The high, open moorland served as the eerie backdrop for the Sherlock Holmes tale  “The Hound of the Baskerville’ (1902), while one of Britain’s most famous prisons, Dartmoor Prison, is surrounded by weathered outcrops of stone tors (rock formations) in Princeton village . Also dotting the landscape are scores of ancient remains of standing stones and mysterious hut circles that have survived thanks to the durability of granite. 

The Highlights of Dartmoor National Park:

• St Michael de Rupe Church

Legend has it that the Devil tried to prevent the Constraction of this church, perched atop Brent Tor, by moving the stones. Whatever the truth , there has been a church here since the 12th century. Reached by a footpath, there are stunning views over Dartmoor from here.

• Postbridge village

In the center of the moor  and set on the River Dart, the village of Postbridge is a good starting point for walks on the moor. There is a medieval “clapper” bridge here, which was built to enable pack horses to carry mined tin across the river.

• Castle Drogo

This magnificent early 20th century mock castle -said to be the last castle built in England- was designed by architect Edwin Lutyens for the grocery magnate Julius Drewe. From the house there are lovely walks through the gorge of the River Teign.

• Hound Tor

The remains of this village lie on the eastern edge of Dartmoor. The settlement consists of a cluster of 13th century stone longhouses. In which the family lived at one end and the animals at the other-on land originally farmed in the Bronze Age.

• Buckland-in-the-Moor village

One of the many pretty villages on the southeastern side of Dartmoor, Buckland-in-the-Moor  has thatched stone cottages and a small granite church.