It is noticeable on Dartmoor how if one leaves the high moor how the field boundaries change from stone wall to bank or faced hedges which are typical of Devon. The main reason for this being that on the high moor there was an abundance of granite with which to …

If ever you happen to be around any old Dartmoor farm buildings you may possibly notice a small holed stone or pebble sat on a window ledge. Occasionally if the building has a lock with a key still in it there may well be a similar looking holed stone tied …

The ‘Green Man’ phenomenon seems to have become a popular subject over the past twenty years or so and Dartmoor supports its fair share of related symbols. The subject was first raised in the 1930’s and in 1939 Lady Raglan wrote the following when discussing a foliate head carving at …

“Gold was frequently found by the old tin streamers, in small grains, in the beds of moorland streams; and it is probable that  it occurs, or has occurred, more or less in the beds of all the larger rivers,” Rowe, p.247. “There’s gold in them thar hills,” but before everybody …

What on earth can there be of interest in the gateways of Dartmoor? Well if you ever closely examine a gateway it soon become apparent that there is an art in maintaining one. It is astonishing how farmers manage to hold together rotting wooden gates with strategically placed strands of …

Having just posted a webpage on Hangingstone Hill it got me thinking about – ‘Hanging Around on Dartmoor‘ A quick glance through my gazetteer of place names revealed some place-names that were suggestive of hanging on Dartmoor. There are several reasons for the names; some are the actual locations of …

Landscape is fairly easy to understand until the influence of man becomes involved, we have the natural ability to change and confuse our natural environment by physical, spiritual and historical intervention. At times these can become confusing to say the least, what have the two photographs shown below have in …

As winter fast approaches today we turn up our heating, if we want to cook a meal we have the luxury of switching on the gas or electricity. However, it has not always been that easy and to accomplish any of these things it needed a fire. An integral part …

When you hear talk of the Dartmoor Drifts people are either discussing a bad winter or a practice that has occurred for centuries, this page concerns the latter instance. I suppose a cowboy would describe a drift as a ’round-up’ for it was an occasion when cattle and ponies were …

Hidden in a small valley below Bagga tor are the remnants of some old tinners works and amongst these are the vestiges of a one time diamond mine. It sounds beyond belief but they are there, well to be exact it was not genuine diamonds that were being extracted but …