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AS A born-and-bred Devonian, I’ve always considered Dartmoor National Park to be a magical place, and it turns out I’m in good company.

Because the park is now being used as a new filming spot for HBO’s Harry Potter TV series.

Dartmoor spans 368 square miles in total, meaning the park has an abundance of different spots to explore, but Harry Potter fans will want to head to Lustleigh, a small village where filming crews have been spotted.

In a video on Instagram, one fan used public footpaths to access the village during filming and spotted several items relating to Harry Potter – including a ‘Celebrate Halloween at Godric’s Hollow’ poster.

He also saw some older cars parked up outside a cottage and a Godric’s Hollow post office sign.

In a second video, ‘@sirwizardingworld’ speaks to a woman who points to a building that is her home, but has been transformed into ‘The Lions Heart’ pub for the series.

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The village of Lustleigh is small and home to only 600 people, yet it is full of thatched cottages and in the centre, an old church.

Sitting on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, the village is around a 40-minute drive from Exeter.

The village makes a scenic stop on the way into the national park, where visitors can go on a number of hikes and see towering tors, with ancient tales.

One popular spot I would recommend is Haytor, which is roughly a two-hour walk from the village of Lustleigh or a 16 minute drive.

The granite tor towers to 1,499 feet and offers breathtaking views across the moors.

For those who don’t fancy a long walk, there is a visitor centre with a car park at the base of the tor – it then takes about 20 minutes walking to reach the top from there.

In the autumn I particularly love seeing the colour of the gorse and bracken change to a dozen shades of brown and orange.

And in the winter, snow on the moors makes me feel more like being in the Alps.

From Haytor, I usually head along the Haytor tramway, which is a stone-railed line that was built in 1820 to transport granite from Haytor Quarry down to Stover Canal.

Now known as the Templer Way heritage path, visitors can still see the tramway today poking out of the ground.

If you follow it, you will then reach Haytor Quarry which was used until 1860.

Today, many signs of the quarry works remain, including marks in the granite where dynamite was used to break it into pieces.

And there is even some abandoned machinery dotted around the edge of the pond that has filled the quarry.

Not many trees grow on a lot of the moors due to the harsh weather conditions, but in the sheltered quarry there are several – and during autumn, they turn into a large blur of yellows, browns and oranges.

But it isn’t just Haytor that is worth exploring.

Dartmoor is also home to lots of sites with remains of years gone by including Bronze Age settlements – think small versions of Stonehenge.

Like at Hound Tor, there is a deserted village and in Fenworthy, near a sprawling forest, is a large stone circle.

On the other side of Dartmoor, you could head to Ditsworthy Warren House, a ruined cottage which was used as a filming location in the movie adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse.

And of course, littered at the edges of the national park are a number of villages and towns worth exploring.

For example, Princetown is home to the notorious Dartmoor Prison – a building that still scares me every time I drive past it.

If heading to the town, definitely visit the prison museum.

Or head on a tour to learn about crazy legends including the ‘Hairy Hands’ of Dartmoor that takes over the steering of cars in the area – the ideal Halloween activity.

Dartmeet is another top spot, popular with walkers, nature lovers and even cold water swimmers.

The location has a Clapper Bridge, that has five granite stones and crosses the East Dart River – which many people like to take a dip in.

Here you will also find Badgers Holt – an 18th century fishing cottage that has operated as a tearoom for the past century.

Wherever you go on the moors, you will find some amazing spots to explore.

Narrow roads wind across the entire national park, and small car parks can be found at most scenic spots, making it super accessible as well.

Even the smell of the moors is something special (it is a bit like peat mixed with crisp straw).

I’m even becoming nostalgic thinking about it…

I honestly think, Dartmoor and all of its cosy villages are just as nice as the Cotswolds.

HBO‘s Harry Potter series is due to launch in 2027, in seven parts.

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Earlier this year, there was a huge announcement for wild camping lovers as Brits were told they can use one of UK’s best-loved national parks in blow for millionaire nimbys.

Plus, the English national forest that you’ve never heard of – and it’s bigger than the Isle of Wight.

