Short answer: Chagford works in winter because everything is a minute from the square — you are never far from somewhere warm. The pubs stay open and the Globe's roast is a proper winter lunch. The moor is a different proposition: wet, exposed, and dark by half past four.
A compact village around a square, with pubs and cafés a minute apart, is exactly what you want in January. There is no long exposed walk between things. If the weather turns while you are out, you are a short walk from a fire rather than a mile from the car.
Stone Lane Gardens is closed Tuesday and Wednesday year round and its summer sculpture trail is, as the name suggests, a summer thing. Becky Falls and Castle Drogo both run reduced winter hours — check before driving out rather than after.
Dartmoor in winter is genuinely different. The ground is saturated, the wind has nothing to stop it, and it is dark by half past four in December. Waterproofs and proper boots are not optional, and an offline map matters more than ever because the cloud comes down fast.
The moor out of season is empty, and Wistman's Wood in winter — bare branches, moss, mist sitting in the valley — is more atmospheric than it is in August. If you are equipped for it, this is when Dartmoor is at its best and least crowded.
A short walk out onto the moor edge in the middle of the day while the light is good, back to the village for a long lunch at the Globe, then the square and a cream tea before dark. That gets the landscape and the warmth without being caught out by either.
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