DARTMOOR

Dartmoor is a place for walkers, geologists, history enthusiasts, campers – or anyone who likes being outside.  It is a sometimes mysterious, sometimes beautiful, sometimes harsh landscape, an upland area of granite heather-covered moorland.  Its most famous natural features are its tors - classic examples of exposed intrusive vulcanicity.  It also boasts wild ponies and an extraordinary number of prehistoric remains – standing stones, stone circles, rows and settlements – such as those at Grimspound and Hound Tor.  Remote Wistman’s Wood is a frankly weird oakwood, with stunted trees growing on a moss-covered landscape.  There are pretty villages too, such as Lustleigh, Widecombe in the Moor and Postbridge (with its 13th century clapper bridge).  Parts of Dartmoor are used by the armed forces for training, but there’s plenty of room for everyone else.

Dartmoor National Park in Devon was established in 1951 and covers an area of 368 square miles (953 sq kilometres).  It is an upland area of granite heather-covered moorland, completely land-locked, famous for its tors - classic examples of exposed intrusive vulcanicity.

Principal settlements in Dartmoor National Park include: Ashburton, Bovey Tracey, Buckfastleigh, Chagford and Moretonhampstead.