South Zeal

South Zeal lies beneath the great whaleback of Cosdon Hill on the northern edge of the moor, a single wide street of cottages that betrays its origins as a medieval planned settlement, laid out deliberately as a market town by the lords of the manor. The plan never quite succeeded, and the village stayed small, which is why the shape of it survives so clearly. A chapel stands in the middle of the street, and the village has kept a strong identity separate from neighbouring South Tawton.

The Oxenham Arms, a granite inn at the heart of the village, is one of the most remarkable buildings on Dartmoor, incorporating a standing stone within its structure that is far older than the building around it. Above the village, Cosdon Hill offers a long steady climb onto the northern moor with a great sweep of view, and the ground on top carries cairns, a stone row and other prehistoric remains. South Zeal is quiet, well placed for the northern moor, and considerably older than it first appears.