Gordon Hook

Liberal Democrat District Councillor for Buckland and Milber Learn more

Awesome Dartmoor

by admin on 19 February, 2017

I took a couple of hours off work yesterday afternoon, and drove up to Dartmoor for some fresh air and “gentle” exercise, both of which I need more of! I can’t say I wandered lonely as a cloud, as many others were of a similar mind, and quite right too…but what a fantastic place Dartmoor is…every time I visit, either to walk or simply drive through, I can’t help but marvel at the sheer awesomeness of the place. Always changing, always the same….we are so so blessed to live in this marvelous part of the world, and I for one am extremely appreciative.

The weather was good, the air was fresh, I felt the sun on my face as a promise of approaching Spring and, at least for an hour or so, all was well with the world. Excellent!

   2 Comments

2 Responses

  1. David A. Howard says:

    Gordon, you are making me envious again. I use to love wondering around Dartmoor, it was a great place to go and allow the stresses of life to drift away, Weather permitting of course. My first real close up encounter with Dartmoor was at the age of 10. (1954) It was on the Meddon W.I. day trip to Buckfast Abby. A local farmer, Jimmy Lee, who also ran a bus service, brought us all the way from that area of North Devon, in his little Bedford Coach, with the warning that if the weather was good enough to make it across and a mist come down, in might be some time before we could make the return journey. This might seem silly today but back then it was a very likely case. It really was a wild and windy place as the coach creped up and down the hills. I remember that coming out of Badgers Holt, as it is know known, we all had to get off and walk, so the coach could make it to the top on its own. However we did make it to Buckfast Abby, on those very narrow, windy and steep tracks, as that was about all you could call them in those days. At Buckfast Abby at that time there where many monks, not only building the Abby but working on the farm which fed them all. They also had many craft shops which produced many different goods, from pots of all shapes and sizes, to Bread, Butter, all sorts of cuts of meat, as they butcher their own animals, to Honey and Mead. We all had a wonderful time there. Jimmy Lee decided that he was not going to chance his coach over the moor going home as he thought it might not make it. So we went on to Plymouth, which was 3 hours journey then and took the long rout back via Crown Hill, Crapstone, (Which seem to cause a great deal of amusement among the ladies), then Horrabridge, to Tavistock, then we were back on the road to Launceston (Lan’sen) as we new it, then Holsworthy and Bradworthy and so home. We had left at 5:00am and got back at 1:30am the next day. I can only think what poor old Jimmy Lee felt, as most of his passengers were used to being in bed by around 10:00pm in those days. And all for the price of 12/- shillings for the adults and 6/- shillings for those under 14. The coach held 28 passengers in all. Days to remember, oh yes but the moor it self seem quite a scary place in those days, to me something I have never forgotten.

  2. gordonhook says:

    Different world…and what a journey! These days you can go round the world several times in the time you took to get to and from North Devon. Dartmoor is still an awesome place though, and a treasure in the British crown.

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