Tag Archives: Dartmoor

‘Then was the Scold herself, In a wheelbarrow brought, Stripped naked to the smock, As in that case she ought: Neats tongues about her neck Were hung in open show; And thus unto the cucking stool This famous scold did go.’ When delving into the ancient customs and traditions it …

Due to the climate and altitude there was not a lot of corn grown on Dartmoor and what was cultivated tended to be on the lower fringes of the moor. But where either wheat or barley was sown the old tradition of ‘Crying the Neck’ was observed at harvest time. …

If tors have feelings then Yes Tor must be pretty despondent, for centuries this majestic granite outcrop had been hailed as the highest place in Devon only, thanks to improved surveying techniques, to be relegated into second place by its close neighbour High Willhays. What made matters worse was that …

“Few of the Dartmoor heights are so situated as to show themselves to such advantage. On the right, a spur well clothed in dark fir plantations comes down from Brimpts; and on the left is a clitter of bold granite rocks. The time to visit this is certainly the evening, …

  “Scarce hoarier seems the ancient Wood Whose shivered trunks of age declare What scath of tempests they have stood In the rock’s crevice rooted there; Yet still young foliage, fresh and fair, Springs forth each mossy bough to dress, And bid e’en Dartmoor’s valleys share A Forest-wilderness“. Sophie Dixon …

High up on the north moor lies what was probably one of the remotest of the old Dartmoor tin mines. Today all that remains are some ruins, spoil heaps, and if you look very carefully a small, overgrown, reedy, gully that slopes down from the side of Okement Hill. Nearby …

“Such a vast bleak area of monotonous moorland, with scarce a house visible to cheer the solitude. Positively for miles you see no track of man on the moor. On the road across it we came to a small inn, where the horses were baited. Its name was ‘The Warren’ …

Vixen Tor has always been the focus for man’s attention, during the Bronze Age he buried his dead in the shadows of the mighty outcrop. Later on the tor entered the realms of Dartmoor legend as it played host to the evil witch Vixiana who lived amongst its dark caves. …

“Two Bridges is on the Dart, and is about the middle of this wild uncultivated district; a more dreary situation in winter cannot be imagined in the centre of so rich, populous, and cultivated a county as Devonshire; no wood is to be seen, and the little stock, an apology …

Another of the Dartmoor clapper bridge stars is the Teignhead Farm clapper which is located just below the now deserted farmstead. Since the 19th century the old bridge has been the subject of paintings by numerous artists such as Widgery and Brittan. The early postcard manufacturers also saw fit to …