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Dorset was our second destination on our two week trip exploring Dorset, Devon, Cornwall and Somerset. We were extremely lucky to visit during some of the hottest days of the year, with beautiful clear blue skies everyday. We drove to Dartmoor from the lovely coastal town of Lyme Regis. It only took about an hour to drive there and the journey was very scenic as it took us along the A road that runs through the East Devon and Blackdown Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
I’ve wanted to visit Dartmoor for a long time, not only for it’s outstanding natural beauty, but also to see the famous Dartmoor ponies grazing and roaming freely across the moors. Our first stop for the day was Haytor Vale where we parked at the National Park Visitor centre. The car park at the visitor centre offers cheap all day parking for only £2. Here we found some free, clean toilets, and a nice food van that was parked in the car park selling everything from hot drinks, food, ice creams and cakes. Further up the road was a free car park that was mostly dirt with a small area of tar seal, so may not be suitable in very wet conditions, and then past this was another large tar sealed pay and display parking lot.
We popped into the visitor centre which sold hiking maps and books (including some lovely [amazon_textlink asin=’1452005044′ text=’childrens books about the Dartmoor ponies’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’howbeautifullifeis-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’7fe659c1-9823-11e8-aac2-99c570fe47a8′] that make great souvenir gifts) and found a free pamphlet with a walking map of Haytor to Emsworthy. You can also download it as a pdf. The walk was 5 miles/8 km and took in the highlights of this area of the park. If you are after a shorter walk, then the map explains how you can shorten it to 4 km.
We started our walk by heading up to Haytor Rocks, which are hard to miss as they stand proudly on the hill overlooking the visitor centre. From there we walked on to the old Haytor Quarry. Entering it was like walking into an exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show because it was so pretty, featuring a large pond filled with water lillies surrounded by colourful wild flowers, rocks, and rusted parts of machinery that looked like they had been strategically placed as garden sculptures. It was so peaceful and picturesque, that we stopped and had our picnic lunch here.
From the quarry, we headed across the park filled with grazing cattle, sheep, and the beautiful Dartmoor ponies that had the cutest foals ever! July is the perfect time to visit as there were foals everywhere. We watched as two foals galloped at full speed, taking turns to chase each other as their mothers grazed, tales swishing. The foals reared up at each other in mock battle, I couldn’t stop taking photos. I was in love.
The Dartmoor pony breed is centuries old and native to Britain. They were originally used at the local tin mines and quarries so are sturdy working ponies. In order to be registered as a Dartmoor pony, they need to have been born on the moor. They are mostly bay in colour but also come in black, grey and chestnut. We mostly saw bays, but did see a few other colours dotted around the park in their little herds. They always had a proud stallion watching over them. Locals also graze some non Dartmoor ponies on the moors as well. We saw an adorable herd of Shetlands the following day on our drive out of the park.
Dartmoor is open moorland and is covered in hiking and animal tracks, so during our walk we wondered off a number of times to explore. The park is full of interesting large rock formations and there is also an old tramway which we followed for a while. It was used to convey granite from Haytor Down to the Stover Canal. It was built in 1820 and formed of granite sections, shaped to guide the wheels of horse-drawn wagons. Teams of 18 horses would pull up to 12 wagons.
The furthest loop of the walk covers ground that becomes quite boggy, so wear good walking shoes if you are going to walk this section. It wasn’t too bad when we visited as it had been a very hot and dry summer. Upon our return to the visitor centre we discovered a herd of Dartmoor ponies that had descended on the car park, so we bought some ice cream from the food van and sat on some large rocks and watched their antics.
From the visitor centre, we drove onto our accommodation which was near the village of Lustleigh. So far, the roads to the visitor centre had been pretty good, but to get to our accommodation we had to turn off the main road and head down some extremely narrow local roads. Thankfully they were quiet. In some areas there were driveways that you could pull into if you met someone, but it still would have been a squeeze.
In the evening we took a stroll to the nearby picture postcard historic village of Lustleigh, located in the Wrey Valley. To get to Lustleigh, we walked along Lower Knowle Road and then turned down Wreyland Path which took us past some beautiful thatched stone cottages and into heart of the town. We had booked a meal at the local pub, The Cleave, but first we decided to take a stroll around the village lanes to see the lovely thatched buildings and old church and cemetery. As we walked past the sports field we saw a black mole scurry into the leaves by the side of the road. It was the first time I have seen one of these little creatures, despite seeing the results of their digging every time we head out into the countryside.
