NEW EDITION FEBRUARY 2020

It was a real pleasure to revisit this beautiful area after seven years.  The name ‘Dartmoor’ conjures up images of bleak windswept moorland, with shaggy ponies sheltering from the mist and rain behind massive granite tors, but while there are a number of moorland walks to tors in this guide – including the short path to the spectacular Haytor Rocks (see left) – there is also a great deal of variety.  There are terrific woodland walks around Dartmoor, including the dramatic Lydford Gorge, the wooded valley below Castle Drogo and the gnarled moorland oaks of Black-a-Tor Copse.  Elsewhere, paths pass through conifer woodland, along the banks of lakes, through farmland and through the picturesque towns and villages of the area.

People have lived around the moor for a long time, and in addition to the thatched cottages, inns and churches, you will also pass the ruined castle at Okehampton, moorland crosses, stone circles and the much-photographed clapper bridge at Postbridge.  And, of course, the ponies, which graze freely on the moor.

The walks had not changed significantly since my last visit – in long-established walking areas like this they tend not to.  Some signposts have been replaced, but otherwise I simply altered some route descriptions which were no longer as clear as they had been.

Dartmoor is a terrific walking area, with much more to recommend it than just the long moorland paths for which it is famous.

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