Chagford, Princetown & Dartmoor

Chagford sits on the northern edge of Dartmoor beside the River Teign and grew as a stannary town linked to the island’s tin industry. The market square and narrow lanes retain a pattern set in medieval times, while local workshops and bakeries trade alongside parish buildings and a 15th‑century church. Year‑round access to moorland paths starts from lanes out of the town, where common grazing and field boundaries meet open granite country.

Princetown occupies a granite plateau at about 1,400 feet, with streets and civic buildings set around the former prison that gives the settlement its name. From the town, trackways cross peat hags and swells of open moor; walkers pass Bronze Age stone rows, turf‑covered hut circles and the clapper bridge at Postbridge as routes descend to river valleys. The area functions as working countryside and a public open space, with shooting, grazing and military training alongside long‑distance walking and bird and river habitat restoration. Routes link both settlements to the wider Dartmoor landscape without leaving the National Park.