When shall we four meet again? Hopefully not in thunder, lightning or rain! Because Dartmoor dripped. Frog-green, mossy tree trunks soaked up every downpour like a sponge, while roadside streams gurgled more than usual. But on Pew Tor, the sun peeped out and cast rays over four haggard-looking hawthorn bushes, yet to leaf.
Their exposed forms were windswept, bent like the witches of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, as I approached the otherworldly rock formations at the tor’s summit. At least a meal at the onsite restaurant of Langstone Manor Holiday Park, a regular in our Top 100 Sites Guide where the best motorhome sites are revealed, awaited my return.
I had opted for a tour of Dorset and Devon to enjoy its food and drink scene. But a week of indulgence called for locations where a good walk was possible, too. A series of stately homes and gardens, alongside windswept hills for a rousing stomp to the summit, seemed a good match.
Exploring Dorset
I had begun at Back of Beyond Touring Park, tucked away in woodland on Dorset’s eastern edge, where nightly food trucks serve freshly cooked fish and chips, curry and the like.
My motorhome fridge was empty – waiting to be filled at a farm shop (or the site shop, which sells Dorset fare) – and I’d heard the fish was good. It was.
I can hardly claim that supper was properly walked off along the campsite’s lakeside and woodland walk, but it was a start.
In the morning, I travelled to Cranborne, where the Manor Gardens looked magnificent, bursting with spring flowers. The gardens are extensive, but not sufficiently large to warrant lunch at the excellent Kitchen Garden Café, so I took a longer, four-mile walk around the Cranborne Estate. A light lunch was followed by purchasing a bottle of Cranborne Chase Cider as a souvenir.
I drove north-west to Fontmell and Melbury Downs. These steeply sided undulations south of Shaftesbury were acquired by the National Trust in memory of Victorian author Thomas Hardy, to protect the landscape in which his famous novels are set.
A long walk on the chalk downs helped to work off a few calories. It also provided an opportunity to visit Compton Abbas Airfield, which stands on top of the downs, offering extensive views of the surroundings.
The airfield was recently acquired by film producer Guy Ritchie, and the restaurant here has an excellent reputation. You can try the local ale from his Gritchie Brewing Company, or book a Thursday brewery tour. I chose to buy a bottle of English Lore pale ale to add to my growing collection of homebound produce.
Shaftesbury, of course, had to be on the list of food- and drink-themed places to visit. Gold Hill, one of England’s most photographed landmarks, was used for nostalgic Hovis adverts in the 1970s, featuring a boy pushing his bike uphill carrying a loaf-filled basket. Do take a look at our favourite film and TV locations to visit if you’re after more ideas for touring destinations too.
These days, there’s a giant loaf positioned at the hilltop for selfies. Had the lad, today, continued on to the High Street, he’d have been able to visit the fireplace nooks of King Alfred’s Kitchen for a delicious slice of homemade Dorset Apple Cake.
The Champion Tree of Dorset
I made my way to Sherborne, one of Dorset’s most charming towns, filled with honey-stone cottages and dominated by its huge abbey.
The High Street has many eateries, including Oliver’s, a quirky coffee shop serving excellent barista coffee. Just outside the town centre is Sherborne Castle and Gardens, which I visited to walk the extensive grounds, designed by the celebrated 18th-century landscape gardener Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown.
Carpets of nodding wood anemones vied for attention beside the lakeside castle, built by Sir Walter Raleigh, but the dainty flowers were dwarfed by the enormous Cedar of Lebanon, reigning as a Champion Tree of Dorset.
Champion trees are individual trees that are important examples of their species because of their size, age, rarity or historical significance.
There was food here, too, but I opted, once again, to buy souvenirs – a bottle of Sherborne Castle wine, from grapes grown on the estate.
Picture-perfect locations
The following morning, I drove cross-country, observing the curves of Dorset’s pillow-mound countryside. Brunch was on the table in the delightful Coach House Café at Mapperton.
It’s hard to find a more perfect-looking house (it was a film location for the 2015 adaptation of Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd starring Carey Mulligan and Michael Sheen), cushioned by the valley in which it lies, complete with a formal Italianate garden and woodland valley walks.
To the south-west, on the outskirts of Bridport, is the Symondsbury Estate. The thatched cottage village is the kind of place seen on the front of holiday souvenir boxes of fudge.
Forgoing such souvenirs, I made my way instead to Symondsbury Kitchen, a popular restaurant that uses produce from the estate. The food was excellent, as was the apple juice from the orchards, setting me up well for the hike up Colmer’s Hill. This landmark is cone-shaped, with a clump of pine trees at the summit. From the top, you can enjoy stunning views of the Dorset countryside: rolling hills to the north, and the glorious vista of Lyme Bay to the south.
From Dorset to Devon
It was time to leave Dorset and cross into Devon. But not before stopping at Felicity’s Farm Shop, just west of the pretty village of Chideock.
Directly off the A35, the farm shop is worthy of a stop if only to admire the view of Golden Cap and the Jurassic Coast from its garden, where Dorset-made ice cream is served. Inside, there’s local produce to stock up the campervan.
I really should have included the coastal village of Beer on my tour as I touched down in Devon. But the rain lashed and the wind howled, so pitching up at the award-winning Oakdown Holiday Park, three miles to the west, couldn’t come soon enough. Next morning, my symbolic sun dance, on a walk along bluebell-lined country lanes, seemed to work well. Once I had reached Powderham Castle, south of Exeter, bright skies made the luscious spring greenery come alive and the estate’s herd of deer were clearly enjoying the warmth on their backs in the parkland.
