The Dipper It was winter, near freezing, I’d walked through a forest of firs when I saw issue out of the waterfall. a solitary bird. It lit on a damp rock, and, as water swept stupidly on, w rung from its own throat. supple, undammable song. It isn’t mine to …

When on the moor, every now and again you can look down at your feet and see a cluster of small, red, delicate dots. A closer examination will reveal that they all belong to a growing colony of lichen called Cladonia Coccifera or more commonly known as Cup Lichen or …

Ah, the dear old dandelion, the dear old dandelion that as a youngster featured so heavily in the daily routine. Hardly a day went by when handfuls of dandelion leaves weren’t gathered for the pet rabbit. As the year progressed the foraging trips got longer and longer as the hedgerows …

There is not a finer sound than to be walking on the Dartmoor commons on a summer’s day and to hear the distinctive call of a cuckoo. I have heard hundreds of them but would estimate that I have actually seen about a dozen. This elusiveness is what adds to …

    The Crab Apple Tree (Malus sylvestris) is one of the original ancestors of today’s cultivated apple trees. The twigs of the tree sometimes develop little spines thus taking on a ‘crab-like’ appearance which has led to the idea that this is where its name came from. The Crab …

The Dartmoor Cowflop sounds as if it’s something whose location people bet on at a cow crapping contest, but no, nothing as repulsive. It is the old moor name for that magical plant that the piskies love so much – the foxglove. Don’t ask why it is called a cowflop …

Who has not at some time or other idly rummaged through a clover patch in search of the elusive four-leafed specimen? I have only ever found one example, and has it brought good luck? No, because after finding it I carefully wrapped the precious clover in my handkerchief and by …

In view of the geography and climate of Dartmoor it could be logical to say that there would have been very little cereal cultivation on the moor but amazingly this would be wrong. There has always been the idea that cereals were not grown above the 1,000ft (304.8m) contour line. …

The extensive Bronze Age reave system on Dartmoor is testament to how long cattle have been grazing the moor. When a mans wealth was measured by the number of cattle he owned it was therefore important to stock and control the animals, hence the enclosures created by the reaves.  There …

Of all the birds that grace the skies of Dartmoor, the buzzard must be the most majestic, if the National Park was to have a bird as its symbol it would surely be the buzzard.  There is nothing better than to walk up onto the moor early on a summer’s …