Dartmoor National Park

England · Europe · Visited 10 December 2025 · Established 1951

I didn't give Dartmoor the time it deserves. It was a stop on my way to Cornwall, three or four hours squeezed into a longer drive, which is no way to do justice to a national park this rich in history and landscape. But I at least made the most of the time I had.

High Willhays

I went straight for the summit. High Willhays is Dartmoor's highest point at 621 metres, making it the highest ground in England south of the Brecon Beacons. The hike up from Meldon Reservoir is straightforward but exposed, crossing open moorland with no shelter from the wind, and the wind was relentless. It's not a technical climb by any measure, but the conditions on the day made it feel like more of an adventure than the elevation would suggest. The summit itself is underwhelming to look at, just a low granite outcrop with a cairn, but the views from the top stretch across the moor in every direction and on a clear day you can see into Cornwall. Just a stone's throw north is Yes Tor, only two metres lower and arguably the more impressive-looking of the two. One thing to note: both summits sit within the Okehampton military firing range, so check for red flag days before you go. You don't want to find that out the hard way.

What I missed

Dartmoor is packed with history. Bronze Age stone circles, medieval clapper bridges, abandoned tin mines, and the infamous Dartmoor Prison all sit within the park. The granite tors that dot the moorland, over 160 of them, have been landmarks and meeting points for thousands of years. The wild, open landscape has barely changed in places since prehistory. I saw fragments of this from the car, and it made me want to come back properly.

The park also has a reputation for its wildlife (Dartmoor ponies roam freely, much like their Exmoor cousins to the north) and for its rivers and wooded valleys, which offer a completely different character to the exposed moorland above. I didn't get to explore any of it.

Who it's for

If you're heading to Cornwall or Devon, Dartmoor is worth more than a drive-through. It's one of England's oldest national parks, and the landscape has a brooding, ancient quality that's unlike anything else in the south of the country. I gave it three hours. It deserves at least three days. I'll be back.