Wistman’s Wood

Wistman’s Wood is an upland oak woodland in the West Dart Valley and a National Nature Reserve, described by Dartmoor National Park Authority as a fragment of temperate rainforest. Its twisted oaks, moss and lichen sit among granite boulders, a close-grained little world against the open moor. If you like a place that feels unlike the landscape around it, give this one an hour. The appeal is the tangled shape of the trees and their setting in the valley, not a big summit or a long route. Stay outside the wood: visitors are asked not to walk among the trees or scramble over the boulders, which would damage the fragile growth.

Start at the small visitor car park opposite Two Bridges Hotel and follow the broad track. The out-and-back to the wood is about 4 km in total, and the authority suggests allowing an hour. The track passes to the right of Crockern Farmhouse; beyond it, you get a good view of the wood in the West Dart Valley. Pause here and look at the whole patch of oak against the moor. It’s the view to make your photo from, rather than trying to get close by stepping into protected ground.

After a gateway the path narrows and becomes rough, muddy and wet for the rest of the route. It’s a short walk, but the final stretch isn’t a smooth path, and moorland weather can change quickly. Give yourself time to stop at the view and take care if the ground is wet.

The woodland is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall and managed by Natural England. It’s protected as a National Nature Reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest for its delicate lichens and surrounding heathland, mire and grassland. One of its rare residents is Horsehair lichen, which the authority says grows at only two sites in Britain. That’s a good reason to resist the tempting close-up among the trees: the moss and lichen are part of what makes the place special, and the wood is best appreciated from its edge.

There’s more to the valley than the oaks. Ruined walls of more than 100 prehistoric huts sit on higher ground northeast of the wood. They’re a separate part of the landscape to notice if you have time to look beyond the trees, not a reason to cut across the sensitive woodland.

Parking is at the small car park opposite Two Bridges Hotel. Spaces are very limited, so avoid busy times and don’t park along the road or across gateways; those access points need to stay clear. The basic visit is the 4 km return walk, not the longer moorland circuit that some route guides describe. That roughly 8 km loop continues above the wood past the three-metre Buller Stone to Longaford Tor, then returns by Littaford Tors and Crockern Tor. It takes about two hours before stops, but is largely unsigned and includes boggy ground and a stream crossing. Choose it only if you’re ready for a longer walk and can follow a route across open moorland.