Dartmoor, Devon

Dartmoor is a granite plateau in the middle of Devon, reaching 621 metres at High Willhays, the highest point in southern England. Most of the National Park is open moorland: heather and bilberry, bog cotton, ancient stone crosses marking medieval track routes, and the distinctive rocky outcrops called tors (about 160 of them, each unique) that punctuate the skyline. The weather changes quickly and fog can reduce visibility to near-zero without much warning. It is not a gentle landscape, which is precisely what makes it worth visiting.

Dartmoor is also the only place in England where you can legally wild camp without prior permission – though rules apply and a few areas are off limits.

Walking

The moor rewards walking more than any other activity. For a significant single day walk, the high moor between Haytor and Hound Tor (about 8 miles round trip) is one of the most varied routes, passing through the ruined medieval village at Hound Tor and the granite quarry that produced much of London’s 19th-century kerbstones. The view southwest toward the coast is good on clear days.

Postbridge, in the centre of the moor, has a well-preserved 13th-century clapper bridge (flat slabs of granite across granite piers) and access north onto the higher ground. The walk to Wistman’s Wood from Two Bridges (3.5 miles round trip, boggy in wet weather) passes through open moorland to a remnant of ancient oak woodland draped in moss and lichen – one of three high-altitude oak woods on Dartmoor, thought to date back around 7,000 years. One of the most atmospheric places on the moor.

Grimspound, a Bronze Age village enclosure 15 minutes’ walk from the Moretonhampstead-Tavistock road, is the best-preserved prehistoric settlement on the moor and rarely crowded.

For navigation: the OS Explorer map OL28 (Dartmoor) is essential. Phone signal is unreliable across most of the moor.

The Tors

Hay Tor is the most accessible, visible from a large car park on the B3387 with a short walk to the summit rocks – popular and busy on summer weekends. Hound Tor requires more of a walk (1.5 miles from the car park) and has the medieval village ruins below it. Views from any of the high tors on a clear day extend toward both coasts.

The Ponies

The small, sturdy Dartmoor ponies have been on the moor for centuries and are key to maintaining the heathland through grazing. They are not domesticated. Do not feed them, do not approach them closely. The dark and bright patches of moorland reflect where they have grazed and where they have not.

Eating and Staying

The Warren House Inn on the B3212 between Postbridge and Moretonhampstead, at nearly 1,400 feet, claims to have kept its fire burning continuously since 1845. It serves hot food and beer and is a reliable stop in genuinely exposed conditions.

The Dartmoor Inn at Lydford does creative Devonian food at around £20-28 for a main course. Lydford itself is worth visiting for the gorge (National Trust, £12) and the ruined castle.

Accommodation within the Park: hotels and B&Bs in the market towns and villages. Okehampton and Ashburton both have options at £80-150 per night. National Park-approved campsites are scattered across the moor.

Getting There

Exeter by rail from London Paddington takes about 2 hours, then hire a car. Buses from Exeter and Plymouth reach Princetown, Moretonhampstead, and other moor towns but services are infrequent. A car is strongly recommended.