Dartmoor

Dartmoor National Park sits in the heart of south‑west England and covers roughly 954 square kilometres (about 368 square miles) of upland. It’s famous for its open moorland, exposed granite outcrops known as tors and a sculpted, wind‑swept skyline that changes quickly with the weather.

Geographically the park is the source of several important rivers, including the River Dart and the River Teign, and its highest point is High Willhays at 621 metres. The landscape includes a mix of blanket bog, heath and acid grassland that supports distinctive wildlife such as the famous Dartmoor ponies and a range of upland birds.

Dartmoor has a rich historic and cultural layer: thousands of Bronze Age stone rows, hut circles and the atmospheric clapper bridge at Postbridge show continuous human use for millennia. Medieval tin‑working led to stannary towns like Tavistock, Chagford and Ashburton, while tors such as Haytor and Hound Tor have inspired writers and folklore, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s mood for The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Today the local economy mixes hill farming, commoning (traditional grazing rights), tourism and some quarrying, and there are also military training areas around Okehampton and the historic Princetown prison on the moor. Management of the park balances conservation, recreation and local livelihoods, with ongoing projects to restore peat, protect habitats and maintain access for walkers and communities.