Name: Upper Plym Valley
Rating: 5.0

Upper Plym Valley

Plymouth PL7 5EJ, UK

1-99 Years

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Description

Upper Plym Valley this extraordinary landscape encompasses some 300 Bronze Age, medieval and later sites, covering 15.5 square kilometres (6 square miles) of Dartmoor landscape. The Upper Plym Valley is English Heritage’s largest site.

It has an extraordinary concentration of stone remains littered across an area of 6 square miles, making it one of the richest archaeological landscapes of Dartmoor. Most of the remains belong to two major periods of activity on the moor: the Bronze Age (about 2300–800 BC) and the Middle Ages and later.

Free Entry. If you are looking for Best place for day out with kids and families then this is the perfect destination offering fun, adventure, and unforgettable memories for everyone.

Features

Free
Host birthday parties: No

Features

History of the Upper Plym Valley: The Upper Plym Valley is English Heritage’s largest site. It has an extraordinary concentration of stone remains littered across an area of 6 square miles, making it one of the richest archaeological landscapes of Dartmoor. Most of the remains belong to two major periods of activity on the moor: the Bronze Age (about 2300–800 BC) and the Middle Ages and later.
The remarkable survival of so many monuments is largely due to the lack of agricultural or industrial activity on the moor in modern times. This has meant that many of the prehistoric and later monuments have been left undisturbed.
Bronze Age settlement: There are especially well-preserved concentrations of Bronze Age settlements and enclosures on Trowlesworthy, Willings Walls and Hentor warrens. The enclosures consist of low, fragmentary walls made of large boulders, while the settlements consist of roundhouses, with small terraces in the hillsides enclosed by low rubble or slab walls.
Funerary and ritual monuments: There are also many funerary monuments in the Upper Plym Valley, represented by small, roughly circular cairns or mounds of stone. The best-preserved examples contain box-like burial chambers made of granite slabs, and have retaining circles of upright slabs around them.
Medieval Farming: There is a notable absence in the Upper Plym Valley, as elsewhere on Dartmoor, of remains from the Iron Age and Roman periods. Environmental evidence has shown that the farmers of the Neolithic and Bronze Age cleared the woodland on Dartmoor, degrading the soil and creating moorland. By the end of the Bronze Age, it was not economic for farmers to live on Dartmoor’s fringes and the land became only seasonal pasture.
Rabbit Warrens: From the 16th century most of the farms in the Upper Plym Valley were converted into rabbit warrens. The rabbits, much valued for their meat and fur, were housed in low, rectangular earthen mounds known as pillow mounds. Several hundred of these are scattered all over the Trowlesworthy and Hentor areas.

Facilities

Parking: There is a car park at Trowlesworthy, east of Cadover Bridge. We advise you to lock your car and keep valuables out of sight.
Dogs: Ponies and sheep graze freely on the moor so please keep your dog on a lead.

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Price

Price: Free

Birthday Parties

Offer Birthday Parties: No

Open any reasonable time during daylight hours.

Address: Plymouth PL7 5EJ, UK

Post Code: PL7 5EJ

Council: South Hams

County: Devon

Road Access: 4.0 miles / 6.4 kms South East of Yelverton.
Bus Access: The nearest bus stop to the Upper Plym Valley is Shaugh Prior (White Thorn Inn). From here it is a 2 miles / 3 km walk to Trowlesworthy Car Park. OS Explorer Map OL28 essential. Plymouth Citybus Bus 59 runs from Plymouth Royal Parade (Stop A13) via Cornwood and Shaugh Prior to Southway. The service runs Mon to Sat.
Bicycle Access: Find this site on The National Cycle Network.
Parking: There is a car park at Trowlesworthy, east of Cadover Bridge. We advise you to lock your car and keep valuables out of sight.