Dartmoor Wild Flowers

After our lunch out today, as it was such a beautiful spring day, my hubby took Mum and me on a drive up onto Dartmoor. We drove around, doing what my hubby called “Proper Sploring”! This meant that when he saw an interesting little lane turning off, he would have to go down it, just to see where it led. He is nosier than a cat, and even nosier perhaps than those of us who take part in the weekly WOYWW blog hop when we satisfy our curiosity as to what’s on each other’s work desks.

From high up on the moors, we could look down towards the wooded valleys, and in one spot we saw what we originally thought was purpley-blue plastic laid out – we said, “That can’t possibly be bluebells!” But it was. We drove down to have a look.

We stopped a few times in a wooded lane, so that Mum and I could get out and have a wander, and I got my camera out. I’m afraid some of the photos are slightly out of focus but it was hard to tell at the time because the screen on my camera isn’t that big, and the sun was extremely bright. Further up, we came upon the masses of bluebells we’d seen from above.

Here are the photos I took.

I believe our American cousins call these beautiful flowers “Blue Bonnets” which I think is charming!

Buttercups:

Celandines:

Clover (a bit out of focus, I’m afraid):

Gorse – this grows in the woods adjoining the moors, and profusely on the moor itself. Very prickly, and the flowers smell of coconut.

Speedwells:

Stitchworts – again a little out of focus:

Violets:

Wall pennyworts. I love this little plant, with its delightfully round, rubbery leaves that “creak” when you move them, and the humble little green spike of a flower. Until he met me, my hubby had never heard of them, and had never noticed them, despite being brought up in the country! They are so insignificant, but so valiant, growing out of dry walls.

Don’t our British wild flowers have delightful names? They probably go far back into the mists of time.

Now for some non-flowering plants. Ferns unfurling:

Ivy:

Lichen. Don’t you just love that texture?

Gnarled old oak tree:

And now some of Dartmoor’s famous dry stone walls. Many of these have been there for centuries, and they are as solid as the moor itself. Dry stone walling is an ancient craft, and while the old walls sometimes may look a bit haphazard, they are carefully planned, with the largest granite stones at the bottom (how did they even lift some of these?) and they are probably the earliest cavity walls, with a double wall being built, and the centre being filled with smaller stones, and then topped with more stones.

They get a wonderfully weathered look over the years, and in shady places, moss and lichen grow there, as well as my wall pennyworts, and sometimes little birds will nest between the stones.

Sorry, I can’t resist it – got to quote my favourite Pam Ayers poem:

I am a dry stone waller,

All day I dry stone wall.

Of all appalling callings,

Dry stone walling’s worst of all.

She may be right. Inmates of Dartmoor Prison were forced to build them, and some of the best ones are found in the vicinity of Princetown! Beats sewing mailbags, perhaps, at least in the summer.

Just before turning back for home, we drove down a tiny lane which led to some pretty thatched cottages, and found this:

I count my blessings every day, one of which is the privilege of living in such a beautiful corner of England, with all this on the doorstep, and also having a hubby who so enjoys “sploring”!

Hope you enjoyed sharing our little trip into the beautiful Devon countryside. It is certainly at its very best at this time of the year.

My Mum’s 90th Birthday and a Moorland Outing

We went over for tea with my mum and dad on Saturday – her 90th birthday – and gave her her presents and card. She was thrilled with it all. Here are some pictures of her opening them. (She doesn’t look 90, does she!!)

After we left them, we went for a little drive in the car, onto the moors, and I was able to get some photos. Unfortunately the sun disappeared just as we set out, which was a shame, because the late afternoon is my favourite time for photography because of the long shadows and interesting light.

This is Hay Tor, one of the more dramatic tors on Dartmoor.

This gorgeous thatched house is near Bellever.

I loved this avenue of trees with the daffodils, and the blossom tree.

There is some very impressive dry stone walling on Dartmoor. I particularly like this bit of wall with the huge stones, and the smaller ones fitting between. Some of the walls on the moor itself are made of more rounded stones and you can see the light between them – they have been there for generations and are not about to move any time soon.

One of my favourite of Pam Ayers’ poems is:

I am a dry stone waller;

All day I dry stone wall.

Of all appalling callings

Dry stone walling’s worst of all.

Lovely results, though!

This is a very pretty little stone bridge over a stream:

and another one over the river.

Some mossy trees.

As we approached a village on our way home, I was able to photograph the daffodils on top of the bank. Every year they are magnificent. Unfortunately we only just caught them in time as they are starting to go over now.

The village itself is also famous for its daffodils.

Finally, a photo I took through the car windscreen of a ploughed field with an interesting texture.

All in all a lovely day.On Sunday we took my parents and an old family friend out for lunch to celebrate Mothering Sunday – my mum was overwhelmed to have yet another card from me! I reminded her that it was only because her birthday coincided with Mothering Sunday this year – usually they are a few weeks apart. It was a fitting celebration all round, though!

