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Plymouth Travel Guide, United Kingdom

Located in the south east of England Dartmoor is known as the great wilderness and diverse area covering 367 square miles. All the area is private property but you get access to over 47,000 hectares of open country half of which is open moorland.

It is easy to get here from any coastal resort and it takes only a few minutes to get to a flower filled area, rich in a variety of plants rare birds and wildlife. But there isn’t just wildlife that you can see, there are The Sites of Special Scientific Interest, archaeological sites, nature reserves, menhirs, remains of mines, medieval abbeys, beautiful castles and more.

The region is an ideal destination to visit all year round having a lot in store for every visitor; the scenery is breathtaking, the rolling countryside offers spectacular Tors, steep and rocky slopes, rivers, valleys, forests, woodlands, heather-covered hills and moorland. There are miles of footpaths you can walk on regardless of age and with its riverside meadows and woodland you can get shelter if weather happens to get bad.

In such wild and beautiful lands animals feel at home. Sheep, cattle, the Dartmoor ponies roam the land.

Besides walking there are plenty of other activities to keep you busy like fishing, golf, pony trekking, caving, climbing, cycling, archery, abseiling and orienteering. Some of the activities are organized and for some people it is much easier to explore the area this way.

Families are welcomed and there are plenty of quality visitor attractions and local crafts to choose from depending on which part of the area you want to visit. Teign Valley is in the North East and it has a spectacular salmon river. Parke is another area just as appreciated; Hembury Woods near Buckfast is home to the river Dart and to some great views. A bit to the North West is Holne Woods and Holne Moor. More close to Plymoth is the Plym Bridge Woods. On the Upper Plym you can find the largest area containing an important concentration of Bronze Age and Medieval remains. Lydford Gorge is also a must as it offers great woodland walks along 1.5 mile gorge and at the end you can marvel at a 90 foot waterfall and walk along a ravine base right into the cauldron.

Take your pick or visit it all you can get great accommodation in the most attractive and unspoilt villages that offer self catering cottages, B&B’s but also luxurious country house hotels.

There are also great historic buildings to visit. One of them is Castle Drogo designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the last castle to be built in England and it is one of the region's most popular National Trust properties. Built in the 1910s and 1920s, it resembles a medieval castle with Tudor embellishments and it offers great views being situated on top of Teign Gorge at 300 ft.

There’s so much to see and do around that it will take weeks before you cover them all, so visiting Dartmoor will get you to countless miles of country lanes, footpaths, viewing points and more.