Best Hidden Gems in Devon
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best hidden gems in Devon are Meldon Reservoir, Lundy Island, Bennett’s Cross, Roos Tor, Wheal Betsy, Glen Lyn Gorge, Wistman’s Wood and Fingle Bridge.
Devon is a county of two coasts and a wild granite heart, where the high moorland of Dartmoor gives way to river valleys, wooded gorges and a long, indented shoreline. It is easy to spend a whole trip on the well-known honeypots, yet some of the region's most rewarding places sit a little off the beaten track, waiting for those willing to walk a mile or catch a boat.
On Dartmoor you can trace old crosses like Bennett's Cross, climb to the weathered stacks of Roos Tor and Wistman's Wood, or stand beneath the leaning chimney of Wheal Betsy. Down at the coast, the Oldenburg ferry carries visitors out to Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel, while Glen Lyn Gorge tells the story of the Lynmouth flood.
From the still water of Meldon Reservoir to the old packhorse arch of Fingle Bridge, these are places that reward a little effort. Here are eight of the best hidden gems to seek out in Devon.
Meldon Reservoir
Photo: Derek Harper via Geograph.org.uk
Meldon Reservoir sits in a steep valley on the northern edge of Dartmoor, a few miles south-west of Okehampton, where the West Okement River was dammed in Meldon Gorge. A tall concrete dam holds back the water, which lies among high moorland at around nine hundred feet.
A path of roughly a mile loops around the reservoir and links into the wider network of moorland tracks, with the high tops of Yes Tor and High Willhays rising beyond. It is used for walking, fishing and birdwatching, and the Meldon Viaduct and the Granite Way lie a short distance away.
Seek it out for a quiet moorland circuit close to Okehampton.
Lundy Island
Photo: Sarah Charlesworth via Geograph.org.uk
Lundy Island is a granite island in the Bristol Channel off the north coast of Devon, about three miles long and rising to some 469 feet. Owned by the National Trust and run by the Landmark Trust through day trips and holiday lets in its cottages, it has a small resident community, a pub that doubles as the island shop, a church and three lighthouses.
There are no cars for visitors. People come for the cliff walks and the wildlife, including the puffins that give the island its name, along with seals and seabirds.
The Oldenburg ferry runs from Bideford and Ilfracombe through summer, with a helicopter in winter. Seek it out for a proper island escape.
Bennett’s Cross
Photo: Michael Dibb via Geograph.org.uk
Bennett’s Cross is an old granite cross standing beside the moorland road across Dartmoor, near the Warren House Inn between Postbridge and Moretonhampstead. It is a rough, weathered stone about waist-to-shoulder height, with short stubby arms, cut from coarse granite full of pale crystals.
On one face the letters WB are carved, for Warren Bounds, since the cross long marked the edge of an old rabbit warren as well as a parish boundary. It sits in open moor near the grassed-over remains of old tin workings, with the wide sweep of the moor beyond.
Medieval in date, it stands by the roadside, easy to find and easy to miss. Seek it out on a Dartmoor crossing.
Roos Tor
Photo: Milestone Society via Geograph.org.uk
Roos Tor is a granite tor on the western moors of Dartmoor, north of the larger Great Staple Tor and above the village of Merrivale in Devon. Great weathered stacks of granite crown the hill, with rock basins worn into the stone and a surviving logan, or rocking stone, on top.
A ring of low, dressed boundary stones was set around the tor in the nineteenth century by the Duke of Bedford to stop quarrymen taking the rock, and Bronze Age hut circles lie on the slopes below. It rises to about 454 metres, with wide moorland views, and is popular with walkers.
Seek it out for a breezy climb above Merrivale.
Wheal Betsy
Photo: Chris Allen via Geograph.org.uk
Wheal Betsy is a 19th-century mine engine house standing beside the A386 on open moorland at Mary Tavy, on the western edge of Dartmoor. It is the last mine engine house left standing on Dartmoor, a tall stone building with a leaning circular chimney held by a tie-bar.
The mine worked lead and silver, along with some copper and zinc, and closed in 1877. The National Trust owns the building, though not the land around it, and it can be seen from the roadside at any time.
Seek it out as a landmark on the drive across the western moor.
Glen Lyn Gorge
Photo: Basher Eyre via Geograph.org.uk
Glen Lyn Gorge is a wooded gorge on the West Lyn River at Lynmouth in Devon, run privately as a visitor attraction. A steep path climbs beside the rushing water past rock formations and small waterfalls, with an exhibition on the power of water partway up.
The gorge was at the centre of the great Lynmouth flood of 1952, and the site tells that story along with the village's early use of water for electric power. The paths are steep and slippery and not suited to wheelchairs.
Seek it out for a bracing walk beside the falls.
Wistman’s Wood
Photo: Martin Bodman via Geograph.org.uk
Wistman’s Wood is a small patch of ancient, high-altitude oak woodland in the West Dart valley on Dartmoor, near Two Bridges. Stunted, twisted oaks grow among a jumble of granite boulders thickly covered in mosses, ferns and lichens, one of the images people picture as temperate rainforest.
It is reached by a walk of about a mile and a half each way from a car park near the Two Bridges Hotel, along a track that turns rough and wet. It is a national nature reserve, and visitors are asked to stay out of the wood itself to protect the fragile plants.
Seek it out for one of Dartmoor's strangest woods.
Fingle Bridge
Photo: David Gearing via Geograph.org.uk
Fingle Bridge is a narrow granite arch bridge over the River Teign at the foot of the Teign Gorge, near Drewsteignton on the edge of Dartmoor. Dating from the 17th century and long used by packhorses, it sits in a wooded gorge with the Fingle Bridge Inn beside it on the riverbank.
It is a popular starting point for riverside and gorge walks, including the paths up to the hillforts above and the circuits toward Castle Drogo. Seek it out for an easy riverside base before a longer walk.
FAQs
What is the best hidden gem in Devon for a first visit?
It depends on what you enjoy. For a memorable day out, Lundy Island offers cliff walks and wildlife, while Wistman's Wood gives a taste of Dartmoor's ancient, mossy woodland closer to the road.
Do you need a boat to reach Lundy Island?
Yes. The Oldenburg ferry runs across from Bideford and Ilfracombe through the summer, and a helicopter service operates in winter. There are no cars for visitors once you arrive.
Are these Devon hidden gems suitable for families?
Many are, especially roadside sites like Bennett's Cross and Wheal Betsy and the gentle circuit at Meldon Reservoir. Steeper or longer routes, such as Glen Lyn Gorge and Wistman's Wood, need sturdy footwear and a little more care.
Conclusion
From the granite heights of Dartmoor to the cliffs of Lundy Island, Devon rewards those who look beyond the obvious. Some of these places ask a little of you, whether it is the boat out across the Bristol Channel, the long walk to Wistman's Wood, or the steep, slippery paths of Glen Lyn Gorge.
Others, like Bennett's Cross and Wheal Betsy, sit right by the road and take only a moment to find. Together they show the range of the county, from ancient woods and moorland tors to old mine houses, packhorse bridges and quiet reservoirs.
Wherever you begin, plan your walks with the weather in mind and give the wilder sites the time they deserve. Explore them at your own pace and in any order, but for reward and quiet character, these are the best hidden gems to seek out in Devon.
