Aspects Of Dartmoor

The Dartmoor National Park covers an area of 953 square kilometres and according to the latest STEAM report some 2.4 million people visit each year. Many of these people come to the park with little or no knowledge of the area but want to enjoy the numerous aspects that Dartmoor …

I don’t mind admitting I am somewhat of a ‘Techno Freak’ and love gizmos and gadgets especially when it comes to maps, GPS and Dartmoor. Now the company I work for has kindly given all their managers Blackberry phones for which you can get endless fun applications but they are …

“I am going to Dartmoor,” simple statement but if one wanted to be really pedantic the reply should be; “which one?” Sounds silly? well actually no, although everybody thinks of Dartmoor as being the 368 square miles much of which is encompassed by the Dartmoor National Park it’s not. ‘Dartmoor’ …

One thing Dartmoor is not short of is walls and another thing is stone with which to build them, there must be literally hundreds of miles of walling across the moor. It is also surprising how deep into remote areas the walls extend and are a true testament to the …

Back in 1955 three young National Service men were travelling from Yelverton to Princetown on the train which was nearing the remote stop of  Ingra Tor Halt. Back then as far as train halts went this was really remote, so much so the following has been noted: “The loneliness and …

“Dartmoor is very high, and a cloud need stoop very little to clasp the Moor to its clammy bosom.” Probably the most feared aspect of Dartmoor is the dreaded mists, they can appear without warning and blanket the moor in an impenetrable and visionless cloak, catching the unwary and occasionally …

On the 13th of December 1779 a massive thunder storm swept across the eastern moor and no this was not a Friday it was a Monday. Just like the infamous Widecombe Storm of 1638 this one headed straight for the church but as this particular deluge fell on a Monday …

Take a walk down through Lydford and you will see a street sign that says, “Silver Street” which might seen a trifle odd – see ill. 1 here. But the very name is an indicator to exactly how important the settlement of Lydford once was. Why should the street be …

Lydford Law not only became a Dartmoor tradition, its fame spread nationwide and became synonymous for meaning ‘unfair justice’. Probably one of the best descriptions of what Lydford Law was comes in prosaic form from the Tavistock poet – William Browne: “I oft have heard of Lydford Law, How in …

“Where there is a will there is a way,” – a sentiment that a onetime Reverend of Lustleigh firmly believed in and demonstrated admirably. William Davy was born on the 4th of March 1743 in Tavistock and throughout his childhood he demonstrated great skills in mechanics and engineering. He received …