Moretonhampstead

A wonderfully atmospheric market town, Moretonhampstead is right on the edge of Dartmoor, you can see the moor from the town. Much of the town is a conservation area with many listed buildings of architectural and historic interest, including the Grade 1 Parish Church and the almshouses on Cross Street. The National Trust now manage a number of the buildings in the town, making them tourist attractions. Many of the original buildings have been repurposed, with the arts and heritage centre now being housed in the former primary school and the former bus depot now being a motor vehicle museum.

Although the residents will tell you it’s a town, Moretonhampstead has a village like quality. It is geographically at almost the exact middle of the county, so for anyone visiting Devon that wants to travel around, this would be a good base, with pretty much everything within equal distance away.

Being so close to the moor means that Moretonhampstead is full of spooky legends to enthral and scare visitors. Dartmoor has long been surrounded with stories of ghosts, mysterious legends and mythical creatures. Moretonhampstead, with its old buildings and historic charm also has a number of mysteries and tales.

As the moor is literally on the doorstep, visitors who want to spend time in the region exploring and taking part in walking trails will find Moretonhampstead an ideal base. It isn’t just about the exploration though, the town has a thriving crafts community and has a whole host of open studios and galleries that regularly welcome artists from around the country to display their works and also offer workshops. More recently it has been home to an increasing number of public art installations.

Moretonhampstead has an open air swimming pool, perfect for hot Devon summers and neighbours Bovey Tracey, which is an interesting historical town in its own right and is home to Bovey Castle. A number of other popular attractions are also nearby.