Ashburton hotels and self catering cottage accommodation in Ashburton

Devon » Ashburton accommodation

A great place to explore South Devon and Dartmoor from, Ashburton is located in its very centre, a little south of the moor, and in between Exeter and Plymouth. Pony riding, fishing, canoeing and trekking are just some of the numerous activities available nearby.

This Saxon town runs along the Ashburn River and the Balland Stream and is filled with beautiful buildings and good food. St Andrew church, built in the 12th century, rebuilt in the 15th, features a remarkable 92 ft tower with a French soldier's grave at the base, while the Ashburton Methodist Church, built in 1835, is also used as a community centre.

Also of interest are the Card House, now a supermarket, and the Mermaid Inn, now a hardware supply store, but once the place where General Fairfax stayed, during the English Civil War. Inside what was a brush factory lies the Ashburton Museum, which among other things, displays a variety of North American Indian objects.

Originally, one of the Bishop of Exeter's private chapels, then the town chapel, then a Grammar School, which stood for 600 years, and now a summer Heritage Centre, the Chapel of St Lawrence is definitely worth a look.

On the close-by Dartmoor slopes, River Dart Adventures consists of roughly 90 acres of beautiful Victorian parks on both sides of the river. Buckfastleigh is quite near along with Buckland Beacon which offers a splendid view of the forests, valleys, river and far away hills. The Ten Commandments are carved into the granite rocks here 1281 ft above sea level.