We are just back from a short escape to Dartmoor for a wild camping excursion near South Zeal at the northwest corner of Dartmoor National Park. This is my new favourite part of Dartmoor! Bleak, empty, and remote, this is Dartmoor at its wildest, and at its best! The route: South Zeal, Belstone, and Cosdon Hill We started in …
Dartmoor is one of the best places for a wild camping adventure. Not only is it legal to wild camp in Dartmoor – that’s just a bonus – but the place is like no other in terms of wild isolation (ironic given that its desolate landscape is actually the result of humans impact!). Dartmoor contains the largest concentration of Bronze Age remains in the United Kingdom, as well as numerous prehistoric standing stones and stone circles. Dartmoor is a place that plays tricks on the senses… one minute the sun can be shining, the next you find yourself enshrouded in mist and fog. But this all just adds to Dartmoor’s magic. The best wild camping locations in Dartmoor range from secluded tors to hidden river valleys to stone circles. It all depends on the kind of experience you’re after. Here are some of my favourites…
Dartmoor Wild Camping: Hound Tor and Grimspound
Dartmoor has long been one of my favourite places for a wild camping adventure. This vast moorland, hallmarked by forests, rivers, and many exposed granite hilltops (tors), has a bleakness that makes you feel like you’ve truly escaped the world and have entered something truly wild and untouched by man (ironically, Dartmoor only looks the …
In Pictures: Dartmoor Walking and Wild Camping
Scenes from an autumnal romp around Dartmoor National Park, starting at Postbridge, heading south and making a loop via Drizzlecombe to view its spectacular stone rows, with a wild camp in the middle on the River Plyn. It was a clear cold night but I had lots of layers, hearty food, hot tea, a good …