Mardon Down East Top

About Mardon Down East Top

Rising above the Teign Valley on Dartmoor’s northeastern fringes, this expansive heather-clad plateau offers an accessible sense of wilderness. Unlike the rugged granite tors found deeper in the moor, the summit is a gentle, grassy swell. It provides a superb vantage point for surveying the wooded valley and the distant Haldon Hills.

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Did You Know?

• •The name likely originates from the Old English 'mære', meaning a boundary, and 'dun', meaning hill, reflecting its position overlooking the transition from the high moor to the lower farming combes.
• •The plateau is home to the Mardon Down Stone Circle; although many of its stones are now recumbent, it remains one of the largest prehistoric circles by diameter on Dartmoor.
• •From the summit, you can look directly across the deep trench of the Teign Valley to see the prominent profiles of Cosdon Hill to the northwest and the massive ridge of Hameldown to the southwest.
• •The area is crossed by several ancient trackways, including the Mariner’s Way, a historic long-distance path used by sailors travelling between the ports of Dartmouth and Bideford.
• •Despite its status as a Tump, the climb is so modest that the most strenuous part of the walk is often navigating the thick gorse to find the exact highest point.