I was reading an article published by the famous Dartmoor folklorist Theo Brown some 47 years ago which I think typifies the beliefs and resources available to moor folk in days long gone by. It concerns medical treatment for both humans and animals administered by so-called ‘White’ or ‘Hedge Witches’ …

Ilsington village whose origins probably date back to Anglo Saxon times and so it would be fair to say it and the local area has known human occupation for many, many centuries. Prior to the Norman Conquest the settlement was owned by a man named Merleswein. Just outside the village …

In 1861 a tin miner named James Webb applied for a lease on two acres of unenclosed land on which to build a house but later changed his plans and asked if he could build a pub instead. Permission was granted and in 1863 he successfully applied to the Tavistock …

How often when one is browsing the internet does a stunning photograph of a Dartmoor landscape appear which either makes you think “I wish I’d taken that,” or “wow I must visit that place.”? I would suggest that happens quite often and the chances are that some of those photographs …

One of the most famous and perhaps lovable convicts who have had the pleasure of a spell in Dartmoor Prison has to be David Davies, aka Evans, also known as the Dartmoor Shepherd. For a series of petty crimes he served at total of some 50 years in various gaols …

Dartmoor is literally studded with memorials of one kind or another, each and every one has a different association with either a person, event, belief, a pet, etc. They can be found anywhere from the open moor to village greens and virtually every other location imaginable. Many have lost the …

At one time, not too long in the past cider was as common a beverage as Typhoo tea is today upon Dartmoor. Not only was it a popular drink in the pubs and inns but many farms had their cider orchards whose apples would make the families yearly supply. During …

One sure sign that Spring has arrived is the shrill warbling of a colourful bird usually sat atop a rock or boulder, this is the Wheatear. When you look carefully at this small bird you could be forgiven for wondering what about its appearance could possibly suggest either wheat or …

Updated May 2022 No doubt numerous folk have sped through Swallerton Gate on their way to Jay’s Grave or Manaton, likewise many people would have parked in the car park near to Swallerton Gate before tripping up to Hound Tor. As you can see from the aerial photograph below the …

 Please note access to the mine and its surrounds are by prior appointment only as the land is privately owned. The chosen route for our first full day’s walk during the Easter break was from Trenchaford Reservoir, down past Bullaton Farm and then onto the Kelly Mine via the steep …