Dartmoor

National Park team make repairs to medieval settlement

Dartmoor National Park Conservation Works Team has been busy this week, working with archaeologists to make repairs to the nationally important medieval settlement at Hound Tor.

Repairs are needed periodically to replace stones which have been dislodged by cattle rubbing, erosion or human interference. The work involves identifying where stones originated in the walls of the buildings and repositioning them in their original locations – occasionally using discrete amounts of glue to ensure the stones remain in place.

Andy Crabb, Archaeologist for Dartmoor National Park said...

Appeal for volunteers to work on historic tramway

Join Dartmoor National Park Ranger Simon Lee on Sunday 12 June as he leads a team of volunteers to continue working on the popular Templer Way walking route near Haytor. The day runs from 10:30 until 3:30 and starts at the National Park Visitor Centre, Haytor.

The Templer Way follows the route by which granite was taken from the quarries in the Haytor area during the 1800s on an 18 mile journey toTeignmouth on the south coast.

A granite tramway was used to transport the stone down to Stover Canal from where it was shipped down to the docks at Teignmouth. Large parts of the...

New funding available for Dartmoor communities

Dartmoor National Park Authority has opened its Communities Fund 2016/17 for applications and is calling for community organisations on Dartmoor to come forward if they have a project that needs funding.

The Dartmoor Communities Fund offers up to 50% grant funding for capital projects that support existing valued community facilities and services, or create new community infrastructure to meet identified community needs.

The Fund is supported by the New Homes Bonus from West Devon Borough, Teignbridge and South Hams District Councils and this year there is just over £90,000...

Dartmoor Rover service marks launch of OkeRail

The summer Sunday “Dartmoor Rover” train service resumed at the weekend, coinciding with the launch of the OkeRail community group.

Members of OkeRail, Great Western Railway (GWR) and Devon County Council were on board the 09.08 service from Exeter St David's to Okehampton yesterday (Sunday 15 May) which, for the first time, displayed the OkeRail logo.

OkeRail is working toward re-establishing daily passenger train services on the line between Okehampton and Exeter.

Mike Davies, Chairman of OkeRail, said: “The sizeable number of passengers boarding the train at...

World music premiere on Dartmoor

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Sun, 05/15/2016 - 11:37am

The world premiere of a new composition, inspired by Dartmoor and composed by Michael Alec Rose, will take place on Saturday 18 June at a Summer concert in Moretonhampstead.

Il Ritorno: A Perambulation for Unaccompanied Violin will be performed by internationally renowned violinist Peter Sheppard Skaerved on a 1629 Girolamo Amati violin (Amati’s son taught Stradivari the craft of violin making).

The concert is being held on Dartmoor at the express wish of the composer, whose work has been performed widely in Europe, the United States and South America.

It has often...

Inspired by Dartmoor

Event Date: 
11/05/2016 - 10:00am to 30/06/2016 - 5:00pm
Venue: 
Dartmoor National Park Visitor Centre, Princetown

Visitors to the National Park Visitor Centre in Princetown can currently enjoy an exhibition of the work of four members of the West Dartmoor Art Group.

David Mather, Peter Blake, John Streeter and Gloria Sprague will be exhibiting a selection of paintings in different media, all inspired by their love of Dartmoor.

The West Dartmoor Art Group was founded in 2002 and has approximately 50 members in total. Regular painters meet every Wednesday at Peter Tavy Village Hall. It is a friendly and sociable group of painters who work in all sorts of mediums (oil, watercolour,...

Exciting future for Chagford

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Tue, 05/10/2016 - 11:03am

Dartmoor National Park Authority’s Planning Committee has approved a major planning application in Chagford that will see the community continue to thrive for years to come.

The development, put forward by CG Fry & Son Ltd, is for 93 houses, new public car park and link road, employment space, new fire station, public toilets, and public open space. It includes 28 affordable homes and is one of the largest housing developments to be approved within the National Park.

An earlier approval for 15 units of specialist housing for older people being developed by Blue Cedar...

Thousands to set off on Ten Tors Challenge

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Fri, 05/06/2016 - 11:55am

Thousands of young people will set off on the 2016 Ten Tors challenge this weekend, spending two days in small self-sufficient teams walking through some of the most stunning scenery Dartmoor has to offer.

Dartmoor National Park Authority has been working closely with the Army and team managers to ensure that the event has minimum impact on the fabric of the moor and its wildlife.

National Park Rangers and Voluntary Wardens will be on hand throughout the weekend to monitor and provide support.

Peter Harper, Chairman Dartmoor National Park Authority and Ten Tors Team...

Volunteers needed at Haytor on Sunday

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Tue, 05/03/2016 - 10:32pm

Come along to Haytor this Sunday (8 May) and join Dartmoor National Park Ranger Simon Lee as he leads a team of volunteers to continue working on the popular Templer Way walking route near Haytor. The day runs from 10:30 until 3:30 and starts at the National Park Visitor Centre, Haytor.

The Templer Way follows the route by which granite was taken from the quarries in the Haytor area during the 1800s on an 18 mile journey toTeignmouth on the south coast.

A granite tramway was used to transport the stone down to Stover Canal from where it was shipped down to the docks at...

Wildflower meadows talk by world renowned expert

George Peterken, the world renowned meadows expert, is returning to Dartmoor for a celebration of wildflower meadows.

Wildflower meadows - bees love them, butterflies love them, people love them. Nothing sums up summer like the experience of walking through a species-rich meadow, carpeted with flowers and alive with insects.

Yet across the country, wildflower meadows have all but disappeared – 97 per cent of them have gone since the second world war. And Dartmoor is no different. Fortunately, there are still some wonderful survivors.

At Chagford on the 29 April,...

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