Top 20 Natural Monuments around Cornwood

Beyond the popular spots, you can explore Redlake Pool, a remote lake with remnants of china clay extraction and peat digging history. Another unique site is Blackpool and the Salmon Leaps, offering river rapids, small pools, and a pebble beach, ideal for wild swimming.

Yes, several. Dartmeet and Clapper Bridge marks the confluence of the East and West Dart rivers and features a medieval clapper bridge alongside evidence of ancient settlements. Additionally, Lydia Bridge Waterfall is a Grade II listed stone packhorse bridge from the 17th or 18th century, with a picturesque waterfall flowing nearby.

The region is rich in diverse natural features. You'll find ancient woodlands, river gorges, and distinctive granite outcrops known as tors. The area also boasts serene water bodies like Redlake Pool, and dynamic river sections such as those at Blackpool and the Salmon Leaps with its rapids and pools.

Yes, Combestone Tor is considered family-friendly due to its easy accessibility by road. It offers impressive granite rock formations and tremendous views, with Dartmoor ponies often grazing nearby, making it a great spot for a family outing.

Dendles Wood National Nature Reserve is an ancient upland oak and beech woodland, highly valued for its ecological significance and rare species like the blue ground beetle and Barbastelle bat. Access to Dendles Wood is by permit only due to its sensitive ecosystems. You need to contact the site manager at Natural England for permission to enter. More information can be found on the Devon's National Nature Reserves page.

If you obtain a permit, the best time to potentially observe woodland birds and bluebells in Dendles Wood National Nature Reserve is from mid-April to mid-June.

The area offers various outdoor activities. You can find numerous running trails, including challenging routes like the 'Red Lake and River Erme loop from Ivybridge'. For cyclists, there are road cycling routes such as the 'South moor from Ivybridge'. You can explore these and more options in the Running Trails around Cornwood and Road Cycling Routes around Cornwood guides.

Yes, there are many hiking opportunities. For easier walks, you can explore routes like 'Ivybridge Longtimber Woods – Dartmoor Miles Without Stiles' or the 'Tavy Moors Way Stone Marker loop from Ivybridge'. More options, including easy hikes, can be found in the Easy hikes around Cornwood guide.

The region is a biodiversity hotspot. Dendles Wood National Nature Reserve, for example, is home to a rich diversity of mosses, liverworts, and lichens, some of which are nationally significant. It also supports rare species like the blue ground beetle and the Barbastelle bat, and is excellent for birdwatching, with species such as the pied flycatcher and wood warbler.

Visitors appreciate the diverse landscape, from the ancient clapper bridge and prehistoric elements at Dartmeet to the picturesque waterfall at Lydia Bridge. The remote, bleak beauty of sites like Redlake Pool and the impressive views from Combestone Tor are also highly valued. Many enjoy the opportunity for wild swimming at places like Blackpool and the Salmon Leaps.

Yes, Combestone Tor is renowned for its tremendous views, particularly along the Dart Valley northwards and across the moorland and fields to the west. It's an easily accessible spot to take in the expansive Dartmoor landscape.