As with any remote upland area the horse and pony have played a vital role in the everyday life of moorfolk, serving as a means of transport and power. Albeit carrying people to and fro, pulling a plough or toting loads across the moor in packhorse trains all was done …

I have heard on occasions that Hog’s Pudding is the ‘Devonshire haggis’ which I find totally incomprehensible. It looks nothing like haggis and it sure as hell tastes nothing like haggis. Granted it is a large sausage and it has some magical ingredients but unlike the haggis they do not …

Not long ago I wrote a webpage on the ‘Archerton Camp‘ and whilst doing the research I found that the prehistoric settlement appeared on the ‘Heritage At Risk Register‘. As I was not sure exactly what this was and what it entailed I dug a little deeper. Around about the …

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 …