equipment from Bittaford and the Ivybridge area to Red Lake China Clay Works. It carried back waste material to be used as fertiliser. Built between 1910 and 1912, the remaining trackbed is now a long but solid path that takes you into the heart of Dartmoo...