Middle Tor

The walk up Middle Tor is steep enough to make your calves sing, but the payoff is genuine. You're on Dartmoor proper here - proper Dartmoor, not the softened edges you get near Exeter - and the views across the moorland plateau are the kind that make you understand why people get addicted to this place.

It's a short trek from the parking area, maybe twenty minutes if you're not dawdling, and the tor itself isn't massive. What matters is the isolation. On a clear day you can see for miles across open moorland, and the granite outcrops scattered around give the whole landscape that raw, almost hostile feel that makes Dartmoor different from other National Parks in the region.

History types will find Bronze Age cairns in the vicinity if they know where to look, though you'll need a decent guide or local knowledge. Families with older kids will manage it fine; younger ones might struggle with the exposed terrain and lack of facilities. There's no café, no visitor centre, no concessions to comfort. Bring water.

Free to visit, obviously - it's moorland. Go early or mid-week if crowds matter to you, though you're unlikely to see many people anyway. The real appeal is combining it with nearby Barley Meadow or Woodland Springs if you're basing yourselves at one of the touring parks between Exeter and Dartmoor National Park. It's the kind of walk that takes ninety minutes door-to-door and leaves you feeling like you've actually been somewhere.