Calstock is within easy reach of Dartmoor, and Bodmin moor is a short car journey away. Tavistock is the nearest town, with its indoor pannier market and a regular farmers' market selling locally grown vegetables and locally reared meat. "Tavy" is the river on which the town lies, and "stock" originally meant market - the first market charter was granted in 1105, but the significance of the town dates further back to 974 AD, when a Benedictine Abbey was founded on the banks of the river.

Plymouth, redolent with maritime history, is a 40 minute drive away, or a 30 minute train journey on the picturesque Tamar Valley line.