“The ayre is very sweete, wholesome and temperate, saving that in the winter season the great blustering winds, rowling upon the high craggy hills and open wastes and moores, do make the ayre very cold and sharp.” Today, following what seems an eternal age of endless storms the weather forecasters …

With all the rivers, streams and brooks that issue from the high moor it is not surprising that there are numerous wells and springs dotted around the landscape. Mention the word ‘well’ and many people conjure up an image of a circular wall over which stands a roof with a …

Considering that the highest point on Dartmoor is High Willhays at 621m and the abundance of rivers and streams that tumble down through the valleys and cleaves it is not surprising that there are water falls or simply ‘falls’ as they are known on Dartmoor. If ever you really want …

Water is one commodity Dartmoor is not short of although experts would say that the moor is getting dryer. Having had the luxury of living in a house that got its own water supply direct from a Dartmoor spring I can say it is the coldest, sweetest water you can …

Ever since the nineteenth century the military have used Dartmoor for their exercises and manoeuvres which include live firing. The northern part of the moor is divided into three firing ranges; Okehampton, Willsworthy and Merrivale. These are all marked with lines of red and white poles most of which have …

Now before we start, I must admit that as yet I have not seen the War Horse movie because if I watch a film I like it to be in silence and not have the rattle of crisp packets, slurping of drinks and every other obscene noise you get in …

Anybody who has read a copy of William Crossing’s  book; ‘Crossing’s Guide to Dartmoor‘ cannot have failed to notice the simple black and white sketches of various viewpoints around the moor. These first appeared in the 1909 publication of his book with the purpose of aiding visitors to identify the …

Dartmoor is no different to anywhere else in the country as far as trig points are concerned – they appear everywhere. But there seems to be a growing hobby of visiting as many of these ‘modern menhirs’ as possible and so this page is for anybody who wanted to call …

Since the days when the ancient folk lived in hut circles on the moor there have been sacred stones. Some of them were formed into granite circles others were lined up like ranks of warriors. For really special places, huge solitary pillars were erected to stand guard over the tribal …

‘A wind, cutting as a knife, chilling as an icicle, moaned over the moors, Sobbed around masses of rocks, and hissed in the wiry grass and rushes. Fastened to a stout oak beam, that was planted deep in the soil and wedged with stones, was a young man without jerkin, …