History & Heritage in Dartmoor National Park
Lydford Castle (English Heritage), Lydford, Dartmoor National Park
Lydford Castle is an English Heritage property at the heart of a beautiful and historically important village on the western border of Dartmoor National Park. According to English Heritage, 'Lydford Castle was probably built about 1195 to serve as a prison'. During the medieval period, conditions at...
Hemsworthy Gate, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park
We include Hemsworthy Gate on 'Holiday in Dartmoor' as a reference point. As is the case with Nun's Cross Farm and Batworthy Corner, it's a great starting point from which to discover Dartmoor's landscape and history. There's a small car parking area and paths run off in all...
Widecombe St Pancras Church, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park
The 'Cathedral of the Moor'. In East Dartmoor, and dominating the popular moorland village of Widecombe in the Moor, Widecombe St Pancras Church dates from the 1300s. Wallboards within the church tell a story of a fire-ball passing through the church and killing four people as a result of a light...
Wittaburrow, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park
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...
Cullever Steps, Belstone, Dartmoor National Park
The highest ground in southern England rises in Dartmoor National Park. It rains. As a consequence, many of South West England's most famous rivers have their headwaters on this high ground and then flow down to the coast. Clearly, these rivers need to be crossed. Whilst Dartmoor's striking...
Henry's Ford, Belstone, Dartmoor National Park
There are lots of fords on the East Okement River and River Taw on either side of the broad ridge on which Belstone Tors and Oke Tor sit. Located by East Okement Farm, Henry's Ford is the one you're least likely to cross when out exploring Dartmoor's north moor. We've positioned Henry's Ford on G...
Broad Barrow, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park
Numerous cairns and barrows run along the spine of the vast Hamel Down. Broad Barrow sits on the highest ground 532 metres above sea level. The views up top are awesome. It's a particularly impressive place when the heather and gorse flower purple and yellow in early Autumn. A barrow is a mound o...
Single Barrow, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park
The Dartmoor expert William Crossing writes 'this tumulus was opened in 1873 by the late Mr. C. Spence Bate, and was found to consist of earth with the exception of a low hedge of stones which encircled it, and a low cairn in the centre. About six feet from the latter a small heap of burnt human...
Lanehead, Mary Tavy, Dartmoor National Park
Lanehead is a car parking area on the western side of Dartmoor. Just up the road from Mary Tavy, Lanehead provides excellent access to some of the best tors and high moorland in this section of the National Park. It's also by the stunning Tavy Cleave. We include Lanehead on this site as a point of r...
Two Barrows, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park
There's a display cabinet in Postbridge National Park Visitor Centre which contains a replica of the Hameldon Dagger or Hamel Down Dagger. The display reads: 'Hameldon dagger. In 1872 the original dagger was found with a burial of burnt human bones in a cairn or barrow at Hameldon. It cons...
Postbridge Clapper Bridge, Postbridge, Dartmoor National Park
Perhaps Dartmoor's most famous and most visited clapper bridge, the Postbridge Clapper Bridge spans the East Dart River in the heart of Dartmoor National Park close to Bellever Forest and Bellever Tor. The B3212 cuts across Dartmoor from Moretonhampstead to Princetown. At Postbridge, the road bri...
Grey Wethers and Blue Jug, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park
'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...
Berry Pound, Widecombe in the Moor, Dartmoor National Park
'On the Widecombe side of the little stream, which runs through a hollow, is the enclosure known as Berry Pound ... The area covered is very much smaller than that occupied by Grim's Pound, and the vallum is low and not of great width'.
Challacombe Medieval Strip Fields, Postbridge, Dartmoor National Park
Stand at English Heritage's Grimspound or Hookney Tor and look south west and you'll see weathered strips of farmland on the side of a steep hill. These are Challacombe Medieval Strip Fields. A local information board states that 'the narrow strip fields (lynchets) which you can see running...
Three Barrows, Harford, Dartmoor National Park
In the south of Dartmoor National Park and just off the Two Moors Way. At 461m, it's the highest point in this section of the Park and offers superb panoramic views. The walk from the car park just east of Harford is straightforward.