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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.
Parke
Bovey Tracey
Newton Abbot
Dun da Lamh (pronounced ‘doon da larve’) is a prehistoric, believed to be early Pictish, hilltop fort near Laggan in the Highlands. It sits on Black Craig, 1484 feet above sea level and 600 feet above the land below, overlooking the River Spey to the north. The fort is approximately 360 feet (110 metres) long by about 98-246 feet (30 and 75 metres) wide. Inside are shelters, believed to have been constructed by the Home Guard during WW2.
The fort’s sole defence is a stone wall, which has been cleared in places. It is constructed of fine quality stone slabs resembling bricks totalling an estimated 5000 tons which are not from the local valley. It has been skilfully made. The fort is so steep on three sides as to be impregnable and is only approachable from the west where the walls are over 20 feet thick. Dun da Lamh means ‘fort of the two hands’. The plaque on the site asks was it a frontier fortress of a great Pictish nation guarding the farmlands to the north and east; or was it something else?
Dun da Lamh can only be reached by foot and it is a strenuous walk for which you should dress appropriately and allow a couple of hours each way, depending on conditions and fitness. There are a variety of starting points, including a way-marked route from Laggan Wolftrax (as per postcode). Others suggest starting from the car park opposite the Pattack Falls Forestry Commission Car Park off the A86.
Exmoor National Park is in the north of Somerset and Devon and covers an area of 268 square miles (694 sq kilometres). The Park was established in 1954 and the highest point is Dunkery Beacon at 1702 feet (519 metres). It is a varied area of moorland, farmland, deep valleys, ancient woodland and high sea cliffs, tumbling into the Bristol Channel. Kites and kestrels wheel overhead, otters can be found in the gushing streams, while red deer and ponies roam wild. Man has left traces from prehistoric times and in the middle ages it was a royal hunting forest. Today, picturesque villages and hamlets nestle comfortably in its folds.
It is also famous for the fictional Lorna Doone, and the Beast of Exmoor – an elusive creature which, if it exists, may be some form of large wild cat, like a cougar, released or escaped from captivity.
Principal settlements in Exmoor include Lynton and Lynmouth, Dunster, Porlock and Dulverton.
Exmoor House
Dulverton
Firle Beacon is a prominent 712 foot (217m) high hill on the South Downs, overlooking Newhaven/Seaford. It is also the name given to the largest of several round barrows, dating from the late Neolithic period to the late Bronze Age (approx 2400-1500 BC). There are other prehistoric remains nearby, including a long barrow. Firle Beacon round barrow was excavated in 1820 and among the find was a burial, two cremations, a bronze pin, cup and arrowhead. The barrow was used as a signalling beacon, possibly at the time of the Armada, but certainly during the Napoleonic Wars. Legend is that a giant that once lived on Firle Hill slew a giant that lived on Windover Hill and the Long Man of Wilmington is the outline of where he fell.
There are spectacular views in all directions from the top of Firle Beacon, which includes a section of the South Down Way. The Beacon is accessible from car parks either side or via a rewarding circular walk from the village of Firle.
Nr Lewes
Flatford Mill and the area around it inspired the artist John Constable. The National Trust has a small exhibition nearby and there are waymarked walks which take in the places Constable knew, and painted. Guided tours are also available. Or you can hire a boat on the river Stour.
There is no public access to Flatford Mill or Willy Lott's House (pictured).
Foel Trigarn is a famous multivallate Iron Age hillfort and landmark in the east of the Preseli Hills. Experts have identified 3 main enclosures as well as at least 227, possibly 270, sites of Iron Age dwellings. Ditches can be clearly made out by a layman. Though Foel Trigarn is thought to have been a major centre of population, possibly the headquarters of a tribal leader, it is not considered likely that these dwelling sites were all occupied simultaneously, but over many centuries. In short, this was probably a prehistoric village. Three enormous cairns on the summit give the hill its name. These are believed to be communal Bronze Age burial mounds. Because they are believed not have been plundered, it has been concluded that those that lived on Foel Trigarn venerated their ancestors and that the hill may well have been a sacred site. Both Iron Age and Roman artefacts have been found.
Post code approximate. Access by foot only wearing suitable clothing. Parking in a layby on a nearby road.
The multivallate Iron Age hillfort of Garn Fawr on the Pencaer/Strumble Head peninsula dominates the surrounding landscape, which is peppered with prehistoric remains. At 699 feet (213m), Garn Fawr is the highest point on the peninsula and there are spectacular views from the top. The craggy terrain was formed more than 440 million years ago by intrusive vulcanicity, giving Garn Fawr a tor-like appearance. Drystone walls link rocky outcrops to form boundaries and ramparts. There is also a WW1 lookout post on the summit, from which the nearby smaller fort of Garn Fechan to the east is easily visible. There is an easy walk to the fort from a car park and a shortish circular route takes you around the landscape, past another feature, Ysgubor Caer, and an abandoned cottage that once belonged to the artist John Piper. Extend your walk to the promontory fort of Dinas Mawr.
Post code is for guidance only. Take a minor road north from Harmony to the car park.
Goodwick
Glencoe is renowned for its beauty, walking, wildlife and as the scene of the infamous Glencoe Massacre. On 13 February 1692, 38 men, women and children of the MacDonald clan were murdered by a regiment of soldiers whom they had welcomed into their homes. More died on the freezing mountainside.
Glencoe is an evocative place, made more so by various legends. It is also a well-known film location. The NTS Visitor Centre is a good place to start, provides a good general view, includes an exhibition and there are various walking trails nearby. The Visitor Centre is just off the A82, south of Glencoe village.
The Glenfinnan Monument marks the place where Prince Charles Edward Stuart, Bonnie Prince Charlie, raised his father’s standard at the head of Loch Shiel and began the 1745 Jacobite rebellion that ended in defeat at Culloden a year later. The monument was built in 1815, is 59 feet (18 metres) high and has a lone, kilted, highlander at the top. It’s a spectacular site in a spectacular location. You can climb to the top of the monument and the National Trust for Scotland has an exhibition in a visitor centre telling the story of Prince Charles Edward Stuart and the 1745 Jacobite Rising.
The location has also been used in the Harry Potter films, with the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct just to the west providing iconic shots of the fictional Hogwarts Express.
Climb above the visitor centre for the best views.
Lochaber
Golden Cap is a cliff and countryside estate on Dorset's Jurassic coast, with footpaths, views and access to the beach for fossil-hunting.
NB Particular care must be taken of tides and the high risk of cliff falls.
There are a variety of ways of getting to the estate. Stonebarrow Hill, where there is a car park and information centre with toilets and a small shop in an old radar station, is a good place to start. Post code below is approximate. From the west, go through Charmouth and take the turning on right by Stonebarrow Manor into Stonebarrow Lane. NB this is extremely narrow. Head as far as you can until you're there!
Located off the A35 between Lyme Regis and Bridport
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