Brook Hill

The walk up Brook Hill from near Exeter rewards you with views across Dartmoor and out towards the coast if visibility plays ball. It's not dramatic - no jagged peaks or scrambles - but that's rather the point. The moorland terrain rolls gentle enough that you're not gasping for breath, yet high enough to feel genuinely removed from the city sprawl below.

The summit itself is modest: grassland, some gorse, the kind of spot where you can sit for twenty minutes and actually think. Families with older children will manage it fine; younger kids might find the walk itself more interesting than the destination. Walkers after a proper mooring ramble will appreciate the open moorland character, though if you're after something with more edge, head deeper into Dartmoor proper.

There's no visitor infrastructure - no cafe, no car park, no sign telling you you've arrived. You just know. Access from Exeter means this works well as a half-day excursion, especially if you're basing yourself at somewhere like Cuckoo Down Farm Glamping six miles away. The site offers proper accommodation that frees you from tent wrestling, which frankly makes an early morning or late afternoon walk here feel less like endurance and more like actual leisure.

Go when it's clear - on a murky day it's just damp moorland walking. Best in spring or early autumn when the weather settles.