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Cranbrook Castle
Grid ref: SX 7386 8901
On walking routes: Teign Gorge Classic Circuit, Castle Drogo
Cranbrook Castle is an earthwork monument in the heart of Dartmoor, probably dating to the medieval period, though the moor's long history of settlement means an Iron Age origin is also possible. The site consists of defensive earthworks, and its name reflects the castle-like strength of its ramparts and ditches rather than stone walls or later fortifications.
Today the castle survives as a low, overgrown earthwork set into the moorland landscape. It offers little grandeur but speaks to the practical needs of those who lived and held power here. Walking the site gives a sense of how people used the high moor in earlier centuries, and why they chose this exposed ground for a stronghold.
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