Tales Of Dartmoor

As the Broadall Lake tumbles down from Penn Moor it flows through a shady wood called ‘Dendles’. Many years ago this was home to an old woman and her son. They lived in a small dilapidated cot at the woodlands edge just below the stone circle of the ancients. Old …

. Long, long ago where Willsworthy Ford (aka Standon Steps) crosses the river Tavy became the meeting place for two young lovers. It was here that a young, beautiful and rich woman would arrive from nearby Lydford, mounted on a magnificent white horse. Here she would find her lover patiently …

This is not so much a story of a haunting as an omen, many stories can be found up and down the country regarding death omens. These usually take the form of some visitation or occurrence that happens prior to a death or tragedy. In the case of the Oxenham …

What happened was, there once was a schoolmaster who lived in Widdecombe, he went by the name of Jan Abel. Now although by title he regarded himself as a school master his knowledge was a trifle lacking compared to proper teachers. Accordingly this was reflected in the standard of tuition …

 It was a dark winter’s night when all on the moor was coated by a thick frost which sparkled in the still moonlight, the small inn was unusually quite with just a few local packmen and waggoners sat around the smoky peat fire. It was on such nights when the …

Between Princetown and Tavistock stands a fabulous rock pile, some call it ‘The Sphinx of Dartmoor’ most call it Vixen tor. It has been a place of reverence since the ‘Men of Bronze’ built their ancient tombs in the shadow of its towering granite mass. But the tor hides a …

It was harvest time on Dartmoor and an the old farmer woke early, today was going to be a long happy day for the reapers were due to finish the last field of corn. That meant that tonight was the ‘crying of the neck‘ celebration. This is where moorfolk would …

A small farmer once lived in a secluded farmstead on the moors. He barely managed scrape a meagre living for himself and his family. He cultivated a few acres of corn but the yields were low and the fields full of weeds. He ran a few head of cattle on …

It is believed that the first feet to set foot upon Dartmoor were those of the Mesolithic hunter gatherers who were foraging for food. But whilst reading a Dartmoor web forum I noticed a posting from ‘Number 70’ which pointed out a very strange phenomenon which can only be seen …

Imagine going for a family walk on Dartmoor, the skies are clear, the birds singing and all is well with the world. In the distance you spot what seems to be a herd of ponies which all appear to be lying down. You decide to investigate and on  approaching not …