Dartmoor is stunning in the summer - but it’s even more magical under a dusting of glistening frost. From stargazing to spa days, Suzy Bennett highlights the best things to do on a winter break on Dartmoor.

1. Curl up in front of a log fire in a thatched cottage

We defy you to find a cosier place for a winter break than Moorland View Cottage, a traditional thatched holiday cottage in the 13th century Dartmoor village of North Bovey, where prices in January are half of those in summer. The two-bedroom cottage has everything you need for romantic winter break, including a wood-burning stove, huge copper tub for long evening soaks, pop-up cinema, 14th century village pub for delicious Sunday roasts, epic Dartmoor walks on the doorstep and complimentary spa membership.

2. Visit an ancient dwarf oak forest

December, January and February are the best times to visit Wistmans’ Wood, one of the UK’s oldest dwarf-oak forests and inspiration for the Lord of the Rings trilogy (The Ring’s illustrator, Alan Lee, lives in nearby Chagford). With the trees denuded of leaves, you’ll get to see the sculptural shapes of the gnarly, arthritic prehistoric trunks, furred with mosses and lichen. In fog, they make wonderfully mystical photographs. The easy one-hour walk starts from the Two Bridges Hotel, near Princetown. Combine with a cream tea at Two Bridges Hotel.
> More Dartmoor walks

3. Go stargazing

With crisp dark nights, January is the best time of year to view the night sky on Dartmoor, with the Milky Way often clearly visible. Grab a blanket, torch, picnic rug and bottle of wine and head to the top of Hound Tor, one of the most atmospheric and easily accessible spots to view the night sky.
> More things to do on Dartmoor

4. Have a Sunday roast in a cosy country pub

Let’s face it, a Sunday roast just isn’t the same in sweltering summer temperatures, and they taste best after a blustery country walk. Cosy up fireside at the The Ring of Bells, in North Bovey, where Dartmoor-bred lamb and beef, high-welfare chicken and the best Yorkshire puds you’ll ever taste are served up, fireside, in the cosy restaurant. Walk up Easdon Tor beforehand to work up an appetite. Or try the spectacular winter wonderland of Fingle Gorge, then head to the Chagford Inn or the Three Crowns.

> Best Devon pubs

> Devon’s best walks

5. Indulge in a cream tea

Devon is the home of the cream tea, and like roasts, best enjoyed in the depths of winter. The Endsleigh serves our favourite, with supersized offerings in a sublime setting. Just-baked scones are served up with huge, help-yourself quenelles of thick, clotted cream and gloopy strawberry jam, alongside fragrant loose-leaf tea in bone china cups. The wood-panelled drawing room has log fires and views of the Tamar Valley and there are Grade-I listed gardens which are beautiful, even in winter.
> Dartmoor’s best cream teas

6. Go wild swimming

Devon’s sugar-white beaches are packed with families in summer, but gloriously empty in winter. Wait until October and you’ll still have warm seas, but have the beach to yourself. Mill Bay, a quick ferry ride across the water from Salcombe, tops our list, and we also love Bantham beach, Blackpool Sands and Thurlestone Sands. Choose your favourite from our guide to South Devon’s best beaches.

7. Try traditional artisanal Dartmoor skills

The Dartmoor Artisan Trail is an arts and craft trail that gives visitors the chance to glimpse behind the workshop walls of the moor’s finest artisans, including blacksmiths, shoemakers and furniture restorers. Many offer bespoke classes for couples and individuals in December and January, and as many work indoors, they make a perfect attraction for winter breaks.
> More things to do on Dartmoor

8. Walk in a winter wonderland

Dartmoor is blessed with epic walks, and one of our favourites in winter is to the tiny parish church of St Michel de Rupe, sitting atop Brent Tor. It’s one of the cutest churches you’ll ever see, and the views are spectacular. Around the Tor are Iron Age earthworks and the remnants of a hill fort.
> Devon’s best walks

9. Have a spa day

As a guest of Moorland View, you have complimentary membership of five-star spa at Bovey Castle, with use of its pool, sauna, Jacuzzi and steam room and up to 25% off spa treatments, food and drink. Set on a private sporting estate just up the river from North Bovey, this luxury country club has an 18-hole championship golf course, indoor swimming pool, tennis courts, fly-fishing lake, croquet lawn and archery arena - all of which you can use during a stay at our boutique Devon cottage. The 20-minute walk along the river, across old stone bridges and through woodlands, is beautiful.

