‘The men followed this stream, and so approached a solitary grey cottage that stood nakedly in the very heart of the wilderness. Stark space surrounded it. At first sight it looked no more than a boulder, larger than common, that had been hurled hither from the neighbouring hill at some …

‘Blackingstone Rock or Blackystone, as it is always called… Being well placed, and having an elevation considerably over 1,000 feet, this pile forms another point from which a magnificent view is obtained. Like Hel Tor it is seen for many miles around, but according to tradition there was a time …

Think of the word ‘black’ and you will be hard pressed to come up with anything that does not have dark, evil, sinister or menacing associations; blackmail, black arts, black ops, blackball, Black Friday, Black Death, blacklist, black mark, black market, black sheep, etc. The very colour is synonymous with …

‘At Lustleigh, in Devonshire, is an octagonal Lich-Stone called Bishop’s Stone, having engraved upon it the arms of Bishop Cotton.’, (Hood, 1862, p.98). The above is an interesting comment and refers to a huge block of granite known as The Bishop’s Stone and its location is said to be at …

Somebody recently wrote and asked how many place-names on Dartmoor are named after or associated with birds. Having trawled through the database the following list was arrived at, there are more but in cases where there are several examples of a name, ie Eagle Rock, just one entry has been …

“There came a Sunday when the green slopes about Belstone village were musical with the cry of young life, when the lambs played and bleated, when the cuckoo called from many a misty glade and the church bells crowned the melody of the morning with wind-bourne cadences. They throbbed and …

“In fact this picturesque though dilapidated erection under the bold slope of Bellever is not so often sought out by the explorer as it might be...” J. Ll. W. Page The above words were written in 1895 when describing Bellever clapper bridge, I think it’s fairly safe to say that …

“Oh, yet, ye solemn Altars! while I feel The shadowy spells of power that round ye dwell.” J. E. Reade -1843 “On the left within a farm enclosure is Bel Tor, which although only a small pile, is sufficiently interesting to call for notice. A gate in the wall will …

“Ascending through the farmyard, we emerge on a marshy slope which conducts us to the breezy height of Bair Dwon, a long green tableland… Masses of rock upstart from the turf at intervals, the most conspicuous being known as Bair Down, Lidford and Devils Tors.“. – J. Ll. W. Page, …

Just outside the modern National Park boundary is a stretch of water known as the ‘Bathe Pool’ which for centuries has been renown for mysterious goings on. In the opinion of Mrs Bray most of this was the work of the piskies as can been seen from her story below: …