Dartmoor National Park

Monday, October 13

Dewerstone

Dewerstone Woods ★★★★★

Lunch at Burrator Inn ★★★★★

Brentnor Church at sunset ★★★★★

Breakfast and dinner at our lodging

Dewerstone Woods is a beautiful patch of old oak forest climbing up the side of a ravine, with a lovely river down the center. It was a bit of an uphill hike, but it was well worth the trek for the views! Kristin made it to the top. I did not quite get that far. I would like to say I was distracted by photo ops, but the reality is that that last bit of hill just looked like one hill too far.

We stopped for a delicious lunch and desert (Sticky Toffee Pudding for Tim) at the Burrator Inn. Excellent food and great relaxing vibe.

Our final stop of the day was St Michael of the Rock Church (usually referred to as Brentnor Church), which dates from 1130. The inside of the church is quaint and charming, but the outside view of the church towering over the countryside is spectacular, especially at sunset. I ran into a couple of other photographers at the church and had a great chat about the evils of trump and the selection of camera settings. Amazing how those two things go together so nicely in a conversation. The lighting on the church was absolutely stunning, and we were incredibly lucky to catch it.

Tuesday, October 14

Shovel Down

Shovel Down Ceremonial Complex and Ancient Settlement ★★★★★+

Scorhill Stone Circle ★★★★★+

Clapper Bridges on the River Teign ★★★★★+

Round Pound Ancient Settlement ★★★★★

Breakfast at lodging

Dinner at Ring o Bells pub in Chagford ★★★★★

The Bronze Age in southern England spanned from approximately 2500 BC to approximately 800 BC. Most of the stone circles, stone rows and standing stones originated in the early Bronze Age, while the ancient farming villages came from the mid to late Brong Age. Today, the remains of these villages can be seen as low round tightly-packed rings of stone, which were once the foundations for small and large huts, and large rings of stone which served as animal enclosures. After Dartmoor was deforested, it became no longer viable for farming. As a result, many of the stones used in the ceremonial sites and ancient villages were not re-tasked to other purposes, leaving Dartmoor to become a gold mine for modern historians to learn about life in those long-ago eras. What I love about visiting sites like Shovel Down and the Upper Plym Valley is that you can almost imagine a busy insular community, where throughout their lifetimes, most individuals would never travel further than a few days in any direction. What were their lives like? What did their religion and politics look like? Who did they love, and where did they find joy and laughter? Oh, for a time machine!

The beautiful stone bridges pictured here are “clapper bridges,” dating back to the 13th century. Believe it or not, they sometimes get washed away in floods. One would not think so, due to their sheer size and bulk, but heck, water is amazing stuff.

Shovel Down Ceremonial Complex and Ancient Settlement is a fascinating place to experience this wonderful history. We had the area largely to ourselves, and it is vast. We certainly got in our steps! This was by far the best day of our entire vacation. The Dartmoor ponies that you see in these pictures are not wild, but not really domesticated either. They are owned by local farmers, but roam freely over the moors (usually staying close to home). Once a year, they are rounded up, inspected, treated for ailments, and possibly sold. The rest of the year, they just enjoy their free roaming life.

Wednesday, October 15

Buckland

Bennet's Cross ★★★★✩

Dartmoor NP Visitor Centre, Postbridge ★★★★✩

Dartmeet Woods ★★★✩✩

Buckland Abbey ★★★★★

Lunch and Cream Tea at Buckland Abbey ★★★★★

Merryvale Ceremonial Center and Ancient Settlement ★★★★★

Breakfast and dinner at our lodging

Founded in 1278, Buckland Abbey was home to Cistercian monks until the dissolution of monasteries by King Henry VIII in 1539. The monks lived on the western edge of Dartmoor, and often traveled across the moors, following stone crosses as waymarkers and boundary markers. More recently, Buckland Abbey was home to Sir Francis Drake, the famous English privateer (legalized pirate) and New World marauder. We found this site to be a bit heavy on the Drake exhibits, and light on the Cisterican abbey history. Still, the house is fascinating and the gardens are lovely.

Dartmeet Woods was pretty, but not stunning. I suspect we went the wrong way (downstream) from the trailhead. Perhaps upstream would have been more picturesque. The Postbridge Visitor Centre had a nice display on life in the Bronze Age, and the clapper bridge near there is large and photogenic.

Towards sunset, we sought out the Merryvale ruins, and were not disappointed. We first went to the ancient settlement site, and that was nice, but we were hoping to see the stone rows, circle and standing stone. Kristin discovered we were in the wrong place, and led us a different parking lot. From there, we found exactly the wites we were looking for, and even in the waning light of the day, it was fascinating.

Thursday, October 16

Upper Plym Valley

Nun's Cross ★★★★✩

Dartmoor NP Princetown Visitor Center ★★★★✩

Lunch at Old Police Station Cafe ★★★✩✩

Upper Plym Valley Ancient Settlements ★★★★★

Sticky Toffee Pudding at Burrator Inn ★★★★★

Breakfast and dinner at lodging

Nun’s Cross is the oldest standing stone cross on Dartmoor, and served as a waymarker on several foot paths used by monks, merchants and villagers throughout the middle ages. We find these paths to be fascinating, as the weather is often wet, bitterly cold and unpredictable, Supposedly, modern walkers make the trek in a day, so I imagine the monks could as well (however, they were not nearly so warmly dressed or shoed). Nun’s Cross is also an area visited by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on a rambling holiday. This and other nearby sites inspired him to write Houd of the Baskervilles. The Upper Plym Valley photos here are mostly of stone foundations from Bronze Age huts and enclosures. The rocky prominence is a “Tor,” which is a granite outcrop. Tors can be found all over the Dartmoor landscape. We love visiting ancient sites to imagine what life once was like. This is easier to do when it's peaceful and quiet, and you can hear your own imagination. Unfortunately, the day we visited Upper Plym, some kids were running their very loud ATVs up and down a nearby hill. For hours. Ugh.

The Princetown Visitor Centre has some nice exhibits on Arthur Conan Doyle. The staff there were friendly and helpful. The Old Police Station Cafe, however, was subpar cafe food, but at a reasonable price. Not really vacation fare, but fine for a quick bite.

Friday, October 17

Fingle Bridge

The River Teign at Fingle Bridge ★★★★★+

Lunch and Cream Tea at Fingle Bridge Inn ★★★★★

Breakfast and dinner at our lodging

On our final Dartmoor day, we went for a gentle walk through the Teign River Gorge. The path is beautiful, following a beautiful river, with acorns dropping randomly into the water, and fall leaves floating to the ground at every turn. This is surely one of the most beautiful places in England, in the most peaceful season. After our lovely walk, we enjoy delicious Cream Tea (Tea, scones, clotted cream and jam) at the Fingle Bridge Inn. An amazing day! Much of our driving on Dartmoor was on one-lane roads hemmed in by hedge rows that often conceal rock roads. These roads can be a bit intimidating for American drivers accustomed to wide open highways. They certainly are for us! I have included a few of those tight lane roads here as well.

This was our second most enjoyable dat of our entire vacation. I had been searching for a lush green forest with old oak trees and mossy rocks, and while Dewerstone was nice, Fingle bridge just blew us away. October is the best time to be here, with acorns dropping into the water, and leaves fluttering to the ground, and smiles on everyone you pass (and most of them have very happy dogs with them).

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