10. Take a cookery course

Housed in one of Ashburton’s many grand merchant's houses, Ashburton Cookery School runs short cookery classes in fish and seafood, bread, and "gastro pub" style food. One of the founders has been promoting organic food since the 1980s.

Have a spa treatment amidst the grandeur of Bovey Castle

11. Shoot clay pigeons

Winter is game shooting season in Devon, but if you’d rather have a go at shooting clays, Ashcombe Adventure Centre is the best centre in Devon, offering expert tuition for couples and small groups.

12. Make your own gin

Plymouth Gin’s Master Distiller’s Tour includes a talk about the history of the distillery, the distillation process and botanicals used. There is an in-depth blind tasting of five gins and a distilling masterclass, where guests distil their own gin using their own combination of botanicals. Every guest is given a small bottle of their own handmade gin to take away as a momento of their experience. At the end of the experience, you’ll get to choose between a complimentary miniature of Plymouth Gin to take home or enjoy a Plymouth Gin and Tonic at the Refectory Bar.

13. Eat fish and chips by the sea

The Beach House, on Thurlestone Sands, is weather-beaten clapboard shack overlooking the dramatic sea arch of Thurlestone is right on the beach, making it a perfect destination for a wintery Devon coastal walk. Crab cakes, crispy squid and bacon sandwiches are served up on rustic wooden tables in an amiable atmosphere. Over on Dartmouth harbour, the Rockfish Grill, run by celebrity chef Mitch Tonks, serves some of the best fish and chips in Devon. The menu includes locally-landed scallops and oysters, along with classics such as jellied eels, cockles, cracked crab and potted shrimp.
> More fantastic Devon restaurant and cafes

14. Walk the South West Coastal Path

Britain’s longest footpath traces the north and south coasts of Devon, offering easy access to wild and windswept cliffs, secluded sandy coves and tiny hamlets. The three-hour walk from Bolt Tail, near Hope Cove, to Bolt Head, near Salcombe, is the wildest and most romantic stretch, offering perfect beaches and jagged headlands. For a longer winter walk, start further up the coast at Bantham, and stop off fora delicious fish lunch at The Beach House, a wonderfully romantic clapboard restaurant directly on the beach at South Milton Sands.
> Devon’s best walks

15. Drink in an old pirate’s island haunt

The Pilchard Inn is a creaky, weather-beaten smugglers inn dating from 1336 oozing with swashbuckling history: ask about the pirates’ escape tunnel. Getting there is all part of the fun and makes an adventurous winter attraction. Perched on the tiny, tidal outcrop of Burgh Island, surrounded by sandy beaches and choppy seas, it’s cut off from the mainland twice a day, making it the ultimate romantic Devon place to visit. When the seas have parted, it’s a short walk across the spit. When the waters start coming in, a high-sided ‘sea tractor’ ferries passengers.
> Best Devon pubs

16. Dine at a Michelin-starred restaurant

Michelin starred Gidleigh Park is a grand Tudor-style country manor hotel, set in 107 acres of Dartmoor woodland outside Chagford. Creative menus are delivered with pin sharp accuracy, and there’s a 50-page wine list to choose from. Well worth the £100+ price tag. Work up an appetite with a walk around the Lord of the Rings-style grounds.
> More fantastic Devon restaurant and cafes

Blacksmith Greg Abel, on The Dartmoor Artisan Trail (photo: Suzy Bennett)

17. Dine on a private island

Burgh Island Hotel is a vintage art deco pile perched atop a privately owned island just off the south Devon coast, and is much as it was when Winston Churchill, Noel Coward and Agatha Christie beat a path to its door in its 1930s heyday. Non-residents can book for black-tie evening meals and Sunday lunches. Booking essential.
> More fantastic Devon restaurant and cafes

18. Shop for local pottery, crafts, home decor and antiques

The Devon Guild of Craftsmen, in Bovey Tracey, is the largest contemporary crafts centre in the South West, displaying beautiful contemporary pieces made by West Country craftsmen in an idyllic riverside setting. For antiques, Ashburton is an elegant town, where fine slate-hung frontages house a well-to-do selection of antique shops. Pretty Topsham has a lovely array of interiors shops and an extensive antiques market on the quayside.
> Devon’s best shopping

20. Visit a stately home

The National Trust property of Saltram House may look familiar: it was used as the Dashwoods’ pad in Ang Lee’s film of Sense and Sensibility. The grand Georgian façade has a Robert Adam interior with original Chippendale furniture, Wedgwood China and portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds. It gets busy in summer, don’t be surprised if you have it all to yourself in winter .
> More Devon attractions

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