2 Best Sights in The West Country, England

Northeast of Chagford, this castle looks like a stout medieval fortress, complete with battlements, but construction actually took place between 1911 and 1931. Designed by noted architect Sir Edwin Lutyens for Julius Drewe, a wealthy grocer, and built entirely with local granite, the castle combines medieval grandeur with early-20th-century comforts and includes a collection of Flemish and French tapestries—most notably one made for Louis XIV. There are fantastic views over Dartmoor's Teign Valley, and the grounds are well worth a prolonged wander, with paths leading down to the river at Fingle Bridge. Turn off the A30 Exeter–Okehampton road at Whiddon Down to reach the castle.

One of the Southwest's most important contemporary arts and crafts centers, MAKE Southwest is in a converted 19th-century coach house in the village of Bovey Tracey, 10 miles southeast of Chagford and 14 miles southwest of Exeter. The center has excellent exhibitions of local, national, and international crafts, as well as shops and a café.