Leather Tor

The walk up Leather Tor rewards you with one of Dartmoor's sharpest views - craggy outcrops rising abruptly from moorland, with nothing between you and the horizon but rolling Devon. It's a proper climb if you're starting from Tavistock, a decent market town that serves as your launchpad, but the tor itself isn't mountaineering. Forty minutes of steady footwork gets most people to the top.

What you get there is straightforward: a rocky summit, views across Dartmoor National Park that stretch for miles, and on a clear day you can see right across the moorland with Tavistock's church spire visible below. The rocks are dramatic enough to make for decent photos, and if the light's right in late afternoon, the granite absolutely glows.

Walkers will find this worthwhile, especially those who've already done some of the better-known Dartmoor peaks and fancy something with slightly less foot traffic. It's not a day-tripper attraction in the museum sense - there's no tearoom at the top, no interpretive boards, just the landscape. That's the appeal, really. Families with teenage kids will manage it fine; younger children might flag on the moorland section.

Stay at Langstone Manor or Dartmoor Domes if you're basing a week here - both are under four miles away. The tor fits perfectly into a broader Dartmoor hiking itinerary rather than standing alone. Allow two to three hours for the round trip depending on fitness. Free, naturally, and open whenever you fancy heading out.