DISTANCE: 5.6 km/3½ miles
DIFFICULTY: Leisurely

This circular route will take you to the summit of Haytor – one of Dartmoor’s most photographed tors – and past a series of historical landmarks, transporting you from the Bronze Age to the Victorian industrial era.

Starting at the Dartmoor National Park Information Centre, you’ll follow a steep grassy path up to Haytor Rocks, where you can enjoy spectacular views of the surrounding tors and rolling valleys towards Teignmouth.

From here, you’ll go down to the former Haytor Quarries, where in the 19th century Dartmoor granite was extracted to supply stone for major UK buildings, including London Bridge. This was transported down to the Stover Canal for onward shipment to Teignmouth Docks on the Haytor Granite Tramway – a track formed of granite sections shaped to guide the wheels of horse-drawn trucks, which could each carry up to three tons of granite.

Leaving the quarry, you’ll follow a broad path to Smallacombe Rocks. Here you’ll discover the remains of a Bronze Age field system and a settlement of four roundhouses, before joining a section of the Templer Way – which follows the old tramway – on your route back to the information centre

DISTANCE: 16.8km/10½ miles
DIFFICULTY: Moderate

You’ll discover ancient woodland, deep river valleys and epic views on this circular walk beginning on the edge of Bellever Forest.

After leaving the forest via Bellever Bridge, you’ll pass through the tiny hamlet of Pizwell, before entering Soussons Down, a woodland hiding a series of Bronze Age monuments among the trees, including a stone circle and four round barrows.

From here, you’ll pass Ephraim’s Pinch – a hill that’s said to be named after a man who died attempting to carry a heavy load of wheat to win the hand of a local farmer’s daughter.

After following the road onto Cordon Down, you’ll then climb to Corndon Tor and Yar Tor, with their far-reaching moorland views, before descending to Dartmeet, a local beauty spot at the confluence of the East and West Dart rivers. Heading north, the East Dart guides you back to the start.

DISTANCE: 10.3km/6½ miles
DIFFICULTY: Moderate/strenuous

Prepare to tick off a selection of Dartmoor’s famous tors on this challenging circular route, passing standing stones and prehistoric settlements between summits.

From the Pork Hill car park on the B3357, the first stop is Great Staple Tor, with its distinctive, pancake-stack granite towers, followed by nearby Roos Tor and the wind-whipped Langstone Moor Stone Circle. Nearby is the Langstone menhir, another prehistoric standing stone that is pockmarked by shell holes left by the military, which once used it for target practice.

From here it’s a scramble to the summit of White Tor, which offers expansive views across the Tavy Valley, and as far as Bodmin Moor and Plymouth Sound.

The walk back to the car park then takes you past the slopes of Cox Tor, via Stephen’s Grave – a weathered stone marked with a simple letter S. This is where George Stephens from nearby Peter Tavy was buried, having taken his own life after a girl was unfaithful to him. According to local legend, linen hanging out to dry at nearby Higher Godsworthy was caught in a freak gust of wind at the very moment he was buried, and was never seen again.

DISTANCE: 16.2km/10 miles
DIFFICULTY: Moderate

Starting in the pretty Dartmoor village of Widecombe-in-the-Moor, this circular walk passes ruined ancient settlements and rocky tors that have inspired local folklore.

The first of these is Hound Tor, a striking granite formation that’s said to have played a part in inspiring Arthur Conan Doyle to set his 1902 murder mystery The Hound of the Baskervilles on Dartmoor. Nearby are the extensive, atmospheric remains of Hound Tor Deserted Medieval Village – a cluster of 13th-century stone longhouses, on land that was originally farmed in the Bronze Age. 

To the north of Hound Tor, on Hayne Down, is Bowerman’s Nose, a 6.6m/21.5ft rock formation with a profile that resembles a man in a flat cap. Local legend has it that Bowerman was a hunter, turned to stone by a coven of witches after he mistakenly knocked over their cauldron.

A highlight of the walk back to Widecombe-in-the-Moor is Grimspound, Dartmoor’s best-known prehistoric settlement, probably dating from the late Bronze Age. Here you’ll find the remains of 24 houses within a circular boundary wall about 150m/490ft in diameter.

DISTANCE: 15.5km/9½ miles
DIFFICULTY: Moderate

This classic Dartmoor loop features a range of scenery, including soaring tors, open moorland and dense woodland.

From Princetown, you’ll follow a well-made track path along the route of the abandoned Princetown Railway line, which once transported quarried granite to a wharf on the River Plym near Plymouth. The line was constructed in 1823, with horse-drawn cars, then upgraded to support locomotives in 1878, and it was in use until 1956.

Heading south, you’ll then make the climb up Sharpitor and on to Leather Tor, before descending into peaceful woodland near the northern edge of Burrator Reservoir (constructed in the 1890s to provide drinking water for Plymouth).

Leaving the woods, you’ll follow bridleway all the way back to Princetown via South Hessary Tor, crossing open moorland with expansive views.

DISTANCE: 8.8km/5½ miles
DIFFICULTY: Moderate

Dartmoor’s northern tors, moors and Taw river are the stars of this remote ramble, best enjoyed in the early hours as the skylarks welcome the dawn.

