Piles Copse lies above the River Erme in Dartmoor National Park, between Stalldown Barrow and Sharp Tor. It’s about 3km to walk here from the moor gate at Harford. There’s no footpath or signs to help you get there, so make sure you have an Ordnance Survey map and a compass with you in case the mist comes down, and make sure you’ve got the right footwear for tramping over rough, rocky and often boggy ground.

We closed the Harford Moor Gate car park in February 2021.  This was because the heavy footfall around the car park had caused extensive damage to the sward and soil.  The moor was saturated from excessive rain, and the peaty soils on the hill near the car park, and all the way across to Piles, simply cannot sustain the foot traffic.  There was also excessive vehicle traffic in the Harford lane, with jams frequent on busy days and an increase in accidents.  We started a dialogue with the local authorities about these issues. They are encouraging people to park in Ivybridge and walk onto the moor from there, as the better drained soils on the sides of the Western Beacon and Ugborough Beacon are able to support more visitors without erosion. For more information, please see the Harford Moor website.

The routes towards and inside Piles are starting to erode through over-use. Help prevent erosion of the peat by spreading out, walking on firm grass and avoiding muddy bits of path.

There are no resources to manage erosion on most of Dartmoor.  As the peaty soils contain a high proportion of carbon, exposing the soil to being washed out by rain contributes directly to the removal of Dartmoor’s carbon store and the worsening of climate change.

Please help us look after Piles Copse by making sure your visit doesn’t harm the woodland. Take all your litter away with you, and please don’t damage the trees or light fires. Camping is currently not allowed at Piles Copse – see our page on camping.

Please also be considerate of other people, many of whom come to Piles Copse to enjoy its peace and tranquillity.

We hope you have a lovely visit to Piles Copse.