Belstone Common Tor

The walk up Belstone Common Tor is short, sharp, and genuinely rewarding. You're looking at maybe twenty minutes from the car park - proper steep in places, but nothing that'll defeat the average walker. The tor itself is granite, jagged, and offers proper 360-degree views across Dartmoor once you've scrambled to the top. On a clear day you can see for miles across the moorland. On a grey one, which happens often enough round these parts, the mist rolls in and creates something altogether moodier.

It's the kind of place that works brilliantly for walkers who can't commit to a full day on the moor but want to feel like they've accomplished something. Families with reasonably capable children will manage the scramble without issue, though the loose rock means it's not ideal for toddlers or the unsteady on their feet. History types will appreciate that you're standing on ground that's seen Bronze Age settlement and centuries of moorland life, though there's not much interpretation on site - you're reading the landscape itself.

The whole thing is free, naturally. Allow an hour if you're taking photos and soaking in the view. It sits handily between Exeter and the broader Dartmoor experience - if you're staying at Woodland Springs Touring Park nearby, this makes an excellent morning jaunt before heading deeper into the moor or back towards the city. Go early if the weather's decent; you won't have it to yourself, but you'll avoid the worst of the afternoon crowds.