Celia Imrie is one of several famous faces appearing on the BBC’s Celebrity Traitors, and in the past, the beloved actress, who’s appeared in Bridget Jones, has shared glimpses of her life

Celia Imrie had no wishes to marry – or date, but after wanting a child took a slightly unconventional route to motherhood. The actress is one of the famous faces starring in BBC hit Celebrity Traitors.

She’s joined in the castle by the likes of Alan Carr, Charlotte Church, Kate Garraway, Lucy Beaumont, Jonathan Ross, Clare Balding, Cat Burns and Stephen Fry. Celia believes being an actor gives her “quite an advantage” to the game, but has shared a number of personal revelations in the series so far.

Celia has spoken of her special arrangement with the late actor, Benjamin Whitrow. Celia has made it no secret that she had no intentions of getting married, but had always wanted to be a mum. She and Benjamin welcomed son Angus, also an actor, who has appeared in Station Jim, The Crown and Flea Bag.

Now, 73, when she was in her 40s, Celia asked Whitrow for a child but revealed she didn’t expect him to contribute towards their son’s life. Instead, she made the decision that she would raise their child completley alone. Speaking about her deal with Whitrow, she told the Telegraph: “Angus was devoted to his father and, though I’ve never really said it properly, Ben and I did have a romance.

“I wanted to have his baby before it was too late, and he [Whitrow] was very, very honest with him [Angus], and he accepted that and was a wonderful father.” Whitrow, known for playing Mr Bennett in Pride and Prejudice, died in September 2017, aged 80.

She said it was “very tough” and that she had lost “a very darling friend”. Prior to his death, Celia had insisted that they were just friends. She and Whitrow, who was divorced with two adult children, met in the 1990s, and it was during a walk on the beach when she asked him to father her son.

Reflecting on this, she said in her memoir, Happy Hoofer: “We gradually got to know each other and grew very fond. He thought perhaps in time…but because Ben had a grown-up family I was very anxious not to upset them.

“Ben and I walked on the beach one day as I laid out my terms. As long as he understood I would not ask for anything, I wouldn’t want to live with him, or marry him, would never ask for money for the child and I would be responsible for choosing and paying for the child’s education, accommodation, clothing – everything.

“I was trying to be clear and true. Some people might say calculated, but I would say I was being honest. If Ben could take all that on board, I said, then his offer to fulfil my wish for a child would be wonderful. He has proved to be a marvellous father to Angus. And his whole family has been very welcoming.”

Celia has been very clear that she prefers friendship to sex and has no desire to marry. Speaking to the Telegraph in 2013, she said: “I have a horror of boring someone or, worse still, of someone boring me. I said to my mother when I was seven, ‘But, Mums, if it was only my husband and me in the house together, what would we talk about?’ I’ve never wanted to answer my own question, and doubt I’ll bother now.”

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The details: In 1946, when jackrabbits and homesteading World War II veterans dominated the dry, remote open spaces of the Morongo Basin, the Mesquite Motel went up along the main highway in Twentynine Palms. By 1962, it was called La Hacienda and had a tall, yellow, utterly utilitarian sign (and a little, rectangular pool). Later it became the Motel 29 Palms, the Sunset Motel and the Mojave Trails Inn. In 2019, owner Ashton Ramsey said, he bought it for $350,000 and dubbed it Ramsey 29.

The old yellow sign hangs out front. But Ramsey turned L.A.-based Kristen Schultz and her firm K/L DESIGN loose to take these 10 rooms in a desert-eclectic direction.

Furniture is hand-built, brick walls are whitewashed and coat hangers carry their own clever slogans. Headboards are upcycled from Italian military stretchers, canvas armchairs bear the words “soiled clothes large” and the new tiles on the bathroom floor say “29,” as do custom blankets and other items. The floors are concrete. Room 9, closest to the highway, now has triple-paned windows. Six rooms opened in 2020, the remaining four in 2024. Guests check themselves in digitally.

Ramsey plans changes around the pool next, including more palm trees. But he’s not shying away from the word “motel.”

“I’ve leaned into that,” Ramsey said. “You’ve got to be proud of what you are.” In fact, he said, “We didn’t just renovate a motel. We’re trying to renovate a town. If we don’t brag on 29, nobody else will.”

Spring rates typically start at $185 a night on weekends (plus taxes), $95 on weekdays. Free parking. Pets OK for a fee. (The hotel website routes bookings through Airbnb.)