The village was small and cute with a local shop, cafe, and pub. It was a lovely warm evening so we decided to sit out in the pub garden and try some local drinks. Shaun tried some of the local beer while I tried several Devon gins – my favourite was Plymouth Gin which I promptly added to my grocery order to ensure it arrived upon my return home from holiday. The dinner was delicious, I had some fishcakes with new potatoes and Shaun had some BBQ ribs, which were lovely and tender. This was a lovely pub and the staff were very kind and made us feel welcome like we were part of the community.
That evening was so quiet and peaceful, with just the sounds of nature lulling us off to sleep. We live in the inner city so are used to traffic and people noise. It was just the light rustling of the leaves as a light breeze blew through them and sheep calling for their lambs and in the morning we were woken by the chatter and call of the birds.
As we departed the following day, we discovered a black adder snake on the steps of our accommodation. It wasn’t very frightening as he appeared to be curled up asleep and trying to warm up in the morning sun. The Black Adder is Britain’s only venomous snake and are quite small and not aggressive. Sadly, they are a threatened species and their number is in decline. We let our host know and they were able to safely relocate it.
We were headed out to the Tamar Valley and onto Mavigassey in Cornwall, but we left early so we could take the longer, more scenic route through Dartmoor National Park on the B3357. For the first part of the trip it was very scenic as it was through the open moors. There were plenty of places to pull over and join one of the many trails. We would love to return to Dartmoor and spend more time hiking. We pulled over in a few places for a short walk. At one of the stops we returned to find our car surrounded by ponies. One rather cheeky one was blocking our way and about to start using our side mirror as a scratching post. They were clearly very tame (what we used to call ‘bomb proof’ growing up) as my attempts to scare them off with a clap or a beep of the horn made no impact. My husband even attempted to push the pony away. Thankfully I grew with ponies so know the secret of applying pressure to their shoulder to move them, and the pony finally reluctantly responded so we could get on our way.
As we made our way through the park we passed an adorable herd of Shetland ponies that had decided to completely take over the road and lie across it. The herds little stallion stood guard on the road too, so we had to carefully and slowly drive around them. The maximum speed limit in the park is 40mph, so please make sure you abide by it as there are animals roaming everywhere and you need to drive with caution. I should also warn you the B3357 road does eventually narrow as you leave the park and head through the countryside. In some parts it is extremely narrow and I unfortunately met a delivery truck on the narrowest part with no nearby areas to pull over and high stone walls on either side. We had to pop our side mirrors in and slowly drive forward with both of us hanging our heads out the window checking for clearance!
We drove onto the Tamar Valley which sits on the borders of Devon and Cornwall. Read about my Cornwall adventures here.
Accommodation in Dartmoor
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Practical Tips for Visiting Dartmoor
- Ponies: It is illegal to feed the ponies on the moor, so please don’t! Drive slowly and carefully as there is no fencing through Dartmoor so the animals roam free.
- Language: English
- Currency: British pound
- Tipping: Not required, but people usually round up.
- Electricity: The electrical current is 230 volts AC. Wall outlets take a three pronged plug only used in the United Kingdom and Ireland. However, you are better off purchasing a worldwide adaptor that can be used in the United Kingdom as well other countries. At least then you can potentially get some further use out of it on future vacations. If you’re taking a number of electronics with you, then I would recommend purchasing a couple of these adaptors.
- Driving: In the UK they drive on the left hand side of the road with speed signs in miles per hour (mph).
- Fuel: Fuel is expensive in the UK, so save money by downloading a UK fuel app so you can search for the nearest petrol station with the cheapest fuel.
- Navigating: We used Google’s free Offline Maps. Google Offline Maps allows you to access free maps for navigating that can be used offline i.e. you don’t need WIFI, data, or roaming to be able to use them. Follow my detailed guide on how to use Googles Offline Maps.
- Using your phone as a GPS will drain your battery quickly, so use a portable battery charger which you can use to charge your phone and any other USB chargeable devices.
- If you prefer a paper map, then purchase a road map before you go. At least it’s reliable and won’t run out of battery or malfunction like the electronic options!
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