Outdoors & Nature in Dartmoor National Park
Longstone Hill, Okehampton, Dartmoor National Park
Stand at Meldon Reservoir Dam looking south west at Dartmoor's highest ground and you'll see a shoulder of moorland in front of you. This is Longstone Hill. A grass path climbs steeply from the dam to the broad, flat summit of the hill. From there, very obvious army tracks lead you up to...
Kestor Rock and Middle Tor Rock Basins, Chagford, Dartmoor National Park
Across Dartmoor, you'll find plenty of basins worn into the flat granite surfaces of tors. These are referred to as rock basins. Some of the best examples can be found in the northern section of Chagford Common. They look like miniature paddling pools that have been carved and polished into the rock...
South Hessary Tor, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park
One of Dartmoor's most distinctive landmarks is the radio mast that rises north west of Princetown. North Hessary Tor and its trig point are situated next to the mast. At 517m above sea level and the highest point in the immediate vicinity of Princetown, North Hessary Tor provides big and impressive...
Red-a-ven Brook Valley, Okehampton, Dartmoor National Park
Stand on top of Yes Tor looking north west to Meldon Viaduct and you'll see a beautiful steep-sided valley cut by a brook. This is Red-a-ven Brook Valley. The valley stretches from the ford at Red-a-ven Brook below Black Down all the way down to Meldon Aplite Quarries where it meets and wider and bi...
Devonport Leat, Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park
Devonport Leat is arguably the most impressive leat on Dartmoor and the one you're most likely to walk along or cross if you're exploring the National Park in depth. The leat has multiple headweirs and winds its way from its most northerly point on Dartmoor's north moor to the south western border o...
Okehampton Common, Okehampton, Dartmoor National Park
According to Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA), 'common land covers about 37% of the Dartmoor National Park'. Okehampton Common covers the high ground above Okehampton in the north western section of the National Park. Roughly speaking, Okehampton Common runs from Okehampton Camp past Yes Tor...
Dartmoor Way Walking Route, Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park
The Dartmoor Way's one of Devon's long distance footpaths. About 90m/140km in length, it's a circular walk that takes in many of the National Park's major towns. If you look at a summary map of Dartmoor, the footpath runs around the outskirts of the west and north and east of the Park. It cuts ac...
West Dart River, Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park
Dartmouth is one of the UK's most beautiful towns. Strung out along a steep-sided bank of the Dart Estuary where the river meets the South Devon coast, the town is packed with domestic and international tourists. Follow the river up to its two sources at the West Dart Head and East Dart Head on...
Newleycombe Cross, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park
A lake on Dartmoor is a stream or brook. Newleycombe Lake is a stream running down to Burrator Reservoir. It cuts a valley that was also shaped by the tin mining industry. The valley is lined with prehistoric and medieval attractions including the extraordinary Down Tor Stone Row (Hingston Hill Sone...
Black Down, Okehampton, Dartmoor National Park
Black Down is on the edge of open access moorland below the highest ground in Dartmoor National Park and southern England. Yes Tor and High Willhays rise to the south. The British Army's Okehampton Camp sprawls out across private land to the north and north east. The down is criss-crossed by army tr...
Crazy Well Cross, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park
The Buckfast to Tavistock Monastic Route runs between Buckfast Abbey and Tavistock Abbey. It passes over high moor and is lined with crosses. Where high moor descends to the Burrator Reservoir area are a number of crosses including Crazy Well Cross. It's named after nearby Crazy Well Pool. We've...
Meavy Head, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park
The River Meavy rises on the outskirts of Princetown by the old Princetown Railway (Princetown to Yelverton Railway Dismantled) below North Hessary Tor and Radio Mast. The B3212 Princetown to Yelverton road cuts across the headwaters at Devil's Bridge. Meavy Head is unusual for Dartmo...
Wistman's Wood National Nature Reserve, Two Bridges, Dartmoor National Park
Rare, high altitude oak woodland Piles Copse, Black-a-Tor Copse and Wistman's Wood are rare, high altitude oak woodlands in Dartmoor National Park. Piles Copse is situated towards the southern border of Dartmoor near the village Harford. Black-a-Tor Copse is situated below Dartmoor's highest g...
Crazy Well Pool, Princetown, Dartmoor National Park
Popular with wild swimmers, Crazy Well Pool is a large, deep pit filled with water. The pit was created by tin miners. A gert, or valley cut by miners, runs south of the pool. Crazy Well Cross is to the east and is on the Buckfast to Tavistock Monastic Route. The Granite and Gears Princetown an...
Merrivale (English Heritage), Merrivale, Dartmoor National Park
If time's restricted and you want to discover Dartmoor's internationally important prehistory then head for Merrivale. Stone rows, cairns, hut circles, cists, a standing stone and a stone circle are packed into a small area of moorland between Princetown and Tavistock on the western side of Dartmoor...