Rough Tor

The walk up Rough Tor near Tavistock is short, sharp, and absolutely worth your time. You're looking at maybe 20 minutes to the summit if you're reasonably fit, though the path climbs steeply and boots with decent grip help. The rocky outcrop itself sits at 1,188 metres - high enough that on a clear day you genuinely can see across Dartmoor in every direction, and that view alone justifies the effort.

The tor gets its name from the rough granite that juts out of the moorland like something from a fantasy film. It's less trekking destination, more proper peak-bagging, and the scramble up the rocks at the end feels properly adventurous without being dangerous. Walkers love it because it's quick, it delivers, and the landscape around it - open moorland, distant hills, that raw Dartmoor light - makes you feel like you've actually gone somewhere.

Families with older kids will manage this fine; younger ones might find the rockiness tricky on the descent. On a rough day it's bleak and exhilarating. In summer it's packed, so go early or pick autumn instead. Free to walk, open year-round. It pairs perfectly with a Dartmoor National Park holiday - you could easily fit this with a visit to Tavistock itself and one of the bigger moor walks nearby. Don't expect facilities at the top, but do bring water. The moorland changes constantly with the weather, and that's rather the point.