Corndon Tor

The walk up Corndon Tor takes about forty minutes from the car park, and it's properly steep in places. You're looking at granite-strewn moorland, wind-blasted scrub, and eventually a hilltop with views across Dartmoor that stretch for miles on a clear day. The tor itself is rocky, dramatic, and genuinely worth the effort - especially if you time it right and catch the light as it swings across the valleys below.

This is one for walkers, not casual strollers. Children will either love scrambling over the rocks or complain within ten minutes depending on their temperament. Families thinking they'll pop up for a photo will find it more demanding than Instagram suggests. The whole thing takes a couple of hours if you go steady and actually look around.

Compass, boots, and weather sense are essential - Dartmoor turns savage fast when fog rolls in. Autumn and spring offer the best light and fewer crowds than summer weekends. It's free, obviously, being open moorland, though you'll need to park locally and respect the farmers' land.

Corndon pairs well with a Dartmoor National Park base. Exeter's near enough for supplies, but really you want to be staying on the moor itself to make the most of walks like this. It's the sort of place you go specifically for the walking, not as a tourist tick-box. Cracking views, though. Genuinely good.