Tavistock Trails
Before heading to Stockholm for my teaching practicum in April, I’ll be spending some time in the UK visiting friends and family, including nearly a week in the central Devon town of Tavistock.
This little town lies on the edge of the Dartmoor, with its ancient stone circles and wild ponies. My focus while I’m here will be on spending time with my old dad, but I’d love to get some hiking in if I have time. I won’t have a car or time for long day hikes, so I can hopefully find some trails that are within easy reach of the town.
Easy Outings
The Tavistock Canal walk is an easy trail that heads out of the centre of the town along the canal for a few miles. Here is a downloadable PDF of the walk.
The Cotehele Estate is a longer hike from the town, about 3 hours, but has a lovely tearooms to visit once you get there.
Challenging Tors
The granite on Dartmoor was broken into blocks by freezing and thawing during the Ice Age. Gravity then moved the loose material downhill and left high rock formations, that expose the granite beneath the moors. These are called tors and they are the focal points of many hikes.
The Great Staple Tor and White Tor Circular looks like a great hike and would just be a short taxi ride away from Tavistock. AllTrails has several other close by hikes that take in different tors.
Given my limited time in Tavistock, this is probably plenty to be going on with.
And on a final note … yes, there really are wild ponies on Dartmoor!
