Merrivale Prehistoric Settlement

Merrivale is an open-air prehistoric complex on Dartmoor, with long stone rows, burial monuments and the remains of a Bronze Age settlement scattered across open moorland. It is a place to wander between low stones and hut circles rather than a single grand ruin. The draw is seeing ritual monuments and everyday settlement in the same landscape.

Allow time to walk between the monuments: many stones sit low against the grass, and some are easy to miss from a passing car. Entry is free and the site is open during daylight, so it works as a self-guided stop. If dramatic standing stones are your main interest, the low, spread-out remains may feel understated until you find the whole group.

Two double stone rows cross the slope. The northern row runs 182 metres and the southern 263 metres; each has more than 150 stones, most under a metre tall. The southern line has terminal stones and a small ringed cairn midway. Nearby, an 18-metre circle holds 11 low stones, while a separate menhir rises over 3 metres. You can also pick out burial cairns and a single row. From the eastern end of the southern alignment, look west to bring the paired stones into line across the open ground.

The roundhouse remains lie north of the rows. More than 50 survive as low stone foundations; the larger houses reached about 8 metres across. They point to a farming settlement where people likely kept sheep and cattle. The ritual monuments date to the late Neolithic (3000–2300 BC), while the settlement was Bronze Age (2300–800 BC), but the exact relationships among the monuments remain uncertain. Farming and woodland clearance may have worn out the upland soil; people likely left around 800–700 BC. One huge stone among the settlement remains is actually a post-medieval apple crusher used for cider, a later working object among far older monuments.

Four Winds car park, off the B3357, has limited spaces. The moor is rough and uneven, with partly buried stones and trip hazards; weather can change quickly, so sturdy footwear and an extra layer help. No café, toilets or drinking water are listed for the site, so bring what you need if you plan to stay for a picnic. Ponies and sheep graze freely, so keep dogs on a lead.