Widecombe-in-the-Moor Parish Council

Widecombe-in-the-Moor Parish Council serves one of Dartmoor's best-known villages, set deep in the East Webburn valley at the heart of the National Park. The nine-member elected council meets monthly (except August and December), alternating between Church House in Widecombe and Leusdon Memorial Hall, reflecting the spread-out nature of the parish beyond the main village. Widecombe is famous nationally through the folk song "Widecombe Fair" and the fair itself, still held every September, drawing large numbers of visitors alongside walkers and tourists visiting the moor year-round. The village's centrepiece is the Church of St Pancras, a Grade I listed 14th-century granite church nicknamed the "Cathedral of the Moor" for its 120-foot tower, visible for miles across the moorland. The parish council's remit covers matters such as footpaths, car parking, local amenities and planning consultation, working alongside Dartmoor National Park Authority given the parish's location entirely within the park. Cover photograph: photo by Nigel Cox, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.