A return to Dartmoor and the Erme Plains, but taking a slightly different route inspired by the Dartmoor Cicerone Guide by John Earle. This route heads up the Erme Valley to Erme Pits, then back via Yealm Valley. Ample camping opportunities can be found pretty much everywhere, be it up on the isolate moor or …
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…
Ryder’s Hill, Dartmoor
I’m a sucker for a high point, and Ryder’s Hill at 515m is the highest point on southern Dartmoor. This became our target on a cold but clear New Year’s Eve. There are several marked footpaths up to this remote hill on Holne Moor, but we decided to approach it from our base near Yartor …
Erme Plains, Magical Wild Camping in Dartmoor
Fans of history, solitude, and off piste wild camping will have a field day in The Erme Plains in Dartmoor. All of Dartmoor is rich in prehistory, with the Erme Plains containing a particularly dense cluster of still-visible Bronze Age settlements, stone rows, and stone circles. The first part of this walk takes the easy-to-follow …
Dartmoor Wild Camping: Belstone and Okehampton Common
This Dartmoor wild camping route takes a journey through the north west part of Dartmoor, one of the bleakest but also most dramatic parts of the this national park. Along the way you take in Yes Tor and High Willhays, the two highest parts of Dartmoor on Okehampton Common, with splendid wild camping spots on …
Dartmoor Wild Camping: Belstone and Okehampton CommonRead More
Dartmoor Wild Camping: South Zeal and Cosdon Hill
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 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 …