South Devon & Dartmoor

This new, thoroughly updated third edition of South Devon and Dartmoor is part of Bradt's distinctive ‘Slow Travel' series of guides to UK regions, offering in-depth exploration of one of England's most popular areas. Written by resident experts Hilary Bradt, Janice Booth (who died in 2023), and Gill and Alistair Campbell, it remains the essential companion to discovering not just obvious, well-known sites, but also for getting off the beaten track.

South Devon has many links with the USA. The Pilgrim Fathers set sail from the port city of Plymouth on the Mayflower in 1620. The region was the birthplace of US-connected sons including Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh, and the site of the ill-fated, little-known ‘Exercise Tiger' during World War II, in which perhaps 1,000 American lives were lost. Meanwhile, the guide's detailed descriptions of village churches assist visiting genealogists searching for ancestors from Devon.

Colourful and witty writing, along with the authors' enthusiasm for their subject, makes reading the guide a pleasure. Much of the information has appeared in no other guidebook as the authors uncover the lesser-known charms of the region and different aspects of the more popular places, together with colourful characters from the past, folk history and literary links from Agatha Christie to Arthur Conan Doyle. Discover the region's new whisky distillery; learn what really goes on at a wassail gathering; find out what to do if harassed by Dartmoor's pixies; and attend the International Worm-Charming Festival.

The guide has a special emphasis on car-free travel: walking (this edition features a revised selection of routes, including ‘miles without stiles' – accessible Dartmoor walks), cycling and river boats, as well as local buses (including the new Dartmoor Explorer service) and trains. This edition has a stronger emphasis on local food (both in markets and when eating out), while the authors have updated their hand-picked suggestions for places to eat and drink, and for accommodation (from idyllically located campsites to boutique B&Bs via caravans, treehouses and haunted coaching inns). Let Bradt's South Devon and Dartmoor guide you around this gorgeous region.