Higher Moorland Visitor Centre

Dartmoor National Park

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At the tourist office–visitor centre, heritage displays include those on tin workings, gunpowder factories, ecology and legends – there's also a stunning time-lapse video.

The building used to be the Duchy Hotel; one former guest was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who went on to write The Hound of the Baskervilles. Dartmoor lore recounts that local man Henry Baskerville took the novelist on a carriage tour, and the brooding landscape he encountered, coupled with legends of huge phantom dogs, inspired the thriller.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

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    Exeter Cathedral

    23.71 MILES

    Magnificent in warm, honey-coloured stone, Exeter's cathedral is one of Devon’s most impressive ecclesiastical sights. Dating largely from the 12th and…

  • Greenway, House of Agatha Christie, Galmpton, Devon - stock photo South-West England, Great Britain

    Greenway

    21.02 MILES

    High on Devon’s must-see list, the captivating summer home of crime writer Agatha Christie sits beside the placid River Dart. Part-guided tours allow you…

  • 21 June 2017: Exeter, Devon, England, UK - Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, Queen Street, Exeter. Albert Memorial Museum Exeter UK - stock photo RAMM

    RAMM

    23.72 MILES

    A fixture on the city's cultural scene since Victorian times, this hulking red-brick museum recently received a £24 million revamp. It's a treasure trove…

  • The Gardens at Rosemoor.

    RHS Rosemoor

    27.99 MILES

    Run by the prestigious Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), Rosemoor is a must-see source of green-fingered inspiration. One of only four RHS gardens open…

  • Plymouth, Devon, UK - August 3rd 2019: National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth, UK. Bright sunny day, day time photo.

    National Marine Aquarium

    13.7 MILES

    The UK's biggest – and perhaps best – aquarium is lodged beside the Barbican harbour. There's a huge amount to see, but the highlight is the impressive…

  • Plymouth England August 2020. The fish market with the deep sea fishing fleet moored alongside the quay. Boats registered in Plymouth and Brixham. Light cloud

    Plymouth Fish Market

    13.69 MILES

    Around 60,000 tonnes of fish pass through this market, making it the second biggest by volume in England after London's Billingsgate. It's an amazing…

  • Cotehele

    Cotehele

    10.86 MILES

    At the head of the Tamar Valley sits the Tudor manor of Cotehele, one of the Edgcumbe dynasty's modest country retreats. The cavernous great hall is the…

  • Rame Head

    Rame Head

    18.95 MILES

    A great bulk of rock topped by a picturesque clifftop chapel, Rame Head is another of Cornwall's most majestic coastal viewpoints, with a jaw-dropping 360…

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Nearby Dartmoor National Park attractions

1. Dartmoor National Park

0.07 MILES

At first glance, Dartmoor can come as something of a shock to the senses. The largest stretch of open moorland in the southwest, Dartmoor covers an area…

2. Dartmoor Prison Museum

0.55 MILES

In the early 1800s, Princetown's infamous jail was home to French and American prisoners of war. It became a convict jail in 1850, and today still houses…

3. Merrivale Stone Rows

2.45 MILES

These two parallel stone rows are up to 260m long, with large stone slabs, or 'terminal stones' at the eastern end. In the centre, hunt out the circular…

4. Wistman's Wood

2.55 MILES

Legends swirl around this spooky patch of old-growth oak forest. According to local legend, it was a sacred site for the Druids, who conducted magical…

5. Garden House

6.7 MILES

The enchanting blend of landscapes here make this garden one of the best in Devon. Its 3 hectares encompass wildflower meadows and South African planting,…

6. Grey Wethers

6.7 MILES

At this remote site near Chagford, stone circles stand side by side on a stretch of open moor; another stone circle is 400m away near Fernworthy.

7. Tavistock Museum

6.77 MILES

Remnants from Tavistock's now vanished abbey sit in this traditional but excellent museum alongside artefacts of the town's copper-mining heyday. Look out…

8. Buckland Abbey

7.55 MILES

Founded as a Cistercian monastery and abbey-church in the 13th century, Buckland Abbey was one of Henry VIII’s ‘acquisitions’ during the Dissolution of…