Attractions and Places To See around Down St Mary - Top 13

Scooped some water out, filtered it and a made a coffee.

This proud, medieval church stands on the edge of Shobrooke village and, like so many churches in the area, has wonderful views over the rolling, pastoral landscape. The church dates back to the 15th century but the interior is considerably younger, mostly Victorian. If you hike up the lane opposite towards the village centre, you'll find the holy well embedded into a grassy bank on the eastern side.

A 180-acre (73 ha) park, wandering around the grounds is utter bliss. A deer park has been here for hundreds of years and there was also manor house, built in the 18th century. Whilst the house functioned as a school during the Second World War, it sadly burnt down in 1945 and was never rebuilt. Now, the park is sometimes open to the public, with its grand lakes and sweeping vistas. The Devonshire Heartland Way traverses the southern section all year round.

This immensely impressive church dominates Crediton and is an icon of the town. The church dates back over 1,000 years although much of what you see was added in later centuries. Its official name is the Collegiate Church of the Holy Cross and the Mother of Him Who Hung Thereon.

Overlooking the TawValley, at the northern end of Heywood Wood, stand the remains of an early medieval motte and bailey castle. Motte and bailey castles are medieval fortifications introduced into Britain by the Normans. This type of castle was made up of an artificial mound, or motte, on which was built a wooden or stone structure known as a keep. Next to this at least one bailey, a fortified embanked enclosure containing additional buildings, would be built. Although many were occupied for only a short period of time, motte and bailey castles continued to be built and occupied from the 11th to the 13th centuries, after which they were superseded by other types of castle. Heywood CastleAt Heywood the circular motte is about 8 metres high and almost 50 metres in diameter, surrounded by a rock-cut ditch 4 metres wide and 2 metres deep. Around the top of the motte is a bank, up to 4 metres high in places. The crescent shaped bailey which lies to the north-east of the motte is 60 metres long and 40 metres wide and bounded on all sides by a bank 2 metres rising to about 4 metres on the eastern side, where there is an entrance with a causeway across the ditch which extends to the outer bank, which surrounds both the motte and bailey. From the bailey to the motte on the north east side there is the possibility of a bridgeway. On the north side of the bailey a more modern entrance has been formed. https://www.devon.gov.uk/historicenvironment/explore-devons-heritage/heywood-castle-eggesford/

This place is well worth a visit, it is a huge Norman castle mound. No structures are visible (Probably only a wooden keep now long gone) but really worth seeing, it is still quite imposing 1000 years on. "At Heywood the circular motte is about 8 metres high and almost 50 metres in diameter, surrounded by a rock-cut ditch 4 metres wide and 2 metres deep. Around the top of the motte is a bank, up to 4 metres high in places. The crescent shaped bailey which lies to the north-east of the motte is 60 metres long and 40 metres wide and bounded on all sides by a bank 2 metres rising to about 4 metres on the eastern side, where there is an entrance with a causeway across the ditch which extends to the outer bank, which surrounds both the motte and bailey. From the bailey to the motte on the north east side there is the possibility of a bridgeway. On the north side of the bailey a more modern entrance has been formed. The castle at Heywood possibly took the place of an earlier castle some 500 metres to the south in the grounds of Heywood House, on the steep valley side above the River Taw. An alternative theory is that both date to the 1130s and 1140s, and were built during the civil war between Matilda, daughter of Henry I, and his nephew Stephen." https://www.devon.gov.uk/historicenvironment/explore-devons-heritage/heywood-castle-eggesford/

With a network of paths, this diverse woodland is a lovely place to explore. Keep a look-out for wildlife, wildflowers, and interesting fungi. Visit throughout the year; it's different in every season.