“On the Saturday before Christmas a great cattle market is held here; and on the Saturday after Christmas, is a great holiday-fair, called a ‘Giglet,’ or ‘Giglet Market’; that is, a wife market; at which the most rustic swain, if weary of his bachelorship, is privileged with self-introduction to any …

  “In order to obtain an idea of the whereabouts of things in general, and the hills and valleys of Dartmoor in particular, we shall ascend Brent Hill, where granite once more gives place to trap. It rises to an elevation of 1,027 feet above the sea-level. It is a …

  Over the centuries fairs have always been an important facet of Dartmoor life, most have been consigned to its memory box but a few still exist today in one form or another. Probably the two most celebrated ones are Widecombe Fair and Tavistock’s Goosey Fair. However, there was another …

Normally at this time of year a we along with a group of friends and neighbours book a suitable local venue for a pre-Christmas dinner but this year for one reason or another this was not on the menu. But hey, can’t let the festive season pass without some kind …

  “From Okehampton to Belstone, over Cawsand, White Hill, Will Tor, Taw Head to Cranmere, from thence to Fur Tor, continuing down the Tavy, past Watern Hill to Tavy Cleave, then returning via Hammacombe or Ammacombe Hill, Sandy Ford, High Wilhags, Yes Tor, Black Down, and Okehampton Park. This is …

  It’s a midwinter’s day in 1886 and a party of people left Plymouth’s Millbay Station for a day trip to explore the wilds of Dartmoor. What they saw on that journey in many respects would be a lot different to what can be witnessed today. For starters it would …

  Here is a true story worthy of a West End play, it involves a prison chaplain, a burglar armed with a knife, a shotgun and an amputated arm. The scene is large granite Victorian house located near to the church at Princetown. It’s a dark March night when all …

  Over the last few centuries Dartmoor has many eminent topographical writers who have passed down their knowledge and experience to us today. However, there are some authors who never managed to get their work and experiences published for the wider audiences. What they did manage to do is get …

You are driving over the B3212 road by Shapley Common, its a crisp autumn day, the heather is in full bloom casting a purple hue over the hazy moorland and all of a sudden in the middle of the road you see a shaggy looking cow. Somewhere beneath its furry …

Dinna Clerks, AKA Dinah Clerk – who or more technically what are they? In all reality nothing to get too excited about, they are in fact the names of three fields belonging to or once belonged to West Shallowford which lies to the south-west of Widecombe-in-the-Moor. As can be seen …