Dartmoor - Ancient Villages

Essential Intel

Please note: there are charges at some of the car parks you need to stop at on this Trail. Take coins/change with you as mobile coverage can be quite patchy in some areas.

This is a LINEAR route driving Trail, starting from Tavistock on the Western side of the moor, heading to Lustleigh, on the Eastern side. It does not loop back to Tavistock.

Drive carefully on Dartmoor's narrow roads and narrow lanes, and do not exceed 40mph. Be very careful of livestock on the roads and do not feed the ponies. Toilets at Princetown are seasonal, and the optional clapper bridge detour is on a busy road with open water and no barriers.

Navigating The Route

This is a linear Detective Mystery across Dartmoor's ancient villages, with Detectives helping Chief Superintendent Fay Talerror chase Al Catraz, who is plotting a breakout from Dartmoor Prison and may have enlisted a mysterious specialist to help him escape across Dartmoor.

The investigation covers 2 miles walking or 33 miles driving and should take 5+ hours to complete. You'll begin in the centre of Tavistock, then follow a driving and walking route across Dartmoor, with short on-foot sections at several villages before finishing in Lustleigh.

This Trail is wheelchair accessible and pushchair accessible. The route uses narrow roads and narrow lanes, with some sections on foot, so take your time when stopping, parking and continuing the case on foot.

Expect a drive of about 10 miles between Widecombe and Chagford, plus another 6.8 km / 4.2 miles to Lustleigh. Take great care on the narrow roads and around livestock, and keep watch for ponies without feeding them. The optional clapper bridge detour involves a busy road and open water with no barriers.

Getting There

By car: Start the investigation in the centre of Tavistock. Car park stops and parking options for the case include Pork Hill car park (PL19 9JU), using ///starring.tricky.wheat; a slightly larger parking area on the left after about 1 km from Pork Hill, using ///grows.strikers.system; Princetown pay and display car park (PL20 6QF), using ///tango.gracing.scrap, where the first of four Princetown clues is near the toilet block; National Park Visitor Centre car park at Postbridge (PL20 6TH), using ///noting.rucksack.fund; the car park in Widecombe in-the-Moor (TQ13 7TA), using ///jacket.flattens.watching, where you should park in the car park; Court Street car park (TQ13 8LG), using ///torn.proceeds.excavate; and parking near the Church of St John the Baptist in Lustleigh (TQ13 9TA), using ///fiery.shrimps.challenge.

By public transport: Make your way to the centre of Tavistock to begin the investigation. This is a linear route, so you finish in Lustleigh rather than returning to Tavistock on the Trail.

Need the Loo?

Toilets can be found at Princetown, though these are seasonal, as well as at Widecombe car park, Chagford's Court Street car park and Moretonhampstead on Station Road. The clue route also passes the toilet block in Princetown and toilets at Lustleigh.

Bring Your Furry Sidekicks

Four-legged Detectives can join the investigation 🐾

Keep canine colleagues close around narrow roads, narrow lanes and village sections on foot. Be careful of livestock on the roads, do not feed the ponies, and take extra care near the optional clapper bridge detour, where there is a busy road and open water with no barriers.

Food & Drink Stops

There are plenty of places for refreshments along the route, useful for keeping your detective squad fuelled through a 5+ hour operation.

The route passes The Old Police Station Cafe in Princetown and The Globe Inn in Chagford, so there are named stops where you can pause the pursuit and regroup before chasing the next piece of evidence.

Want to Make a Day of It?

Dartmoor Prison

The route passes Dartmoor Prison, a fittingly dramatic landmark for this escaped-convict case. It first held French prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars, then Americans captured during the War of 1812, before reopening in 1850 as a convict jail. It now houses around 640 inmates, so keep your Detective eyes peeled for suspicious activity as you pass.

Widecombe-in-the-Moor

Widecombe-in-the-Moor is world-famous for its annual fair, held every second Tuesday in September. The event inspired the folk song 'Widecombe Fair', first published in 1880 by a local vicar, making this village a cracking extra pause for Detectives who like their evidence with a side of local legend.

Optional clapper bridge detour

A short optional detour from the route leads to Dartmoor's famous clapper bridge over the river. Treat this as an extra side-investigation rather than part of the main case, and take care - the detour is on a busy road with open water and no barriers.

St Michael & All Angels, Princetown

The Trail enters the grounds of the 'Historic Church' in Princetown, where one of the clues is in the churchyard. The investigation also returns to the village centre to search around the old Visitor Centre building, so Princetown offers a good chance to slow down and look more closely at the case surroundings.

Lustleigh Town Orchard

Near the end of the investigation, the route passes Lustleigh Town Orchard near the toilets in Lustleigh before heading back to the Church of St John the Baptist for the final clues. It makes a gentle place to pause before the case reaches its conclusion.