Insight into Dartmoor National Park

An insight into Dartmoor National Park

They say that over ten million people a year travel to the south west corner of the United Kingdom to explore Dartmoor. It is an area of moorland in the centre of Devon and protected by National Park status. The public enjoy extensive access to the rest of the park. The highest point is High Willhays, 621m (2,040 ft) above sea level. Take a short journey from London, breath in the fresh air and see another side of England.

Learn about the past

At its heart, in Princetown, is the High Moorland Visitor Centre. In a back room, next to a comfortable chair, is a CD player through which the visitor can listen to the voices of those who have lived and worked the moor. On that CD is George Shillibeer who says ‘all my life I’ve been able to step outside the door and all the freedom right around you; all my life, I’ve never known anything different’.

World Heritage site

Established in 1951, Dartmoor National Park covers 368 square miles (953 square km) and is famous for its tors and walking but there is so much more on offer to all types of visitors. There is a section of a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the south of England’s only two mountains, the last castle to be built in the UK and amazing gorges.

English pubs and sample the local food

There is the story of Sherlock Holmes’s ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ and one of the highest concentration of prehistoric monuments in the UK, quintessential English pubs and prize-winning local food. We have been visiting National Parks around the world for nearly two decades and this one is different. I am delighted we moved here.

Contributor

James is passionate about the UK. Having spent years travelling around the world, he spent a week in Snowdonia National Park which led to a love affair with all things United Kingdom.

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