Just beyond the realms of living memory there was a famous parson living in Hennock. His name was parson Harris and locally he was known as a ‘wizard’. This may seem a strange pass-time for a man of the cloth but he was only versed in ‘white magic’ and so …

Back in the times when Dartmoor was under the rule of the dreaded Saxon’s lived a mighty man called Ordulph. His feats of legendary strength were celebrated in the mead halls by the bards. One such tale was how Ordulph would often stand astride the river Tavy and order his …

Anybody who has read the book or watched the film of, ‘The Name of the Rose’ will not be surprised at anything medieval monks got up to. Dartmoor has its own version in the, ‘Mad Monk of Gidleigh’, well to be exact, ‘The Mad Monk of Haldon’ but as the …

This tale begins high up on the wastes of Southern Dartmoor on one of those days when the fickle Dartmoor weather can swing either way. The early morning sunrise was a weak affair and as the huntsman lead his hounds upon the moor the sky was tinged with a weak …

The most famous person to emerge from the Dark Ages was the legendary figure of King Arthur, Arturus, Artorius or have who you will. His history and background are to this day fiercely debated with the Scots, Welsh and English all claiming he was a son of their soil. For …

‘At Postbridge, in a rude cottage of granite blocks put together without mortar, and in the midst of a marsh. lived an old blind man, Jonas Coaker… When Mr Sheppard and I saw him he was aged eighty-three, and came downstairs for a few hours only in the day. He …

This story comes from the very southern edge of Dartmoor and concerns a butler called John Trinnaman who was employed at Stowford House, near Ivybridge. Now, legend has it that Trinnaman was a strong and handsome man who was strongly attached to the lady of the house, this devotion was …

For centuries there have been lurid tales of the infamous Black Dog and the Wisht Hounds that haunt the bleak moor on dark nights. Relentlessly they search for lost souls and strike fear into the hearts of any lone traveller. Right up to this very day no poor wretch has …

Old Joe Leaman lived in a small cott down by Dartmeet and was a moorlander of the old kind. All his life he had lived and worked on Dartmoor and was now enjoying his retirement. His little cott provided him with a comfortable home and its garden fed him through …

In a small rundown Dartmoor cott there once lived a man called Jimmy Townsend. Now Jimmy was a sociable fellow who liked a yarn and a ‘drap o juice’, he was the likable rogue of the area. If Jimmy was attending a harvest home or at the market you knew …