“Now it is the time of night, That the graves all gaping wide, Every one lets forth his sprite, In the church-way paths to glide.” Shakespeare – A Midsummer Night’s Dream. As Halloween approaches what better time to reflect on Dartmoor’s corpse roads and the superstitions that are firmly attached …

I am currently and apparently belatedly starting work on my MA dissertation which is concerned with Dartmoor’s Lych Way which at one time was a corpse road. During the research I somehow managed to get side-tracked down the route of corpse candles which I am sure will not suit an …

Somebody recently asked why there are so many corners marked on the Ordnance Survey map of Dartmoor and admittedly it was a fact that I had not previously given much thought to. But then I looked at my database of Dartmoor names and saw that there were over 80 entries …

For as long as I can remember there has always been a corn dolly hanging on the home mantelpiece, first as a child living with my parents and now in my own home. I can’t say I ever paid them much heed just that as with the Christmas decorations they …

Every now and again I allow myself the luxury of imagining I have won the National Lottery and then browsing through the property pages of the Devon Life Magazine. There age pages of glossy moorland cottages all with totally surreal blue skies and colourful gardens, each one labelled with a …

Many of the pages on this website bear reference to the one-time remoteness of Dartmoor and the problems this caused when sickness visited a household. The poverty of many of the moor folk often meant that they could not afford proper medical attention and had to resort to traditional cures …

“Common Land – Unenclosed wasteland, forest and pasture used in common by the community.“ English Heritage NMR Monument Type Thesaurus Commons are by no means unique to Dartmoor they can be found all over the country and at one time played a vital role in most people’s lives. In many …

“Sweeter than the odours borne on southern gales, Comes the clotted nectar of my native vales – Crimped and golden crusted, rich beyond compare, Food on which a goddess evermore would fare. Burns may praise his haggis, Horace sing of wine, Hunt his Hybla-honey, which he deem’d divine, But in …

‘The Clappers of Dartmoor‘ sounds very much it should be followed by the “Bells of St. Martin’s” but in this instance it refers to a type of bridge found on the moor and in other upland areas of Britain. One thing Dartmoor is not lacking is rivers, streams and leats …

Associated Names OS Grid Reference Comments Name     Becky Falls Clam SX 7633 8007   Clam Bridge SX 7672 8109   Fairy Clam SX 6416 7250 AKA Swincombe Clam Highdown Clam SX 5319 8670   Lustleigh Clam SX 7670 8110 Now redundant Lydford Mill Clam SX 5140 8499   …