Erme Pits

Erme Pits are the weathered remains of mines that once drove the economy of this part of Dartmoor. In the 1800s, tin and china clay extraction scarred and shaped the landscape as miners dug deep into the moor, leaving behind stone-lined pits and spoil heaps that are still visible today. Walking among these ruins, you're standing in the footprints of industrial Dartmoor, a wilder, busier place than the quiet moorland you see now.

The site sits on open moor where heather and grass have slowly reclaimed the workings. It's an honest place, unadorned and atmospheric, that speaks to both the ingenuity and the environmental cost of extracting Dartmoor's mineral wealth. The pits offer little interpretation but much to observe for those interested in how human enterprise has shaped this ancient landscape.