Walking on Dartmoor…. Isn’t this what most people come to do on holiday in Dartmoor? Well, you would be surprised. A lot of our customers don’t walk on Dartmoor. The fear of getting lost in the mist, or falling into a bog puts off some of our not so experienced holidaymakers.
Whilst Dartmoor is a wild and natural terrain where lots of wildlife lives and survives, it is also full of beautiful walks, lovely rocks to climb and the history is amazing.
Living in Dartmoor, our children learn a lot of about the history and Dartmoor. I have spent many days wrapped up with 30 or 40 children discovering amazing facts about ancient times and why this rock lines up with that rock when the sun goes down. Everything that we take for granted whilst wandering around the moors.
So if you do decide to venture a little further than the carpark on your next trip I would highly recommend a little homework first. Of course I’d recommend that you have a good pair of walking boots and a decent pair of breathable socks. There is so much uneven ground when walking the moors in Dartmoor!
There are so many beautiful places to visit on the moors. Our most local Tor is Cox Tor and this is the Tor I visited today.
Cox Tor has got to be the easiest Tor to walk too. There is a lovely spacious carpark (usually with an ice cream van – always a positive). You can walk in day time to the top of the tor with little effort. There is good climbing for the kids and the view are amazing at 1450ft. The scenery from the top of stunning on a good day with views across to Bodmin Moor, deep into Cornwall and right up to North Devon as well as the best view of Plymouth at night time.
You can actually walk directly from Higher Longford to Cox Tor and back, either straight up and down the road, or following a circular route encompassing Pew Tor too.
Don’t forget your guides. These give you a lot of information on the Tors you can see when you’re sitting on your rocks. There is also a huge amount of history to be discovered. You can get lots of information online plus we have a few books here you can borrow if you want to delve more.
Best fun on the moors is to keep your eyes peeled for those Letterbox Stamps. This is an old tradition which has been carried our for years on the moorland. You can either follow the clues and find the boxes with the traditional compass method or just look around each tor, looking for hidden boxes where you may find a stamp to add to your collection. I know for sure there are a couple on Cox Tor… happy hunting…