Of the hundreds of tors on Dartmoor 886 to be exact. Buckland Beacon is one of the more bizarre.
Said to have been used as a fire beacon to warn of the Spanish Armarda this is** not** why it's famous. Carved into two of the massive granite stones is a copy of the 10 commandments the latter-day Moses was a sculptor called W. A. Clement who was commissioned by Mr. William Whitely the then lord of Buckland Manor to celebrate the rejection of the proposed new Book of Common Prayer by Parliament in 1928 seen then as a victory for Protestantism.
Access from the Cold East Cross car park,
The walk is fairly easy just a steady uphill walk for just under a mile.
There is a clear path
And it follows a drystone wall most of the way.
While the walk isn't difficult by Dartmoor standards I'd still recommend a pair of walking boots
The path is a bit rocky in places
And it would be easy to turn an ankle making the walk back rather painful.
There is also plenty of livestock on the moor so keep your dog on a lead and don't bother the Sheep, cattle and ponies
This time of the year there are a lot of young and they are easily spooked and could get injured.
Once you make it to the Beacon the slabs are fairly easy to find
As you can see the stones are quite easy to read this wasn't always the case due to years of weathering in the past but they were restored in 2016 at a cost of £16,000 funded jointly by the ‘Dartmoor Communities Fund and the ‘Moor Than Meets the Eye’ project.
You get some good views from this 382m high tor this is looking south back to Newton Abbot and Teignmouth in the far distance.
If you are not interested in history the beacon is also a great Pokemon Stop
One last thing Hivers if you are going for a walk on Dartmoor please take your litter home.