Dartmoor

It’s so lovely to have my hubby home again! Until the other day when my friend took me up on the moors for a drive, I hadn’t been out all the time he’d been away. Today was a beautiful day, so he suggested we went out for a drive. As it had been so nice up on the moors, I suggested we retrace our steps, and this time I’d take my camera.

By the time we got going, it was mid-afternoon, but it was better that way, because the sun was lower in the sky, and the shadows were lengthening, which is a magical time to be out, and great for photographs too.

Before reaching the moor we drove through Holne Chase, one of my favourite local places. When I was well, I used to park the car where we stopped to take this photo, and I would climb up above the road and walk along parallel to the road, overlooking the river, through the beautiful woods.

We approached the moor via Poundsgate – the road goes up and up from the bottom of the valley, and each time you think you’ve reached the top, there’s more steep hill and twisting road to come! Gradually the trees become more stunted and less dense, and then suddenly you leave the trees behind, and you are up on top and can see for miles, in this wonderful, wild, desolate and beautiful landscape.

We drove over the top and then down to Dartmeet, where the two rivers, the East and West Dart, meet to form the River Dart, and then turned off towards Hexworthy. We stopped by a bridge over the river.

There are some very pretty woods by the river.

Climbing back up onto the moors again, as we passed the Forest Inn, we spotted an ancient Celtic stone cross, one of many to be found on the moors.

When we reached the top we found a tor right beside the road, an outcrop of granite rock.

As we came down off the top, we came to Venford Reservoir, and drove over the dam, and then returned home.

It was great to be able to get out, and although it was windy, it wasn’t really cold. The light was beautiful, and the sky interesting with lots of billowing clouds, and to be in the wild open spaces again was simply marvellous.

Belated Birthday Outing

Following on from the Explosion Box posts, we had arranged to meet my friend today to celebrate our birthdays belatedly. She and I share the same birthday. She lives in inner-city Plymouth, a few yards from where we used to live, and although she drives, she doesn't get out into the country that often, so we took her to the tiny village of Meavy for lunch at the Royal Oak pub. On the village green outside is an ancient oak tree which is propped up to stop it falling down, and is one of the many, many oak trees in England reputed to have hidden King Charles I! (He'd have been a very fit man if he'd managed to climb such a forest of oak trees in his life...) We had a very nice lunch indeed, and then I suggested that we went for a little drive.

Meavy is just down the road from where I grew up, so it's all very familiar territory for me, and full of memories. It's right on the edge of West Dartmoor and when I was living in the area I used to walk regularly on the moors and know lots of different places. Sheepstor is the local tor which overshadows the village, and the beautiful reservoir of Burrator. It's about 7 miles' drive around the lake, and it's soooo beautiful, so that's where we went. Beforehand I showed her the 2 houses where I grew up. The only fly in the ointment was lack of sunshine - although it was dry, it was very dull and overcast, but my friend, always seeing the bright side of every situation, said it was lovely, because it made everything look mysterious! It is beautiful in any light, of course.

As we passed the turning to the tiny hamlet of Sheepstor, we came across a lovely bonus! Here's what we found:

There were two foals in this group of Dartmoor ponies, and they let us get quite close.

We took the 2 bears, Winston and Edwina, and here they are looking at the ponies, with their noses literally pressed against the car windows!

Round the further side of the lake, it's very mossy and almost a secret place.

Everywhere the May blossom is at its best - I think I even prefer it to the earlier cherry blossom - although I vowed I'd never get like my mum, I do rave about it just as much as she does lol! The May makes the trees look weighed down with snow, and we are so fortunate that it grows profusely throughout the Devon countryside.

 

Coming round the further end of the lake, this is the view you get:

 

Returning to the beginning of the circuit, you get a good view of the Victorian granite dam:

I was surprised to see how low the water level was. When it fills up, the water flows through the arches and down the slope of the dam to feed the stream below. In times of drought, the tip of the spire of the church of the drowned village has been known to appear, but that's rare.

 

After our little drive, we took Pam back to Plymouth, and over a cup of coffee, she opened her explosion box. I then spent some time with her on her computer, setting up web mail for her as she's really having problems with Virgin Media, and my hubby crashed out on the settee and went to sleep - he is still very sleepy in the daytime despite the benefit of the mask at night, and I think he's being optimistic if he thinks the dr. will allow him to drive again when he sees her on 1st July...

After that I was pretty knackered - it was about 7.30 p.m. by then and we had to do a quick Tesco shop on the way home. Very glad to get my feet up after that! It's a long day, however enjoyable, and it doesn't help that I've got to do the driving atm.

Altogether a lovely day, and my friend enjoyed every minute of it! - as did we. We have so much to be thankful for, with all this on our doorstep, to be shared in the company of those we love.