Tavistock Parking: The Free Car Park Most People Miss

Short answer: The Meadows, between the River Tavy and the canal, is free and a short walk from the centre — the best option on a market day. The town car parks are closer but fill Tuesday to Saturday when the Pannier Market is running.

Start with The Meadows

A large free park between the River Tavy and the Tavistock Canal, with a zip wire, playground and BMX pump track. It is free, it is a short walk into the centre, and it has somewhere for children to burn off energy at either end of the trip.

On a market day, when the central car parks fill, this is the sensible answer.

Market days are the busy ones

The Pannier Market runs Tuesday to Saturday with a different theme most days, so the town is busiest on weekdays rather than only at weekends — the opposite of the coastal towns. Sunday is the quietest day to park centrally.

Parking for the moor

If Tavistock is a stop on the way to Dartmoor rather than the destination, most moorland car parks nearby are free or a few pounds. Bellever Forest is about £5 for the day and has toilets and a coffee trailer.

Lydford Gorge, fifteen minutes north, has two separate car parks with a loop from each — parking is free for National Trust members.

Practical

• The moor roads out of town are unfenced — livestock and ponies wander onto them.
• Buckland Abbey is twenty minutes south with its own car park, free for members.
• The Cornish Arms and Granito Lounge are both central, so park once and walk.