Given countrywide Park standing in 1951, Dartmoor sits in the south of county Devon, southwest Britain, and covers an area of 365 square miles. Almost half the park is swampland, a haven for wildlife and those wishing to escape the pains of city life.
Dartmoor Forest, owned by the Duchy of Cornwall since 1307, is a previous royal hunting ground and makes up the overwhelming majority of the region. The grass and heather moors are covered with hefty granite stones scattered amongst the rolling hills. Wild ponies graze among the barren hills ; in spite of running wild, all have human owners and are gathered annually each autumn.
roughly ten percent of the moor is wood, much of it running along the tranquil brook valleys. Stone circles and burial chambers are testament to Dartmoor’s consequential and enigmatic past. Indeed, Dartmoor is famous not just for its beautiful landscapes. It was in the little village of Grimspound that Sherlock Holmes found himself digging into the hound of the Baskervilles.
Dartmoor was one of Europe’s largest tin mining areas back in the 12th century. The stone built houses of the miners can still be found along plenty of the regions streams and streams.
monk’s Way runs across the southern part of the moor, racing across wild country and moorland bogs. The region is believed to be named after the abbots who are thought to have used this trail when travelling between Buckland Abbey and Buckfast Abbey. Man’s presence over the ages is clear in this barren land. Shed circles all the way back to the Bronze and Iron ages remain today.
South of monks Way sits Harford Moor. The Middle Ages drew tin miners from far and wide looking for wealth under the surface. Today visitors are drawn by the vast wasteland and wildlife. A medieval cross adorns Harford Church, one out of many in the area which once served as signposts for those travelling across the moors.
Becky Falls woodland Park first opened to the general public in 1903. Some of the most pleasurable walks in England’s southwest can be had here amongst the pleasant waterfalls and great granite.
To the west is Upper Plym Valley and a lovely array of plants and wildlife. The tracks in these parts are somewhat simpler to navigate than many others in the moors and provide much of interest along the path. The spectacular moorland scenery is interspersed with deserted tin mines dating back over a century and numerous prehistoric relics including stone and hut circles.
Journey around the world by visiting famouswonders.com and while you’re at it, also check out Canterbury Cathedral facts.
