Mist-covered countryside at dawn, Dartmoor National Park, Devon

© AWL Images/Danita Delimon

Mists descend on Dartmoor. Dartmoor National Park

Impenetrable blankets of mist can descend quickly on Dartmoor’s high granite plateau. No wonder Sir Arthur Conan Doyle set his most famous Sherlock Holmes book, The Hound of the Baskervilles, here in south Devon. When the mist sets in, Dartmoor can take on an eerie appearance and some say mischievous piskies summon the mist to confuse the unwary. They may get a little help from the high altitude and cooler temperatures but, either way, walkers are warned to be wary of changing conditions at all times.

This national park is best known for its wild open moorland topped with boulder-like granite tors, but there is much more to it than that. At its highest point, High Willhays Tor, it reaches 2,093ft (621m) above sea level and it is home to a variety of habitats from blanket bogs and upland heath to moss-covered ancient oak woodland.

Several rivers start on Dartmoor and there are prehistoric stone circles and standing stones dotted across the moor, the remains of Iron Age forts and medieval settlements – a glimpse back through the mists of time into life here over thousands of years.