Mary Tavy & Peter Tavy

Those on a standard itinerary from Okehampton will stay in one or other of these neighbouring villages.  Both are small and relatively remote places with only one or two accommodation options but are set in a sheltered and lush green valley that sits on the rushing River Tavy just below the edge of the moorland.

The two villages grew separately, although both were named after their respective churches and the river which passed through these small agricultural settlements with their scattered farms and cottages.  The two churches are located a mile apart from each other and at Mary Tavy church you can still see the village stocks in the porch, whilst St Peters Church  has medieval rood screen remnants and Tudor wood carvings worth taking a look at.

The geology here gave Mary Tavy the upper hand in its fortunes, as rich veins of copper, tin and silver were all discovered here.  Wheal Friendship, the local mine to the north of the village, was at one point the largest copper mine in the world and employed over 1000 men and women in its heyday.  The huge overgrown engine house remains clinging to the moor today are one of Dartmoor’s most Iconic and lonely sights and it can be visited on an evening stroll from the village.

At Mary Tavy you can stay in the local Inn whilst at Peter Tavy there are no Inn rooms but one or two B&B’s for walkers - however just as Peter Tavy retains its own church ....so it has its own pub and the 15th Century Peter Tavy Inn has roaring log fires in the winter and a beer garden with views of the moor in summer as well as a reputation for good food and the holder of several real ale pub awards.