East Dartmoor National Nature Reserve

The moorland here spreads out in that raw, almost austere way that makes you understand why people get properly addicted to Dartmoor. East Dartmoor National Nature Reserve sits just south of Newton Abbot and offers something quite different from the more famous tourist routes - it's genuinely quiet, especially if you time it right.

What you get is proper walking country. Heather, gorse, rough grassland, and if you're lucky, the wildlife that makes these reserves matter - adders, lizards, the occasional buzzard circling overhead. The terrain isn't dramatic in a chocolate-box sense. It's subtle, a bit moody even when the sun's out. You're looking at gentle slopes rather than dramatic tors, which means it suits walkers of varying fitness levels without feeling patronising.

History types will find evidence of Bronze Age settlements scattered about - the moorland's been used for millennia. It's the kind of place where standing stones and burial mounds tell you this land was important long before anybody thought to preserve it officially.

Allow a good few hours if you want to properly explore rather than just poke about. Spring and early summer work best - everything's green and the birds are active. Given the reserve's location near Oakmoor Touring Park, which sits nearby, you could easily build a moorland walking day around it. The reserve itself is free and unstuffy - no visitors centre, no café, no unnecessary infrastructure. It's just land that matters, left to get on with things. That's either exactly what you want or precisely what you don't want, depending on your holiday mood.