Dartmeet is a popular tourist spot in the centre of

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England at . It lies at the end of the B3357 road, about east of Two Bridges. From here, the road continues eastwards as a minor road with restrictions on the size of vehicles, past Poundsgate and over

Holne Bridge Holne Bridge is a Grade II* listed medieval bridge over the River Dart, Dartmoor, Devon, England. It is on the road between Ashburton and Two Bridges, about 1.5 miles or 2.5 km from Ashburton, and connects Holne Chase to Ausewell. The nar ...

and New Bridge to Ashburton on the edge of the moor. Immediately east of the river crossing, this road ascends Dartmeet Hill, a long steep hill that climbs up the valley side. As the name suggests, Dartmeet is the meeting point of the two major

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...

of the

River Dart The River Dart is a river in Devon, England, that rises high on Dartmoor and flows for to the sea at Dartmouth. Name Most hydronyms in England derive from the Brythonic language (from which the river's subsequent names ultimately derive fr ...

: the

East Dart The East Dart River is one of the two main tributaries of the River Dart in Devon, England. Its source is to the west of Whitehorse Hill and slightly south of Cranmere Pool on Dartmoor. It flows south and then south-west for around 9 km to ...

and

West Dart The West Dart River is one of the two main tributaries of the River Dart in Devon, England. Its source is about 2 km north of Rough Tor on north Dartmoor. It flows south to Two Bridges, then south east past Hexworthy to meet the East Dar ...

. The road bridge, built in 1792, spans the East Dart; just above it, at the side of the large carpark is an earlier, possibly medieval,

clapper bridge A clapper bridge is an ancient form of bridge found on the moors of the English West Country (Bodmin Moor, Dartmoor and Exmoor) and in other upland areas of the United Kingdom including Snowdonia and Anglesey, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, La ...

, now partially collapsed. The actual confluence of the two rivers is just downstream of the bridge. Dartmeet is the official put in for the

Upper Dart Upper Dart is a section of the River Dart, Dartmoor. It is perhaps the second most popular section of whitewater for kayakers and canoeists in England, particularly for experienced paddlers. This section is followed on by the Dart Loop. Overv ...

section of the River Dart for whitewater kayakers and

canoeists A canoe is a lightweight narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British Englis ...

History

Dartmeet is at the centre of an internationally important archaeological landscape mainly due to its prehistoric

field system The study of field systems (collections of fields) in landscape history is concerned with the size, shape and orientation of a number of fields. These are often adjacent, but may be separated by a later feature. Field systems by region Czech Republ ...

s, delineated by

reave A reave is a long and generally straight boundary wall made of stone that was built during the Bronze Age. Reaves were identified as prehistoric features on Dartmoor in Devon, England in 1972, and although they had been described by antiquarians ...

s, which are among the best preserved in north west Europe. Dartmeet was one of the boundary points mentioned (though not by name) in the 1240 Perambulation of the

Forest of Dartmoor The Forest of Dartmoor is an ancient royal forest covering part of Dartmoor, Devon, England. A royal forest was an area reserved by the king for hunting, and William the Conqueror introduced the concept of forest law in England in the 11th ce ...

, the boundary coming down the East Dart from the Wallabrook, and continuing up the West Dart to the foot of the

O Brook The O Brook is a short tributary of the West Dart River on Dartmoor in Devon, England. It lies near the village of Hexworthy, and the lower part of the stream forms the boundary between the parishes of Holne and Dartmoor Forest (formerly Lydfo ...

. The first documentary reference to the name (as ''Dartameet'') was in a Duchy of Cornwall document dated 1616. Halfway up Dartmeet Hill, close to the road, lies the Coffin Stone on which coffins would be placed to allow the bearers to take a rest on the way to taking bodies for burial at

Widecombe-in-the-Moor Widecombe in the Moor () is a village and large civil parish in Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England. Its church is known as the Cathedral of the Moors on account of its tall tower and its size, relative to the small population it serves. It ...

. The rock is split in two, along its length. Local legend has it that the body of a particularly wicked man was laid there. God took exception to this, and struck the stone with a thunderbolt, destroying the coffin and splitting the stone in two.

References

{{Authority control Dartmoor River Dart