Out of all the animals on Dartmoor it is the bat that has the most unjustifiable reputation of all, mention the word bat and many people associate it with haunted churchyards, witchcraft, Halloween and something that gets tangled in your hair. It is true that you can often see bats …

I think it is a well known fact that Devon has more than its fair share of Badgers, just read any discussion regarding T.B. But there are many badger setts to be found in the more remoter areas of high Dartmoor and some of these have been established for many …

“If the Oak is out before the Ash, then we shall surely have a splash, If the Ash is out before the Oak, then we shall surely have a soak”. That is probably one of the better known of the old weather lore sayings and versions of it can be …

Mention apples and Devon in the same breath and people automatically think of cider, surprisingly enough the odd apple or two were actually eaten and many of the small cotts had a tree in the garden. Whilst it cannot be denied that a vast majority of the apples grown on …

“Even amidst that neglected dike the arum rises in humble state : most curiously shrouded in her leafy tabernacle, and surrounded with luxuriant families, each distinguished by a peculiar livery of green“. Walk down any hedgerow or stroll through any wood and the chances are that somewhere the shy Adder’s …

If you consider the amount written about adders or ‘long cripples’ as they are called on Dartmoor it would be possible to imagine that the place is literally crawling with them, that is not the case anymore. There are many walkers that despite years of tramping the moors have never …

Devonshire Wrestling along with Cornish Wrestling are probably the earliest forms of this sport, although the northerners will dispute this. In Devon and especially upon Dartmoor wrestling had a very strong following and noted champions. Writing in 1708, Charles Vancouver gave his description of the sport in the following terms: …

Look on any map of Dartmoor and you will find many place-names that end with the element – worthy, but what was a ‘worthy’ and how old are they? That latter question is probably the easiest to answer insomuch as it has been suggested that they originated in Anglo Saxon …

‘There is a category of man-made structure in the remoter parts of northern Dartmoor which has received surprisingly little attention from Dartmoor scholars. I refer to the ruined huts and shelters which can be found beside infant rivers or on the wind-blasted ridge tops.’, (Le Messurier, 1979, p.59). Thirty years …

Dartmoor has an abundance of two things, water and wind both of which have been used as power sources for industry. It is ironic that at a time when wind farms are an emotive subject (due to the proposals for building one on the moor) a look back in history …