Photo © John Lawson, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Gidleigh
Gidleigh is a tiny place on the north eastern edge of the moor above the North Teign, a church, a farm or two and the ruin of a small castle, reached by lanes that do not really go anywhere else. The castle is a modest thing, the stone tower of a medieval manor rather than a fortress, but it has stood a long time and gives the hamlet a presence out of proportion to its size.
The moor above Gidleigh holds some of the best prehistory in the National Park. Scorhill stone circle stands on the open ground a walk from the village, one of the finest and least restored circles on Dartmoor, and the Teign nearby is crossed by the Wallabrook clapper and the strange slotted stone known as the Tolmen. The country here is quiet, hard to reach, and rewards those who make the effort. Gidleigh Park, in the woods below, has brought the parish a rather different kind of fame.
Gidleigh on the map
In Gidleigh
Abigail North Ceramics
Gidleigh, Chagford
I originally trained in ceramics in London and Devon, and now work from my remote moorland studio.
Gidleigh Castle
Gidleigh, Chagford
A modest medieval castle ruin nestled in moorland, offering glimpses into Dartmoor's feudal past.
Gidleigh Park
Gidleigh, Chagford
A Michelin-starred country house hotel in over 100 acres on the edge of Dartmoor, and a member of Relais & Châteaux since 1984.
North Teign River
Gidleigh
A headwater of the River Teign, rising at Teign Head on the high northern moor and running down past Scorhill towards Chagford. On its bank sits the Tolmen Stone, a boulder the water has bored clean through.
