"I have never before, in my long and eclectic career, been gifted with such an abundance of natural beauty as I experienced filming War Horse on Dartmoor... And, with two-and-a-half weeks of extensive coverage of landscapes and skies, I hardly scratched the surface of the visual opportunities that were offered to me." — Steven Spielberg http://youtu.be/B7lf9HgFAwQ Spielberg was clearly taken with the endless sky, distinctive rocky outcrops and moorland of Devon's Dartmoor National Park. But he isn't the first to discover the area's rugged appeal. Arthur Conan Doyle chose the misty moor as a spooky setting for the Hound of the Baskervilles, probably the most famous Sherlock Holmes story, and Agatha Christie used the moor as a backdrop to her murder mystery novels.
Haytor Down
Fantastic views from one of Dartmoor's most famous landmarks, Haytor Down.
Ditsworthy Warren © snaps11
Ditsworthy Warren House, seen here on the right, was used as the Narracott family’s farmhouse in the film.
Bonehill Rocks © Ben Matthews
Bonehill Rocks are classic Dartmoor granite boulders popular with climbers.
Burrator © Miles Wolstenholme
You can see Burrator Reservoir on the trailer at 0:52.
Castle Combe, Wiltshire
The main village scenes were shot in Castle Combe, a Cotswold village in Wiltshire, over 100 miles northeast from Dartmoor.
Dartmoor pony and foal (c) Miles Wolstenholme
You can have your very own War Horse Experience with the wild Dartmoor ponies that roam freely across the moor. To find out more about things to see and do in Dartmoor, and to organise a War Horse locations tour, check out the Dartmoor National Park website. Images via snaps 11, Ben Matthews and Miles Wolstenholme.