The circular route takes you from the village of Belstone onto the moor, where the track passes below the Nine Maidens Stone Circle, followed by Irishman’s Wall – a dry-stone wall that’s said to have been built by Irish workers, in an attempt to enclose the land and claim it as their own. Unsurprisingly, the locals were having none of it and sections were pushed down, leading to the project being abandoned.

After passing below Winter Tor (or over the top if you fancy an additional climb), you’ll cross a (usually) shallow ford on the River Taw before heading uphill to the east.

On your way back to Belstone, you’ll pass Cosdon Hill (also known as Cosdon Beacon or Cawsand Beacon) – one of the highest hills in Dartmoor, it’s well worth taking a detour up for the views. Traces of prehistoric occupation are all around, with the remnants of nine Bronze Age settlements to the west and a large cairn on the summit, which may have been the site of a beacon.

After heading downhill and west, a footbridge over the River Taw leads back into the village, where you can rest and refuel at The Tors, a welcoming pub that sits some 300m/1,000ft above sea level.

DISTANCE: 9.8km/6 miles
DIFFICULTY: Moderate

Starting on the banks of the Meldon Reservoir near Okehampton, this 6-mile loop will take you out onto the north moors and Dartmoor’s two highest tors, where you can catch your breath while taking in some of the national park’s finest views. Be sure to wear sturdy, waterproof walking boots, as this route can get boggy.

The last of eight reservoirs to be built in Dartmoor, Meldon Reservoir was completed in 1972 to dam the West Okement River and supply water to North Devon. After parking in the reservoir car park and crossing the dam, you’ll follow first the edge of the reservoir and then the West Okement River to reach Black-a-Tor Copse National Nature Reserve – one of three high-altitude oak woodlands on Dartmoor, it sits about 365m/1,200ft above sea level.

From here, you walk south-east over the top of Black Tor before continuing your ascent to the summit of High Willhays – the highest point on Dartmoor, at 621m/2,039ft above sea level.

Continuing north along the ridge on an old stone track, you’ll arrive at the summit of neighbouring Yes Tor, marked by a trig point and a military flagpole for firing warnings, before heading down a steep slope towards Longstone Hill and the reservoir beyond.

DISTANCE: 11.1km/7 miles
DIFFICULTY: Moderate

If your motivation is ticking off as many tors as possible – known locally as ‘tor bagging’ – this scenic loop in the heart of the national park is hard to beat.

Starting your ascent from the car park opposite the Two Bridges Hotel, the first stop is Crockern Tor. This once served as the open-air meeting place of Dartmoor’s Stannary Parliament – the governing body for local tin miners – who gathered here between the 15th and 18th centuries to make laws for the industry. Among the notable Lord Wardens of the Stannaries was Sir Walter Raleigh, who presided over a court at Crockern Tor on 27 October 1600. 

Next up is Littaford Tor, shortly followed by Longaford Tor, with views of Beardown Tors to the west and the road to Postbridge to the east.

A further climb takes you to the highest point of the walk – Higher White Tor, at an altitude of about 527m/1,729ft – before descending to Lower White Tor. From here, you can see Rough Tor, just under a mile to the west, along with the television mast at North Hessary Tor in the south. 

Walking south across open moorland, you’ll reach the West Dart River, which you cross to follow the banks of the Devonport Leat to Beardown Farm, before joining a wooded path back to Two Bridges.

DISTANCE: 6.9km/4¼ miles
DIFFICULTY: Moderate

Enjoy history, stunning valley views and ancient woodlands on this circular walk through the Teign Valley on the northern fringes of Dartmoor National Park.

The route starts near the village of Drewsteignton, at Castle Drogo. Although the name might conjure images of a medieval fortress, it’s actually England’s youngest castle, completed in 1930. Designed by architect Edwin Lutyens, it was the grand family home of Julius Drewe, founder of the Home and Colonial Stores, once one of the UK’s largest retail chains.

After exploring the castle (now run by the National Trust), you can follow a path along the top of the Teign Gorge, crossing the wonderfully named Piddledown Common on the way to the summit of Sharp Tor. From here, you can enjoy spectacular views across the valley to Whiddon Wood – an ancient woodland that’s the focus of one of England’s largest woodland restoration projects.

After traversing the valley and crossing the River Teign at the 17th-century stone-arch Fingle Bridge, you’ll follow a riverside path that takes you through Hannicombe Wood, Whiddon Wood and the boundary of Whiddon Deer Park on your way back to the castle.

DISTANCE: 18.2km/11¼ miles
DIFFICULTY: Strenuous

It might be hard going, but this 11-mile circuit that winds its way around the Dart Valley is well worth the effort. The steep ascents are rewarded with some of Dartmoor’s finest views. Be warned, though: it can be muddy after rain and should be tackled on a clear day, when the final stretch over open moorland is easier to follow.

Starting at Hexworthy Bridge car park, you’ll pass through Dartmeet, where the East and West Dart rivers converge, on your way up to Sharp Tor, where a steady climb to the top is rewarded with splendid views.

Shortly after, you’ll join a section of the Two Moors Way, following a fine ridge-top track high above the wooded valley on your way to Newbridge – a medieval bridge over the river – and Holne, where you can visit the 13th-century church of St Mary the Virgin.

The return leg crosses the open moor (careful navigation required) to Combestone Tor, with expansive views over the Dart, before delivering you back to Hexworthy.