Higher Longford is tucked neatly within the foothill of Dartmoor. Luckily we are able to miss most of the really bad weather that higher areas, like Princetown suffer. However are are surrounded with amazing views and walks directly from the park.

From the park you have two choices. The most obvious being up the hill to Cox Tor and the open moor. The second to be towards Tavistock.

One of my favourite walks is a circular route back to the park. You can do a little or a lot of it, depending on your needs, ability and also the weather.

The one thing I can guarantee is amazing views, a bit of history and a beautiful walk.

Starting our from the park you need to walk down the road towards tavistock and take the first turning to the left. This takes you down to a beautiful stream at Moortown, the area is referred to as Pennycomequick and has a beautiful stone bridge and cattlegrid.

From here you are onto the moorland. There are sheep and cattle grazing here. The moorland is an area where you are free to roam but I recommend following one of the well worn paths or sticking to the road until at the top of the hill. Otherwise you may end up in an area which is boggy or prickly from the gorse bushes.

If you following the road up you will see a turning to the left. This leads down towards Langstone and another part of the moors. This is a fairly level walk along the small lane which will lead you up past farmland, Langstone Manor and up and onto the moors.

Once you reach the moors, you will be able to see Pew Tor to your right. You can chose to venture over and discover this area, but our path is taking us up and to the right. Keeping the hedgerows of the fields to your left you can carry on this walk across the open moorland.

Eventually, you will come across an area called Windy Post Cross. This is a well preserved medieval cross. It marks the route of the Abbots’ Way across Whitchurch Common from Merrivale to Moortown. It’s also a beautiful area with the stream creating a little waterfall.

Continuing on your path you will walk down across the moorland and back up the otherside. The area can often be a bit muddy and mashy in wet periods, so good walking shoes are recommended, plus sticking to the well walked paths.

As you rise up the hill you will be able to see Cox Tor in the distance. Cox Tor is a great Tor to walk up too. It is a non-granite tor, with a Trig pillar at the summit and few cairns further north.

If you are luckily, you will also be rewarded with an ice cream van in the car park. This is always a bonus.

Walking across the road, you can choose to either walk to the top of cox tor or continue down towards the park. Crossing over the road you can walk down towards the bottom of the hill, keeping the road to your left. You will reach a road which leads to the cattlegrid part way up the hill.

Crossing over this cattlegrid will bring you to the main road to Tavistock and also the Park. Walking down this road carefully for about 10 minutes you will reach the park entrance.

Your beautiful walk will be complete and you will have visited many of the beautiful parts of the moor without even taking your car from the park.