Dartmoor National Park Authority

Themes to Study

Are you looking for Themes to Study?

First consider the Factsheet Headings. For policies related to the way the National Park is managed and the services we provide look at the Dartmoor National Park Management Plan - progress against specific measures and other performance monitoring information can be found in the Best Value Performance Plan 2005-2006. For policies related to land-use planning please see Dartmoor National Park Local Plan, First review 1995 - 2011, adopted version. For the latest topics in the news look at the community news releases.

Recreation Management:

General factsheet, Recreation and Tourism, Commons, Erosion as an introduction then investigate the Management Plan part 4, followed by The Ranger Service, Moor Care, Updates 99/00, Erosion repairs, Essential information for visitors, Accommodation on Dartmoor.

Habitats and their management:

General Factsheet, Habitats, Farming, Land Use Issues, and Commons. Then see the Management Plan part 3, (3.1 to 3.5.). For the full picture you need to go to the Biodiversity Action Plan called Action for Wildlife. The Dart Bio-Diversity Project provides a fine example of an initiative aimed at wildlife conservation and the Pictures of Dartmoor may provide an impression for those students unfortunate enough not to be able to see for themselves.

Dartmoor’s Cultural Heritage:

The Management Plan part 3 (3.6 to 3.8) is the best place for an overview of the areas cultural characteristics and the Authority's policies to conserve them. The Archaeology leaflet introduces Dartmoor’s rich heritage. The Factsheets Prehistoric Archaeology, Tin Industry, History of Dartmoor, Farming, Commons, all contain relevant information. The Events section may also provide some interesting clues.

A study of a site managed to accommodate recreational use:

This web site and the Authority as whole have very little site-specific information to pass to students. Any general policies and information are particularly relevant to such heavily used sites. See the Management Plan parts 4.4 and 8.3. The Factsheets Recreation and Tourism, Erosion, Commons and Habitats will all be relevant. The Traffic Management Strategy contains policy VT6 and a useful map Fig2. Also look at Moor care, Erosion repairs, Events on Dartmoor, and Organised Events. The Ranger Service carries out the day to day management of these sites and they can talk to the student about their main concerns for the site.

Geology and landforms:

There are three factsheets that can be found under the theme of geology and landforms.  For A level and university level study there is the Meldon Geology and Geomorphology Case Study  There are also some useful links to other web sites.

New census data about Dartmoor now available:

Census data provides information about the community living on Dartmoor. Access the information at The Office for National Statistics  (external link, opens new window). Examples of the categories are age, gender, occupation, marital status, type of residency, country of birth, household composition, health and vehicle ownership. Choose a drop-down option from the table list and select the Dartmoor National Park option from the drop-down area list, then click on 'Display table'.