Dartmoor

A granite moorland national park in the heart of Devon, scattered with tors, clapper bridges, wild ponies and ancient stone circles — a top spot for walking and driving in southern England.

Dartmoor National Park lies in central Devon in south-west England. Covering about 954 km², it is the largest upland moor in southern England, bordered by Exeter to the east and Plymouth and the Torbay coast to the south. The moor is formed of uplifted granite weathered into tors on the hilltops, with heather, bracken and bogs in between. It is dotted with large numbers of prehistoric stone circles, stone rows and Bronze Age hut circles, as well as medieval tin workings, clapper bridges and stone-walled villages, while wild Dartmoor ponies, sheep and Highland cattle roam freely on the open moor. Main areas: the east, with Haytor, Hound Tor, Becky Falls and Widecombe-in-the-Moor, has the most concentrated sights and suits first-time visitors; the centre, with Postbridge, Bellever Forest, Two Bridges–Wistman's Wood, Princetown and Dartmeet, is the heart of the moor; the northern edge has Castle Drogo, Fingle Bridge and Okehampton Castle; the western edge has Lydford Gorge and the church on Brentor; and the southern edge has Buckfast Abbey and Burrator Reservoir. The best time to visit is May–Sep, with heather in bloom in Aug–Sep; the weather on the moor is changeable, often foggy and wet, and winters are cold and damp. Getting there: driving is easiest, taking about 30–45 minutes from Exeter or Plymouth to reach the moor; moorland roads are narrow with animals about and a 40 mph speed limit, and you must never feed the ponies. Public transport is scarce, with a few buses on summer weekends. Allow 2–3 days, staying in villages such as Widecombe, Postbridge, Moretonhampstead or Chagford. Walkers should carry a map and waterproofs; the northern moor contains military firing ranges, so check firing times before entering. Wild camping is legal in some areas.

Top sights

• Haytor Rocks – Dartmoor's most famous granite tors. A 10-minute walk from the car park leads to the top, with views across the Devon hills to the coast.
• Hound Tor – A jagged tor whose weathered granite pillars look like a pack of hounds. At its base are the ruins of a medieval village, which inspired Co…
• Postbridge Clapper Bridge – A medieval clapper bridge over the East Dart River, with three huge granite slabs laid across stone piers. It is Dartmoor's most photogenic…
• Wistman's Wood – An ancient grove of stunted oaks draped in moss, with twisted trunks growing among boulders. It is considered a surviving remnant of Englan…
• Widecombe-in-the-Moor – A classic moorland village in a valley, with the 'Cathedral of the Moor' tower, tearooms and old pubs, and the folk song 'Widecombe Fair'…
• Castle Drogo – A 20th-century granite castle designed by Lutyens, said to be the last castle built in England, overlooking the Teign Gorge.
• Fingle Bridge – A 16th-century packhorse bridge in the woods of the Teign Gorge, where the old pub beside it marks the classic start and end point of gorge…
• Lydford Gorge – The deepest gorge in southwest England, where the 30-metre White Lady waterfall and the swirling Devil's Cauldron rapids leave visitors ast…
• Buckfast Abbey – An abbey rebuilt by Benedictine monks with their own hands, featuring a magnificent church, stained glass and herb gardens, and known for t…
• Dartmeet – Where the East and West Dart rivers meet, with the ruins of a stone clapper bridge, boulders in the riverbed and a teahouse. It is the most…
• Princetown & Dartmoor Prison Museum – One of England's highest towns. Dartmoor Prison, built in 1809, still holds inmates today, and a prison history museum stands nearby.
• Grimspound – A late Bronze Age settlement enclosed by a ring of stone walls, with the foundations of more than twenty stone houses surviving inside. It…
• Merrivale Prehistoric Settlement – A prehistoric ritual landscape on the moor, with double rows of stones stretching hundreds of metres, plus stone circles, standing stones a…
• Burrator Reservoir – A Victorian reservoir in the southwest of the moor. Its roughly 6 km of flat lakeside path is ringed by woodland and tors, ideal for walkin…
• Church of St Michael de Rupe, Brentor – A 13th-century small church perched on top of a volcanic rock hill, one of England's most distinctive parish church silhouettes.
• Okehampton Castle – The largest Norman castle ruin in Devon, its surviving walls rising on a wooded hill. It was once the residence and hunting park of the Ear…
• Becky Falls – A waterfall that drops about 21 metres over boulders in the woods. This privately run forest park has trails and a small animal farm, makin…
• Canonteign Falls – Said to be England's tallest man-made waterfall, Lady Exmouth's Falls, about 67 metres high, drop from a cliff in the woods.
• Bellever Forest & Tor – Conifer forest and moorland tors beside the East Dart River. A woodland path leads to Bellever Tor, with views deep into the moor.
• Buckland Abbey – A 13th-century Cistercian abbey converted into a residence, where Sir Francis Drake once lived. It houses the legendary 'Drake's Drum'.

Where to eat

• Gidleigh Park – Dartmoor's most celebrated Michelin-starred restaurant, serving local and foraged ingredients in an Edwardian country h…
• The Dartmoor Inn – A family-run pub on the A386 at Lydford, listed in the Michelin Guide, with a menu that changes daily with the seasons.
• The Horse – A traditional pub in the town of Moretonhampstead, where the chef makes most dishes from scratch, with Mediterranean-in…
• Rugglestone Inn – An old stone pub just outside Widecombe, with a stream running through the garden and homemade pies that walkers love.

Itineraries

• Devon & Cornwall Coastal Loop – Departing from Exeter, loop through Dartmoor, the South and North Cornwall coasts, and Land's End.