Nobody is sure when and how the potato arrived in this country, some say it was Sir Francis Drake, some say it was Walter Raleigh, others say it was Tom Hawkins and some say it was none of them. The earliest record of the potato is in 1597 when a …

No Dartmoor website would be complete without a page on the famous Dartmoor Pony. Go into any souvenir shop and you will see Dartmoor Ponies in every shape and guise, they will be on postcards, keyrings, plates, mugs, tea towels and everything else where it is possible to put a …

On the northern flank of Okement Hill a small trickle of water rises out from the peat, this is the East Okement river whose journey will take it through 5 miles of some beautiful moorland scenery. Once the river reaches Okehampton it unites with its sister, the West Okement and …

“he that hath sheep, swine and bees, sleep he, wake, he, may thrive“. “This little piggy went to market and this little piggy stayed at home …”, and it wasn’t that long ago that most homes kept a pig to provide a source of much needed winter meat. Dartmoor was …

For many centuries domestic pigeons were kept in specially built houses variously known as dovecotes, pigeon houses, columbaria and culver houses (from the Anglo Saxon culver = pigeon). They were primarily kept for their meat but pigeon blood was, according to Pliny, meant to cure bloodshot eyes and the dried …

A local woodsman’s wife once commented to the vicar of Holne during a discussion about beverages that her mother used to drink ‘organs tea’. The explanation was; “when tea was sixpence an ounce and coffee three pence an ounce mother used to drink organs tea.” Another woman from Ashburton noted …

‘Goosey, Goosey, Gander, where can I wander?’ Around about this time of year this website gets several queries from people who will be visiting Dartmoor for thr first time and want to know exactly where they can or can’t walk. For example: “Hi, I wonder if you can help, we …

Now, before we start, I should just like to say to any governmental representative of Blair’s bunch that this is not an attempt to incite racial hatred. If in any way it’s deemed as such I would like to humbly apologise now as that was not the intention. BUT… the …

The Devil’s Herb was probably one of the most feared plants to grow in any cottage garden, today, parsley is one of the most common herbs used in cooking and nobody gives it a second thought. But why should such an innocuous plant have earned such an evil reputation? To …

It would appear that the way things are going on Dartmoor one could be forgiven for thinking they were in Longleat safari park. Firstly there were the reports of wild boar rampaging over the southern edges of the moor, then there was the stampeding bullock and now there was great …