Devon: Dartmoor, the South Hams and Exmoor

Editor's note

Three nights in the South Hams. Dartmouth Castle is the oldest known purpose-built coast artillery fort in Britain; walk its gun platforms above the harbour mouth, then cross the Dart and ride the steam train from Kingswear. At Torcross, a Sherman tank recovered from the sea remembers the American servicemen killed during Exercise Tiger in April 1944, rehearsing the Normandy landings at Slapton Sands. Take the ferry from Salcombe to the sand bars at East Portlemouth. Burgh Island is cut off at high tide: walk over the sand at low water and ride the sea tractor back. Totnes has a Norman castle keep, and Berry Pomeroy a roofless Tudor mansion.

Editor's note

Two nights on Dartmoor. Climb High Willhays, at 621m the highest point in southern England, with Yes Tor from Okehampton Camp; the camp is on the edge of the military ranges, so check the MoD firing notices first. On the western moor, walk to the Merrivale stone rows, a Bronze Age double row, and into Wistman's Wood, a stunted ancient oakwood among the boulders of the West Dart valley. Ponies roam the open moor. At Buckfast, walk the abbey church that Benedictine monks rebuilt between 1907 and 1938, mostly with their own hands and four at a time, then the lavender and physic gardens.

Editor's note

Three nights on the north Devon coast. Walk down Clovelly's cobbled street, too steep for vehicles and supplied by sledge, to the 16th-century harbour. Cycle the traffic-free Tarka Trail along the estuary from Barnstaple and walk the dunes at Braunton Burrows. Croyde is the surf village and Saunton Sands the longboarding beach, while Woolacombe's sand runs from Baggy Point to Morte Point; take a lesson, or walk the beach to Putsborough at low tide. GoldCoast Oceanfest is held at Croyde on the weekend nearest the summer solstice. In Ilfracombe, stand under Damien Hirst's Verity on the pier and walk the hand-cut tunnels to the tidal bathing pools.

Editor's note

Two nights on Exmoor. Ride the water-powered cliff railway between Lynton and Lynmouth, where the top car fills its tank and hauls the lower one up. Walk the coast path into the Valley of Rocks to look for the feral goats, and up the East Lyn to Watersmeet. Climb Dunkery Beacon, 519m, the highest point on Exmoor and in Somerset, and look for Exmoor ponies on the open moor. Exmoor was Europe's first International Dark Sky Reserve, and October to March gives the darkest nights. Porlock Hill climbs 1,300 feet in under two miles at up to 1 in 4, so take the toll road in anything heavy or long.