The trek up to the site was lovely in the sunshine although it was very wet underfoot. Water ran down the track and filled all the depressions in the path. The ford was deep and lively but we all made it across safely. After a brief rest, we all set off on our separate tasks….

Eighteen of us gathered at Cold East Cross (formerly Ham Hill Cross), ready for the walk to Buckland Beacon and the Commandments Stones, and also, incidentally the 1935 Jubilee Stone. From the start of the walk – on a grey, mizzly day to start with. The walk started with seeing parish boundary stones incised with…

The second Tuesday in September is traditionally the date of Widecombe Fair. This year is probably the sixth year that the DPA has had a presence, the earliest blog post on the subject is from September 2014, on the old blog. Well done to Derek Collins and Phil Hutt for their early start to put…

Every year, August Bank Holiday Monday is the The Lustleigh Village Show – and what a show. Doors open at 10.00 am and close at 5.30 pm, a full day. There is far too much in the Show to be covered in a short blog like this one – the web site is well worth a…

The walk met at the car park below Rowtor – a total of twenty-two DPA members and friends, on a warm, sunny periods sort of a day. The weather forecast was for temperatures of 23-25°C but it was not over-bearingly hot – quite comfortable in fact. We set of straight up the gentle slope to Rowtor….

Thursday 15th August was the date of the Chagford Show. It was a grey day and the forecast wasn’t overly encouraging. While it did rain slightly, the day was mostly cool and dry but, for August, the sun wasn’t exactly splitting the flagstones! However, we were there. Volunteers Derek Collins and Claude Williams made a…

The 42nd Dartmoor Folk Festival took place on 9th, 10th & 11th August at South Zeal, up Oakhampton way (using a spelling from the old tithe map). Dartmoor Preservation Association had its usual presence with a stall i.e. a table in the big Craft & Trade Marquee. The Festival “starts up” on the Friday evening with…

Thursday 25th July saw 18 members and friends gather behind the Plume of Feathers in Princetown on a gorgeous summer day with clear blue sky. On this day, a July record 38.1 °C temperature was recorded in Cambridge. For us, it was a relatively balmy 23°C with breezes. We were off to the mysteriously-named Crock o’…

Twenty one DPA members and friends met at Drakeford Bridge on Tuesday 25th June for a walk in the East Dartmoor National Nature Reserve (NNR) at Bovey Valley Woods, where Natural England and The Woodland Trust work together. The weather was overcast, warm and dry.     Drakeford Bridge is not easy to find for…

  On Wednesday 12th June we had the annual orchid count at Pudsham Meadows.       Twenty-two DPA and Devon Wildlife Trust Volunteers set off in pairs or small groups, each surveying one species in one of the four meadows. A total of 4184 flowers were found.     In some areas, the orchids…