Ashburton

Ashburton sits on the south-southeastern edge of Dartmoor, right against the A38, about 20 miles northeast of Plymouth and 17 miles southwest of Exeter. It was one of Devon’s four stannary towns, the medieval centres that administered and taxed tin mined on the moor, and it remains the largest town inside the National Park boundary. The name comes from the Old English aesc-burna-tun, “farm by the stream where ash trees grow”, and the settlement appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Essebretone.

The town centre keeps a medieval street pattern, most visible along the older lanes off the main road, with two pubs and around half a dozen restaurants and cafes within walking distance of any cottage in town. From 1872 to 1958 Ashburton was the terminus of the Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway, bringing passengers up from the coast; the line closed to passengers in November 1958. Ashburton Carnival, with written records going back to 1891, is one of the oldest in Devon.

Being on the moor’s edge rather than deep inside it, Ashburton gives easy access to eastern Dartmoor’s tors while keeping a full high street on the doorstep. Bovey Tracey and Chagford offer a similar Dartmoor-edge base with a different mix of shops and walks, worth comparing if the choice comes down to which town centre suits the stay better. Whichever cottage you book, confirm its walking distance to open moor directly with the owner rather than judging from the address alone.