Tavistock's main attractions are the Dartmoor walks radiating from the town, a handful of historical sites in the surrounding valleys, and the surviving fragments of its great medieval abbey. The landscape here is dramatic — deep river gorges, granite tors, and old mining remains half-hidden by woodland.
In town, the Tavistock Abbey ruins, St Eustachius' Church, the Pannier Market, and the Town Hall make a compact half-day circuit around Bedford Square. South-west along the Tamar, Morwellham Quay and Buckland Abbey tell the story of the copper boom and Sir Francis Drake respectively; Cotehele, on the Cornish bank, preserves a Tudor manor almost untouched.
For walks, the rivers Tavy and Walkham meet at Double Waters, a beautiful spot reached via Grenofen Bridge on a walk from the Plymouth road. Upstream, the villages of Marytavy and Petertavy are fine starting points for moor walks, and Ward Bridge on the Walkham is worth a detour. North of the town, Lydford Gorge cuts a dramatic chasm through the moor.