Dartmoor, Devon: Tors, Ponies, History & the Best Walks

Dartmoor rises in the heart of Devon, a great dome of granite moorland capped with craggy hilltops called tors, cut by rivers that tumble down wooded valleys to the lanes and villages around its edge. It has been protected as a National Park since 1951.

Why Dartmoor Is Special

Dartmoor is the largest area of open wild country in the south of England, a place of huge skies, rushing streams and silence. The tors make wonderful goals for a walk, and from their summits the views stretch across Devon to the sea.

It is also one of the richest prehistoric landscapes in Europe, scattered with stone rows, circles and hut settlements, and its edges hide some of the prettiest villages in Devon.

The History of Dartmoor

The granite that forms the moor dates from the Carboniferous period, and weathering over millions of years has left the tors standing proud of the hills. The highest point is High Willhays, 621 metres above sea level.

In the Bronze Age the moor was farmed and settled. At Grimspound, the remains of a ring of round houses still stand inside a stone enclosure wall. Later, tin miners worked the moor for centuries, and medieval farmers and packhorse traders built clapper bridges of great granite slabs across the rivers; the one at Postbridge is the best known.

Dartmoor has inspired writers and film-makers. Arthur Conan Doyle set The Hound of the Baskervilles on its mires and tors, and Steven Spielberg filmed War Horse here. The ponies that roam the moor all belong to farmers who graze them here, as their ancestors have for centuries.

What to See & the Best Walks at Dartmoor

Climb Haytor for one of the most famous views on the moor, then walk to Hound Tor and the medieval village ruins below it. See the clapper bridge at Postbridge and walk up the East Dart.

Visit Widecombe-in-the-Moor, the village of the famous fair, with its church known as the Cathedral of the Moor, and walk to Wistman's Wood, a tiny ancient oak wood of twisted, moss-covered trees.

Wildlife at Dartmoor

Dartmoor ponies, cattle and sheep graze freely on the open moor. Please never feed the ponies, and drive slowly. In spring listen for cuckoos and skylarks, and in the river valleys look for dippers and, in the oak woods, pied flycatchers.

Gardens, Countryside & Antiques near Dartmoor

See the Dartmoor National Park listing. At Buckfastleigh, Buckfast Butterflies & Dartmoor Otter Sanctuary is a favourite with families, and Barnes of Ashburton is in the antiques town of Ashburton.

Gardeners can visit RHS Garden Rosemoor in north Devon, and the South West Coast Path is within easy reach. Clovelly is a drive away on the north coast; see our guide to Clovelly.

Dartmoor Through the Seasons

Spring brings foals to the moor and bluebells to the valley woods. Summer is the time for long tor walks and wild swimming. Autumn turns the bracken red-gold, and winter brings mist and the occasional snowfall, when the moor feels wilder than ever.

Getting to Dartmoor

Trains run to Newton Abbot, Totnes and Okehampton, on the edge of the moor, with buses to the main villages. Some military ranges on the north moor close for firing, so check the times before walking there.

Dartmoor: Questions & Answers

What is the highest point on Dartmoor?

High Willhays, 621 metres above sea level.

Who owns the Dartmoor ponies?

Every pony on the moor belongs to a farmer who has the right to graze it there. Please never feed them.

Our Advice

Our advice: Bring a map and good boots, start with a short tor walk such as Haytor and Hound Tor, and check the weather: mist comes down quickly on Dartmoor.