History & Heritage in Dartmoor National Park
Skaigh Woods Tarka Bridge, Sticklepath, Dartmoor National Park
Below the hamlet Skaigh, in the middle of the valley cut by the River Taw between Belstone and Sticklepath, is Skaigh Woods Tarka Bridge. The bridge is named after Henry Williamson's 'Tarka the Otter' and is on the Tarka Trail. It's called Tarka Bridge because a short excerpt taken from Will...
West Cleave Stepping Stones, Belstone, Dartmoor National Park
There are a couple of sets of stepping stones in West Cleave along the East Okement Valley. One set is practical and runs along the side of the East Okement River in the middle of West Cleave. The other set is located in the upper section of West Cleave by Chapel Ford and its modern footbridge that...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Meldon Pool, Okehampton, Dartmoor National Park
Note that you are not allowed to wild swim here. A local information board reads: 'Meldon Pool is an old, and now flooded, limestone quarry. The site was worked from the mid 19th century to produce agricultural lime; several 18th century quarries can also be seen on the east side of the river....
Iron Bridge, Chagford, Dartmoor National Park
Iron Bridge is situated at the west end of the Teign Gorge below Hunter's Tor and the National Trust's Castle Drogo. The bridge spans the River Teign and is part of a very popular circular walking route that runs from Fingle Bridge. We include Iron Bridge as a point of reference. You'll usually find...
Fernworthy Assycombe, Chagford, Dartmoor National Park
Fernworthy Forest is a big place. It's surprisingly easy to get lost in its maze of forestry tracks and uniform conifers. As such, the forest is split into a northern and southern section. Fernworthy Assycombe is to the south and is named after Assycombe Hill that peaks at 497 metres above sea level...
Fernworthy Froggymead, Chagford, Dartmoor National Park
Fernworthy Forest is a big place. It's surprisingly easy to get lost in its maze of forestry tracks and uniform conifers. As such, the forest is split into a northern and southern section. Fernworthy Froggymead is to the north as marked on the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL28 'Dartmoor' map.
Sourton Tors Ice Works, Sourton, Dartmoor National Park
Walk the moorland around Sourton Tors when the sun is low in Winter or at the end of the day and earthworks like a sheet of corrugated iron are particularly noticeable. These earthworks were part of Sourton Ice Works or the Ice Pits. The Dartmoor expert Eric Hemery describes this venture in...
Cranmere Pool, Okehampton, Dartmoor National Park
There are a number of attractions that every Dartmoor enthusiast wants to visit. High Willhays is Dartmoor's highest point. Fur Tor is the National Park's, and southern England's, most remote location. Bowerman's Nose is its most distinctive rocky outcrop. Cranmere Pool is the site of Dartmoor's fir...