Halfway between Exeter and Plymouth sits Ashburton, a Devon town with a Saxon pedigree, a medieval tin-mining past and an unexpected claim to fame: more than ten antique shops packed into a handful of walkable streets. It's also the self-styled southern gateway to Dartmoor National Park, which makes it a rare two-in-one base — moorland wilderness on one side, treasure-hunting and cream teas on the other.
The town centre still centres on a busy market square, once the hub of the tin and wool trade, now ringed by pastel facades and flower-boxed buildings. Ashburton Museum, set in an old brush factory, covers the town's long history, and the summer carnival has run here since 1880. It's small, but it doesn't feel like a museum piece — independent shops and galleries keep things lively.
Dartmoor is the headline act. The park covers 368 square miles and is often called one of Britain's last great wildernesses, yet it's been shaped by people for 10,000 years. England's largest concentration of Bronze Age ruins — round houses and stone rows — lies within it, alongside Iron Age hill forts. The granite Tors, more than 160 of them, draw climbers and photographers, and the highest point, High Willhays at over 2,000 feet, offers views as far as the Bristol Channel and the Welsh mountains on a clear day. Birdwatchers get nesting grounds; everyone else gets the semi-wild Dartmoor ponies that have roamed the moor for thousands of years, still looked after by local farmers. The park boundary is a short drive from town, and local outfits run guided tours if you'd rather not navigate alone.
Back in town, the Antique Trail is the draw for shoppers. Featured on shows like Antiques Road Trip and The Antiques Riviera, the trail strings together specialist dealers across several streets: Odds & Suds leans towards furniture and interior design (plus its own soap range), while The Shambles houses multiple dealers under one roof selling glassware, French linen and English country furniture. The shops collaborate too — they'll advise on selling or upcycling pieces you already own. You can walk the whole trail easily, which is just as well given how compact the town is.
For travellers, Ashburton works well as a quieter alternative to Dartmoor's busier hubs: history, nature and browsing in one place, with the moor practically on the doorstep. It suits walkers, antique hunters and anyone who wants a slow-paced Devon stay rather than a resort scene.
