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Dartmoor Explorations

Back in a Day

For centuries the only means a passenger had of traveling between Tavistock and Okehampton and beyond was by means of a horse-draw coach. The coming of the railway was the ‘death knell’ for the owners of many of these coach companies, the staging inns, and indeed local hauliers.  It was …

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Dartmoor en route 1887

Imagine embarking on a three-day tour of Dartmoor with accommodation in some of the ‘finest’ hotels the area has to offer – sounds tempting? Now imagine a three-day tour of Dartmoor in September but travelling in an open top horse drawn carriage, along with other passengers, staying at the ‘finest’ …

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WidecombeWander

In the late 1890s the editor of the Torquay Times wrote several articles under the title of “Some Devonshire Villages. In the July of 1895 he published article number seven when he visited Widecombe-in-the-Moor and in which he described his excursion… “My quarters were, as usual, at the Rock Hotel, …

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Plymouth to Princetown

In the Autumn of 2022 the Devon County Council submitted a Strategic Outline Business Case for re-instating the old Plymouth to Tavistock railway line. At onetime this service was run by the Great Western Railway Company and provided a vital link for people wishing to visit Dartmoor from Plymouth and …

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The Okehampton Circular 1887

What follows is the account of a 16 mile walk taken in the October of 1887. Today parts of this trail would be impossible as it would mean strolling beneath the Meldon Reservoir and therefore unique in its content. Nevertheless it is a fascinating account of the sights and experiences …

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Don’t Forget the Hamper

The arrival of the railway to Lustleigh heralded a new dawn for the little village and one that would eventually put the place well and truly of the tourist map. People began making their ‘pilgrimage to the picturesque ‘Lustleigh Cleave’ to enjoy its beauty and tranquillity. Initially it was quite …

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Holne Pilrimage

Here is another nostalgic account of a man’s pilgrimage to Holne and the nearby Dart Valley taken sometime in the late 1880s. As with all such accounts of the period he experienced many things which would not be possible today. What makes this reading more interesting are the various ideas …

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Mother’s Meeting

In the June of 1884 a party of women from Tavistock treated themselves to a day trip on Dartmoor. Amazingly enough this was to be the first time some of them had been up on the Moor despite living just a few miles away. “We were told that this year …

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Snow Joke

During the winter months Dartmoor can be a magical place for a ramble with unbelievable views of the landscape. However, there can be exceptions especially when snow, fog, ice, along with short days are all concerned. What follows is an account from 1891 detailing the horrors that those conditions can …

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Beatrice at the Pool

Beatrice Chase was a well known if not eccentric Dartmoor authoress who liked to be known as “My Lady of the Moor”. Over the years she made numerous trips to the elusive Cranmere Pool and in 1929 she enlisted the aid of the famous Dartmoor guiding family – the Perrots. …

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