Photo of Wistman's Wood, a National Nature Reserve near Postbridge in Dartmoor, Devon, south west England. — © Ian Capper / Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0

Wistman's Wood

National icon

Stunted, moss-draped ancient oak woodland.

Open in full map →Full map →

OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles · data from OpenStreetMap · terrain Mapzen/AWS

Wistman’s Wood is a scatter of stunted oak trees clinging to a boulder-strewn slope high on Dartmoor, their twisted branches thick with moss, ferns and lichen — one of the highest oakwoods in Britain, and one of the strangest. It sits about a mile and a half’s walk up the West Dart from the road at Two Bridges. The wood is fragile, so keep to the path around its edge rather than clambering in among the trees.

More places to visit near Wistman's Wood

Photo of Dartmoor, a National Park in Devon, south west England.

Dartmoor

You’re inside itNational Park near Postbridge

Granite tors, wild ponies and England's largest expanse of open moorland in the south.

Photo of Postbridge Clapper Bridge, a landmark in Dartmoor, Devon, south west England.

Postbridge Clapper Bridge

Landmark near Postbridge

A medieval slab bridge of huge granite blocks spanning the East Dart in the heart of the moor.

3.7 km E

Photo of Foggintor Quarry, a pool near Postbridge in Dartmoor, Devon, south west England.

Foggintor Quarry

Pool near Postbridge

A flooded granite quarry near Princetown with abandoned workers' cottages and a still blue pool for wild swimming.

6.2 km SW

Photo of Dartmeet, a landmark near Buckland-in-the-Moor in Dartmoor, Devon, south west England.

Dartmeet

Landmark near Buckland-in-the-Moor

A popular beauty spot where the East and West Dart rivers meet beside a ruined clapper bridge on open moor.

7.3 km SE

Photo of Widecombe-in-the-Moor, a village in Dartmoor, Devon, south west England.

Widecombe-in-the-Moor

Green-hearted Dartmoor village under bare tors, its granite church tower earning it the name Cathedral of the Moor.

10.4 km E · Devon

Photo of Buckland-in-the-Moor, a village in Dartmoor, Devon, south west England.

Buckland-in-the-Moor

Much-photographed cluster of thatched granite cottages in the gentler eastern folds of Dartmoor.

11.6 km E · Devon