Flora And Fauna

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 …

In the summer of 1975 a group of archaeologists from Exeter University were excavating the remains of an old blowing house high up the Walkham Valley. Having located the feature an excavation trench was dug and a possible leat was found. To enable the full extent of its course to …

On many occasions when walking the moor the solitude and the silence has been broken by either a slow rhythmic ‘womping’ noise or a deep guttural ‘cronking’ both emanating from above and which announce the presence of a raven or a ‘sheep vulture’ as it is called on Dartmoor. Look …