Hay Tor

Somehow, I have never been to Dartmoor. So today, that was rectified.

We walked around and over Hay Tor this morning. The sun was shining, the scenery very pleasant, and it was great to see a large flock of skittish golden plover moving around over the moorland.

We then moved onto Widdecombe in the Moor. Lovely church, with an impressive tall granite tower (built by the local tin makers it is suggested). An excellent lunch at the Café on the Green. Difficult to wholly get thoughts of Anne Widdecombe out of my head, not good. The extra is an interesting rocking horse in the church.

A complete change of weather in the afternoon. Rainy, misty, and by the time we got to Princetown (home of the infamous prison), foggy. Excellent visitor centre, housed in what used to be the Old Duchy Inn. When Arthur Conan Foyle stayed he got the idea for a new novel, “The Hound of the Baskervilles”. I can see how the place might have inspired him.

We decided to return via Mortonhampstead. High up on the moors, the road was blocked by a barrier. Closed. So we had to reroute via the little byways. These narrow Devon roads are a bit of a nightmare when it comes to oncoming traffic and passing places. I was glad to get back to where we are staying. Log fire weather.