Prison View

The name alone does the job - you're standing on a hillside near Tavistock looking down at Princetown Prison, that austere Victorian fortress squatting on the moor below. It's a proper stark sight, the kind of place that makes you grateful you're on the right side of the fence.

There's not much to 'do' here in the traditional sense. You arrive, you look, you might take a photo if you're that way inclined. But that's rather the point. Prison View works as a stop-off during a moorland walk - a moment of oddly gripping theatre. The prison dominates the landscape in a way that's hard to ignore, and the vantage point gives you real perspective on how isolated the place is, how deliberately remote.

Walkers get the most from this one. It's not a destination in itself, but if you're exploring Dartmoor around Tavistock or looping through the local trails, it's worth knowing about. You'll want to allow maybe twenty minutes - enough time to take in the view properly without getting bored.

Staying at Langstone Manor Holiday Park just down the road gives you the perfect base for exploring this way. The glamping pods are well-placed for serious walking country, and Prison View slots nicely into a larger route across the moor. Go on a clear day when the light's decent - you want to see the building and the surrounding landscape properly. Overcast and drizzly, it's a bit bleak even for Dartmoor.