Dartmoor Places

“A heavy mist enveloped Dartmoor, and from Combestone Tor the great earth ridges swept southerly away all smothered in vapour. Below the broken rock-piles of the tor a steep hill fell sharply, and here nothing but a foxglove or two and a withered white-thorn rose stark against the dim wall …

“Now it is that time of night, That the graves all gaping wide, Every one lets forth his sprite, In the church-way paths to glide“. Shakespeare – A Midsummer Night’s Dream Sometimes one can look at a map and see a place-name and wonder what on earth went on in …

It was a dark dreary Dartmoor day in which a small funeral procession could be seen slowly making its way up Dartmeet hill. The coffin bearers were beginning to tire. Privately some of them were thinking why on earth they should be struggling up this monster of a hill carrying …

A cobra slithering around on Dartmoor? Is this an effect of global warming? In fact at one time there were 4 cobras to be found on Dartmoor, however today there is only one perfect specimen to be found. But there is no need to worry this particular ‘Cobra’ is perfectly …

On the hillside above the river Walkham stood the ‘Church Rock’, this huge boulder had stood guard over the old village of the ancients since time began. A local farmer decided that he needed a new byre and so started scouring the rock clitters of Staple tor. Here he found …

“The huge and solitary but featureless elevation of Cater’s Beam on Dartmoor arrests few eyes. Seen from the central waste, one hog-backed ridge swells among the southern horizon, and its majestic outline, unfretted by tor or forest, describes the curve of a projectile discharged at gentle elevation. No detail relieves …

High up, near the Challacombe ridge is a deep gash in the moorside which is known as ‘Chaw Gully’. Some estimates go as far as to say it is at least fifty feet deep, either way it is the work of the ‘old men’ of the moor. It is here …

In the Spring of 2015 South West Water decided to sell of some of their properties and the small Butter Brook Impounding Reservoir was one of them with a guide price of £40,000. The auction was to be held on the 25th of March and this particular plot was being …

Perched on an outcrop of rock overlooking Buckfast Abbey is the shell of what was the Holy Trinity Church. Visit here on a sunny day and you will find it one of the most serene and peaceful places. All you probably will have for company are the jackdaws who nest …

Buckland in the Moor has for many years been on the route of the visitor’s ‘grand tour’ of Dartmoor.  Many people coming to see the famous ‘chocolate box’ thatched cottages and dream about living in such an idyllic spot. The ironic thing is that if ever anyone was fortunate enough …