Given state Park standing in 1951, Dartmoor is sat in the south of county Devon, southwest England, and covers an area of 365 square miles. Nearly half the park is swampland, a haven for wildlife and those wishing to escape the pains of city life.
Dartmoor Forest, owned by the Duchy of Cornwall since 1307, is a previous royal hunting ground and makes up the vast majority of the area. The grass and heather moors are littered with wide granite boulders scattered among the rolling hills. Wild ponies graze among the barren hills ; despite running wild, all have human owners and are gathered annually each autumn.
roughly ten percent of the moor is wood, much of it running along the tranquil river valleys. Stone circles and funeral chambers are testament to Dartmoor’s consequential and enigmatic past. Indeed, Dartmoor is famous not only for its beautiful landscapes. It was in the small town of Grimspound that Sherlock Holmes found himself inquiring into the hound of the Baskervilles.
Dartmoor was one of Europe’s biggest tin mining areas back in the 12th century. The stone built homes of the miners can still be found along many of the regions streams and streams.
abbot’s Way runs across the southern part of the moor, racing across wild country and moorland bogs. The area is thought to be named after the abbots who are thought to have used this path when travelling between Buckland Abbey and Buckfast Abbey. Man’s presence over the ages is evident in this barren land. Shed circles all the way back to the Bronze and Iron ages remain today.
South of abbots Way sits Harford Moor. The Middle Ages drew tin miners from far and wide seeking riches below the surface. Today visitors are drawn by the vast badlands and wildlife. A medieval cross adorns Harford Church, one out of many in the area which once served as signposts for those travelling across the moors.
Becky Falls forest Park first opened to the general public in 1903. Some of the most enjoyable walks in England’s southwest can be had here among the pleasant waterfalls and great granite.
To the west is Upper Plym Valley and a stunning array of plants and wildlife. The tracks in these parts are rather simpler to navigate than many others in the moors and supply much of interest on the way. The spectacular moorland landscape is interspersed with deserted tin mines dating back over a century and various prehistoric relics including stone and hut circles.
Journey around the world by visiting famouswonders.com and while you’re at it, also check out Coast of Cornwall.
Tags: County, Dartmoor, England, wilderness
