The Dartmoor Tors Festival was set up in 2025 by Sophie Pierce and Alex Murdin, who have lived on Dartmoor for over 25 years. It explores and celebrates the culture of Dartmoor and our emotional connection with wild, ancient places. We aim to present diverse cultural, social and political responses to the natural world – all through the lens of Dartmoor as a place, with talks, conversations, walks, workshops and performances.
The Festival is in partnership with Ashburton Arts Centre and Field System Gallery, and has the support of Dartmoor National Park.
The next festival will take place in May 2026. Final dates TBA.
Alex Murdin is an artist and curator who has lived on Dartmoor for over 25 years making art for public places across the UK as ruralrecreation.org.uk Inspired by the moor’s granite landscape, he makes art to reconnect human and non-human worlds lithicality.space
Sophie Pierce is a writer and former BBC journalist. She is the author of The Green Hill, a memoir about love, loss and the Devon landscape, and co-author, with Matt Newbury, of 5 wild swimming guides sophiepierce.co.uk.
Together, they are the authors of Rock Idols: a guide to Dartmoor in 28 tors, described by Stone Club as “.. a personal and poignant book, a series of walks that cover such a rich seam of emotions, from joy to loss. Adventuring to remote places and recounting familiar and better known sites. We recommend everyone visits Dartmoor with this book to hand, their life will be richer for it!”
Featured photo and home page photography by Emma Stoner