Dartmoor
In his 1900 tome A Book of Dartmoor, Sabine Baring-Gould described the moor as the nursery of many Devon rivers: “And what a mother! She sends them forth limpid and pure, full of laughter and leap, of flash and brawl.” Nowhere is this more evident than at Olga Polizzi’s extraordinary Hotel Endsleigh, housed in the Duke of Bedford’s former hunting lodge amid Humphry Repton-designed gardens where running water can be heard in every corner. Cream tea with home-baked scones, served daily on the lawn, is a delight. Near Ugborough, Fowlescombe Farm has 10 nature-inspired suites, many with custom-made furniture. Its regenerative farm supplies an exceptional restaurant overseen by Elly Wentworth that serves heritage breeds such as Manx loaghtan sheep, as well as unusual vegetables including sea kale.
For a classic Dartmoor outing, it’s worth drinking in the view from Haytor before heading to The Rugglestone Inn for ales from Dartmoor Brewery. To really feel the landscape, Wilder Sauna at Dartmeet offers a plunge into the River Dart’s numbing waters, or else there’s Chagford’s swimming pool, a heated lido also fed by the river. Established in Saxon times, this stannary town has a stolid exterior, belied by hand-scrawled flyers advertising pagan ceremonies and full-moon circles. In its market square, visitors can find The Dartmoor Shepherd’s dreamy sheepskin homewares, as well as Astor’s Bookshop & Art Materials, which has a secret room filled with magazines. Chagford is also a jumping-off point for the Dartmoor Artisan Trail, which links the workshops of craftspeople, including tanner Jessie Watson Brown and wood turner Sharif Adams, who offers classes in using a traditional pole lathe to make bowls. The trail is curated by local photographer Suzy Bennett and is newly available as a day trip with a guide – a rare opportunity to try disappearing skills while learning about life on the moor.