National Trust - Buckland Abbey - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

The Garden House is an exceptional garden on the fringes of Dartmoor in Devon. It's funded entirely by the work of a small charity; 'The Fortescue Garden Trust'. Packed with plants and colors for all seasons, it is well worth visiting most of the year. The tower in the walled garden offers magnificent views of the landscape. There is a new Arboretum which has great displays of colors in the Autumn.

A historic copper port has been restored as an outdoor museum of industrial heritage. See a miner's cottage, waterwheel, assay laboratory, smithy, cooperage, lime kilns and other buildings that create a fascinating experience of the history of the area. This small mine has many features characteristic of the other mines found throughout the Tamar Valley, but here you can actually journey underground and experience something of the working conditions of the miners during the 19th century.

The National Trust's Cotehele, Cornwall, is a Tudor house with superb collections, garden, quay and estate. The house was probably founded around 1300 and various alterations were made in the early fifteenth century. It includes a mill, 15 century chapel and Cotehele Quay. They receive around 100,000 visitors a year to its Barn Restaurant and Edgcumbe Arms Tearoom.

Burrator Reservoir is situated within Dartmoor, and the tranquil water and surrounding mixed woodland contrast sharply with the open moor and the rugged Dartmoor tors. The reservoir is popular with walkers, cyclists, and horse riders due to its wealth of footpaths and bridleways. Many of the trails lead on to Dartmoor so it makes an ideal starting point for longer trips.

Dartmoor Prison Museum reflects the heritage of HMP Dartmoor from Prisoner of War Depot to the present day. The museum attracts more than 35,000 visitors every year from all over the world. Some of the artifacts and documents on display will surprise you but will certainly enable you to form an opinion about prison life.

Dartmoor Zoo is a beautiful 30-acre zoo just north of the village of Sparkwell. It was opened in 1968 by Ellis Daw who ran it until its licence was revoked and it was forced to close in 2006. It has over 70 different animal species, including some endangered and critically endangered species. The zoo has a breeding program with common marmosets, tapir, slender-tailed meerkats, Kafue lechwe, and wallaby.