The castle, home to the Earl of Devon, is lovely to wander around – especially the fine libraries, which are filled with 16th-century gold-bound books, and quite extraordinary. But so, too, are the 3500 acres of estate with woodland walks, including a secret garden (filled with domestic animals, it’s great for children) and the American Garden, bursting with exotic rhododendrons.
At the estate exit, accessible without visiting Powderham Castle, is Powderham Farm Shop and Bistro – more opportunities to purchase local produce.
Fizz on Dartmoor
I was almost ready to cross Dartmoor, but I’d discovered a tiny, 10-acre vineyard, the Swanaford Estate, just inside the eastern boundary of the national park. You can take a pre-booked guided vineyard tour, with a tutored tasting, during the summer. Once more, I added to my growing collection of souvenirs with a bottle of Swanaford’s award-winning fizz, made using the same three grapes (pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay) as champagne.
I love visiting Dartmoor, and this occasion was no less sublime. First, the verdant hills of the east before reaching the charming market town of Moretonhampstead, then climbing across the rugged wilderness of the moors to Postbridge, where an old clapper bridge prettily crosses the East Dart. Roaming sheep lined the road onwards, then I was making the descent to Merrivale, with gorgeous views from the top of Pork Hill.
It is, of course, obligatory to stop at the hilltop viewpoint for a locally made Willy’s ice cream. There’s only one flavour – vanilla – but topped with a dollop of Devon clotted cream (yes, it requires a long walk to justify!), this is as good as ice cream gets, in my humble opinion.
Ice cream, or cream tea?
But I had a dilemma. So close to Tavistock, should I opt for ice cream with a view or a Devon cream tea? The 10th-century Benedictine abbey, in the centre of historic Tavistock, is reputedly where the cream tea was created. The Bedford Hotel, in buildings that were once part of the former abbey, offers such treats. A soft, warm, light scone in the hotel’s café was a good choice.
However, delicious as clotted cream is, it does require working off. So on arrival at Langstone Manor, my next Top 100 Sites Guide park, I departed on a hearty walk to Pew Tor, visible from many of the touring pitches. It’s an easy ascent from the site, and there are many footpaths from there to reach other tors, too. The giant lumps of granite at the summit afforded immense 360˚ views.
I enjoyed that walk in the sunshine. But by the following morning, Dartmoor was dripping and my drive to Clovelly, on Devon’s north coast, took me through tunnels of overhanging beech trees, whose branches drooped in the rain.
Moss-smothered stones created supernatural shapes that appeared as a mystical landscape. At Clovelly, the long steep path of wet cobbles, like a shoal of herrings, led between a cluster of whitewashed cottages to the steel-grey sea. The cosy Snug Bar of the quayside Red Lion was the perfect excuse to enjoy fish and chips.
Apples and honey
At least for my visit next day to RHS Garden Rosemoor, a mile from Smytham Holiday Park at Great Torrington, the weather remained dry. Luckily it wasn’t too hot either, so there was no need to worry about how to keep cool on tour.
I was drawn to the kitchen garden and orchard, where the National Collection of Devon apple varieties is maintained. The Garden Restaurant serves produce from Rosemoor.
After a drive north-east to Combe Martin and an overnight stay at Newberry Valley, the regional winner for Devon in the 2024 Top 100 Sites Guide, I had one more place to visit on my tour: Quince Honey Farm, a 30-minute drive away at South Molton. The farm, celebrating 75 years in 2024, showcases the life of bees. Visitors to this popular attraction can enjoy beekeeping demonstrations, tours of the honey production area, honey tasting, beeswax candlemaking, and talks in the nectar gardens about pollinator-friendly gardening. When you need to refuel, there’s a very good restaurant.
One last souvenir – a jar of excellent honey made from the farm’s hives. I could now return home with a bag bulging with tasty treats from my tour of Dorset and Devon. These two beautiful counties are, indeed, simply incr-edible!
If you’re after a way of taking in more of the country, embarking on one of the best UK road trips could be the solution.
Planning a tour to Dorset and Devon
My route on my tour to Dorset and Devon
My tour began at Back of Beyond, just off the A31 near Ringwood. B3081 to Cranborne/Shaftesbury. A30 to Sherborne/Yeovil, then cross-country to Mapperton. A3066/A35 to Bridport/Symondsbury. A35/A3052 to Oakdown Holiday Park. A3052/A379 to Powderham Castle. A379/B3212 to Swanaford Vineyard. B3212/B3357 to Tavistock. A386/A3079 and cross-country via Stibb Cross to Clovelly. B3248 to Hartland. A39/A386 to Great Torrington. B3232/A361 to Combe Martin. A399 to South Molton.
Garden/estate locations were selected for easy parking, but Swanaford is accessed via a steep, single-track lane only suitable for small campers. Larger ’vans could park at Dunsford and walk (1.5 miles).
In Shaftesbury, car parks at Bell Street or Coppice Street are options, but vehicles must be less than 3.5t and fit within a bay.
When to go to Dorset and Devon
Most of the campsites included here are open from March to November.
Where I stayed
These sites feature in the 2024 Top 100 Sites Guide.
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