Ashburton Library

The library sits on North Street in Ashburton, a proper working market town on the edge of Dartmoor. It's the sort of place locals actually use - part of the fabric of the community rather than a tourist tick-box. You'll find the usual library offerings: books, computers, a reading room that's genuinely quiet, and staff who know their patch.

What makes it worth a mention during a Dartmoor caravan holiday is the local history section. Ashburton's medieval wool trade and tin mining heritage gets decent coverage, which adds real context if you're walking the surrounding moors. It's also a logical stop if you're based at Dornafield or Ashbourne Woods and the weather's turned grim - somewhere to warm up and kill an hour without spending money.

Kids won't find it thrilling unless they're keen readers, but there's usually a children's corner. The building itself has character - these small-town Devon libraries often occupy converted Victorian or Edwardian structures, though the interior's functional rather than fancy.

Admission is free, obviously. Parking on North Street can be tight during market day (Thursday), but there's a car park nearby. Allow 30 minutes if you're just browsing, longer if you're actually researching the area's history. Not a destination in itself, but genuinely useful if you're spending a week camped nearby and want an indoor option when the rain's horizontal.