Hembury Castle

Hembury Castle sits on a dramatic knoll above the River Dart, its earthworks still clearly visible despite nearly 900 years of weather and neglect. Built by the Normans in the 12th century, the castle consists of a high mound topped by a keep, surrounded by defensive ditches and bailey, a textbook example of medieval military engineering adapted to Dartmoor's unforgiving landscape.

The setting itself rewards a visit. From the summit, the moorland falls away toward wooded river valleys, and on clear days you can trace the horizon far beyond Dartmoor's eastern boundary. The climb is steep and the ground often boggy, but that isolation is precisely what makes the place feel authentic, a fortress built in earnest, not for show, watching over medieval trade routes and settlements.