Nestled below the rocky eminence of Thornworthy Tor once lived two families, to all accounts they were ‘blow ins’ or in other words, “bain’t frum around yer”. They lived in two ramshackle tinners huts which lay in a small combe below the farm of Thornworthy. Although the two families knew …

On March the 21st 1829 a party of huntsmen and their dogs were hot on th trail of an old moor fox up near the head of the river Teign. A more barren and desolate tract of land would be hard to find, all around lay peat hags and gullys …

One hundred and thirteen years ago the sleepy little village of Peter Tavy was to witness one of Dartmoor’s most violent crimes. Nestled below the lofty western tors  Peter Tavy has always been a typical moorland village. People never travelled far and everyone knew each other, the chances were that …

In the Dartmoor area the monks have been renown for their skills in producing alcoholic delights. The monks at Buckfast had their mead and fortified wine, whilst the monks at Tavistock were famous for their sweet cider. The cider was one of the purest in the county and so much …

Tavistock has had its fair share of weird and wonderful events over the centuries all of which have contributed to a large collection of folklore tales. Whilst perusing one of Mrs Bray’s books I came across the story of the ‘Tavistock Boa’. This is how she nonchalantly introduces the tale; …

This tale goes back to the long forgotten times when giants and other fantastic creatures lived on Dartmoor. Amongst them was a water nymph called Tamara who dwelt with her parents in a subterranean home on the border of the moors. She was beautiful, kind, very headstrong and detested living …

The nice things with place-names is that you can play around with them in all sorts of ‘sad’ ways. In this light, it is possible to make up an entire suit of Dartmoor playing cards from some of the old and modern place-names to be found on the moor. I …

There are various accounts of the story of Stephen’s Grave and here is a brief synopsis and the conflicting versions. About three hundred years ago lived a man called George Stephens, the tale is that old that some say he was named John. Either way he lived at Peter Tavy …

Although not officially in the Dartmoor Park the small village of Spreyton lies about 2 miles north of the moor. Back in the sixteen hundreds a series of ghostly events took place in the cold days of November.  One morning a young servant lad called Francis Fey was working in …

Now before we start, in order to appreciate what a magical place Sheeps tor is it may be as well to have a look at what the area looks like. As you can see from the picture below Sheepstor stands on a mighty hill that looks over many little valleys …