Widecombe-in-the-Moor

Widecombe-in-the-Moor lies in a green valley ringed by tors, and is for many people the picture of a Dartmoor village. At its centre stands the Church of St Pancras, whose tall granite tower has earned it the name of the Cathedral of the Moor, built on a scale that speaks of the wealth the tin trade once brought to this remote valley. The church is remembered for the great thunderstorm of 1638, when lightning struck during a service and several of the congregation were killed, an event recorded on boards inside the church and long explained in the village as a visit from the Devil.

The village is best known beyond Dartmoor for Widecombe Fair, held each September and immortalised in the song about Uncle Tom Cobley and the grey mare. The fair still draws crowds every year and remains a genuine agricultural show rather than a performance for visitors. Around the village green there are tea rooms, a pub and the National Trust's Church House, while the surrounding moor offers walks up to Hameldown, Bonehill Rocks and Hound Tor. Its combination of setting, history and folklore makes Widecombe one of the most visited places on the moor.