Windswept. Rugged. Beautiful. Incomparable.
But enough about me (!), today I want to take you on an armchair tour of Dartmoor, an area with one (and soon to be two) English Whisky distilleries that holds a place close to my heart.
My grandparents lived in Ashburton, a village on the edge of the moors. As a child we’d visit and explore Dartmoor (especially with my uncle who builds dry stone walls and uses other traditional building skills across the moorland). But this land doesn’t need to be in your veins to inspire you with it’s magic and beauty – as well as its depth of mystery, myth and legend.
Many people will think of the wild ponies or the iconic rock formations (called ‘Tors’) when they picture Dartmoor. But this area is host to everything from ancient woodland, open moorland, rivers, waterfalls, caves, cliffs and more. And it’s steeped in legends like that of Hound Tor, inspiration for the Sherlock Holmes tale, The Hound Of The Baskervilles. Apparently the rock formation is a hunter and his pack of dogs, frozen by a coven of witches they disturbed one misty night out hunting on the moors. Geologists may disagree, but it’s certainly a good (and oft repeated) tale.
So where should you head if you’ve never been to Dartmoor before (more on the distilleries to follow).
Top 10 Dartmoor spots:
1) Widdecombe In The Moor (if you can find it – pre satnav my parents apparently drove round in circles following the road signs and never reached their destination!)
Quaint village with freely wandering Dartmoor ponies. Café & Pub. Perfect.
2) Haytor
3) Hound Tor Deserted Medieval Village
4) Becky Falls Ancient Woodland Park
5) Princetown / Dartmoor Prison Museum
6) Foggintor Quarry
7) Burrator Discovery Centre
8) Wild Swimming The River Dart (https://thehumblehome.uk/a-guide-to-wild-swimming-in-dartmoor)
9) Dartmoor Whisky Distillery*
10) The Dartmoor Distillery**
Wherever you go on the moors, be prepared for sudden changes of terrain and weather. You can be basking in sunshine one moment and shrouded in mist the next. Or find yourself in an unexpected hailstorm within seconds. Always be prepared with clothes for all weathers, spare water and food, means of communication and a map (not just on your phone as signal is patchy at best and if you get lost and your battery dies… Dartmoor is a fantastic place to explore, but don’t underestimate this wild and unforgiving landscape.
But enough doom mongering, onto the main reason for this article – the whisky.
*Dartmoor Whisky Distillery
Founded by Greg Millar (and his then business partner Simon Crow), Dartmoor Whisky Distillery is the first registered whisky distillery in Devon. Greg had undertaken a placement at Bruichladdich Distillery on Isla and couldn’t understand why his native Devon (with great malting grain, clean water and proud residents) wasn’t making whisky themselves – so the distillery was born.
Taking a different approach to many, they sourced a 1966 cogac still from France (Vinted eat your heart out!) and installed it in 2014, making them amongst the second wave of distilleries popping up across England mid 2010s. They chose the old Town Hall in Bovey Tracey as their base, giving this gorgeous Victorian building a new lease of life.
Joined by master distiller Frank McHardy, they set about getting their whisky project up and running. Using local barley (and cut with spring water from Dartmoor National Park itself) they’ve released three main expressions: Ex-Bourbon, Red Wine casks and Oloroso sherry.
We will be visiting Dartmoor Whisky Distillery on Saturday 18th January 2025 – you can join us (places are very limited) by booking here. We are also hoping to make a detour in the morning to visit the yet to be completed Dartmoor Distillery…
**The Dartmoor Distillery
Princetown Distillers was founded in 2015 by Rowan Maule, an experienced engineer with a passion for whisky and a desire to establish the largest whisky distillery in England, enabling production and distribution economies of scale.
The new distillery is located within the Dartmoor National Park, in the South-West of England, on the Duchy of Cornwall estate.
Britain’s highest distillery (when completed & operational) this is the first “commercial scale” distillery in England capable of matching the output of Glenfarclas (the stills are also based upon that same distillery’s pots).
Weather permitting (this is Dartmoor in January afterall), we’ll head-up to Dartmoor Distillery on the morning of Saturday 18th January to see the site and get an update from founder Rowan Maule. We’ll then make our way to Bovey Tracy for a quick spot of lunch, then the tour & tasting at Dartmoor Whisky Distillery.
