On Monday 25th March, twenty-nine of us met at Swallerton Gate car park for a walk to two of Dartmoor’s most well-known sites, Jay’s Grave and Bowerman’s Nose.  The weather was a little grey at first with a cold wind but during the walk the clouds became more dispersed and the sun shone, making it a very pleasant walk. The…

On February 27th the Mardon volunteers enjoyed beautiful weather for the Spring work day. We divided into two groups. One group re-cut the ends of the T-shaped reeve and explored its possible continuation. They then moved on to re-cut an area of second world war trenches on the east slope. The rest of us worked…

What a day!  29 DPA members and friends met at Yellowmeade track car park, the old Mission site across the road and the old Pump House up the road for a walk to Foggintor quarry  on Monday 25th February. The weather was simply gorgeous – blue sky, wall-to-wall sunshine and unseasonably warm temperatures. Our car was indicating 16°C…

In a new departure for the volunteers, last Friday 15th February, we joined the DNPA ranger, Ian Brooker, at Moortown Bottom (SX 663 892) to work on habitat for damselflies. The National Park is working alongside the Commoners and landowners to manage the habitat for Southern Damselflies, the lovely bright blue damselflies that we see…

  After a series of cancellations due to poor weather, the volunteers had the chance to make the first visit of the Winter season on Thursday 7th February.     It was a blustery day of sunshine and showers. We were lucky to dodge most of the rain, just catching one sharp downpour. Sheltering behind…

  On a balmy day, on 11 February, the Dartmoor Preservation Association conservation volunteers met at Hillbridge Farm for another day’s work on my land, Common Wood, near Horndon.  We were joined by Butterfly Conservation’s Megan Lowe and Simon Phelps of the All the Moor Butterflies project.  They work with landowners to try to improve the habitat for butterflies…

  On Friday 25th January, 31  aficionados of the Short Walks programme met at Shaugh Bridge car park. The weather was grey and dull – but towards the end of the walk the sun shone on the righteous. We set out to see remnants of four C19th industries – china clay, iron mining, brick works and granite quarrying….

The weather was kind on 13th January when 14 walkers assembled at Moretonhamstead for the first DPA walk of 2019. We followed footpaths and lanes to North Bovey where we had a look at the 13th/15th century church of St John the Baptist. Among the interesting  features were painted roof bosses including one showing the…

A team of 15 volunteers worked at Pudsham Meadows on Saturday 12 January, clearing a wall of vegetation ready for the wall to be repaired, gathering litter and re-opening a drainage ditch. Ten photos below with captions.                                    …

The last DPA walk of 2018   Thirteen intrepid walkers undeterred by the weather followed part of the course of the Devonport Leat. The Leat was conceived as a business venture in 1792 to supply water to the growing town of Plymouth Dock (later renamed Devonport). It took water from the Cowsic, Blackaton brook and…