Dartmoor: Hound Tor, a weathered granite tor on Dartmoor, above a grassy slope

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Dartmoor

Granite tors, clapper bridges, Bronze Age sites and moorland villages in a national park

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Granite tors, clapper bridges, Bronze Age sites and moorland villages in a national park

Dartmoor is an upland area of southern Devon that has been a national park since 1951 and covers 954 square kilometres. Its granite moorland is topped by exposed rock outcrops called tors, such as Haytor and Hound Tor, and the highest point is High Willhays at 621 metres. The public has wide access rights, but parts of the moor have been used as military firing ranges for over 200 years.

The moor is rich in prehistoric remains, from the 24 hut circles of Grimspound to the Bronze Age monuments near Merrivale. Postbridge has a medieval clapper bridge over the East Dart, and Wistman's Wood is one of a few remaining high-altitude oakwoods. Around the edges are Okehampton, Tavistock, Moretonhampstead, Chagford and Ashburton, with Castle Drogo, Lydford Gorge and Buckfast Abbey nearby.

Points forts

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S'orienter

Sur la carte

The map shows Dartmoor and the streets around it. The Getting there page lists nearby stops and stations.

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Bons plans d'initiés

Avant de partir

1

Check the firing ranges

Parts of the northern moor are military ranges with restricted access, so check before planning a walk there.

2

Follow the granite tramway

Near Haytor, the 1820 tramway used shaped granite blocks as rails to carry stone to the Stover Canal.

3

Pair Castle Drogo with Fingle Bridge

Castle Drogo stands above the Teign Gorge, and the 17th-century packhorse bridge at Fingle is downstream.

4

Widecombe Fair

The fair in Widecombe-in-the-Moor is held on the second Tuesday of September.

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Crédits photos

Photos from Wikimedia Commons, used under the licences shown. All photo credits