Bovey Heath

The heath was probably created around 4000 years ago through the actions of Bronze Age farmers who would have cleared areas of woodland for grazing and the cultivation of crops.

The site holds one of only two earthworks in the South West dating to this period; it is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

At the time the heath was over 380 hectares (1000 acres) in size, but in the 19th and 20th centuries much of it was destroyed by open-cast mining for ball clay.

During the Second World War and for a short time after, the site was used as a training ground for American soldiers.

Since the war the remaining heath was badly neglected, used as a dumping ground and a place for unauthorised off-roading.