Dartmoor

Published jointly by Jarrold Publishing and the Ordnance Survey, each of these guides contains 28 walking tours, some with alternate versions, graded in order of difficulty. The guides are equally suitable for leisurely half-day family strolls or for the experienced hiker seeking a challenging, day-long walk. The routes are color-coded according to how difficult they are.

This is a walks book with a difference. It's aim is to take the reader on a journey of discovery whilst also providing a healthy and enjoyable walk on Dartmoor. Each walk has been selected to provide a variety of routes across a varied range of landscapes in and around the National Park. Each walk is linked to a place of particular importance in the history of the moor, with the author relating points of interest along the way. The walks included in this volume cover castles, prehistoric sites, remnants of old mining areas, farms, quarries and ancient trackways. Neither the walking nor the history is too demanding - the aim being to have an enjoyable hour or so out on the moor while coming home knowing a little more than when one left. Under John Earle's expert guidance (he's author of a number of walking guides - and has also climbed Everest!), the reader will find much here to stimulate their interest whether they are an avid outdoors person or if they prefer 'virtual walking' from the comfort of an armchair!

ISBN: 9781841142562

Early visitors to Dartmoor, that great granite mass dominating the centre of Devonshire, usually complained about its climate, agreeing that 'this one thinge is to be observed that all the yere through out commonly it rayneth or it is fowle wether in that more or desert'. Around the skirts of the moor, as a discomforted 18th-century traveller found, the terrain was difficult, 'the soil exceedingly swampy and moist, and covered with bogmoss', through which his horses' legs 'penetrated knee-deep at every step'. Faring no better, the high moor was judged as 'dreary in the extreme', of 'unprepossessing aspect', and presenting nothing of interest. William Gilpin, arbiter of the picturesque, hurried away, declaring that Brentor was 'so immersed in clouds' he could not even distinguish its shape. Town dwellers despised the moorlanders, 'said to be born Clowns, their Carriage being very rustic and ungainly, and their speech so coarse, corrupt, and uncouth, as to be scarcely intelligible to strangers'. Yet, somehow and at some time, perceptions of the region and its people changed. The climate became healthy and bracing, the terrain wild and wondrous. Dartmorians' voices sounded 'liquid', like the 'rapid purling of the little streams', and the vibrant quality of their lives became the envy of outsiders. Landscape artists discovered that the 'vagrant mists' would eventually dissolve, to reveal a wilderness of haunting beauty surmounting gentle wooded valleys. Within a broad social and cultural context, writers and artists have contributed to this transformation of Dartmoor and its dwellers in various ways. The area retains its rugged natural beauty, and, surrounded by urban and coastal development, remains a focus for the outdoor movement of the 20th and 21st centuries. This new book is a major addition to the literature of Dartmoor and will appeal to visitor and local resident alike.

ISBN: 9781860774010

A pocket photo guide containing finely detailed photographs of the locality from the Francis Frith collection. It should be suitable for local historians, tourists and general reading or as a gift, and includes a voucher for a free print.

ISBN: 9781859377109

Most walkers on Dartmoor will have come across mysterious lines of stones stretching accross the bleak moorland landscape, shrouded in mist. Some rows are as many as three kilometres in length, once comprising hundreds of standing stones. Their strange alignment clearly held some purpose for our prehistoric forebears - but what? Early historians attempted to connect these ancient sites with Druids and their sacrifical rites but even modern archaeology has failed to define their true purpose, until now! For the first time here is a book which provides the answer to one of Dartmoor's greatest mysteries : who built the prehistoric stone rows across the moorland landscape - and what was their purpose? In Dartmoor Sun, author, engineer and scientist, Jack Walker, has taken a scientific approach to exploring the mystery of the Dartmoor stones, linking them to other prehistoric sites in Britain and in Europe, and providing an answer to how and why they were built. Dartmoor Sun takes the reader on a fascinating journey of exploration across Dartmoor - revealing the power and influence of the sun and the stars on the lives of those who lived here thousands of years ago. The Author, Jack Walker's interest in the stone rows of Dartmoor grew from a chance encounter while walking on the moor. As he puts it 'One eveing I was in the right place at the right time to observe one of Dartmoor's ancient monuments as its builders intended..'. Using his skills as a scientist and engineer he set about proving to himself that prehistoric man's knowledge of the universe was fundamental to their way of life.

ISBN: 9781841144238

Dartmoor is not huge but is easily large enough to get lost in.Those who know the moor well will delight in the wonderful photographs this book contains, appreciating the endless patience of the photographer who has waited for that precise shot that encapsulates a particular fall of sunlight, the shadow across a hillside, and the bright flash of water tumbling in a stream. For those yet to discover the delights of Dartmoor, this book will provide inspiration to explore.

This book of 10 short walks takes the reader up Dartmoor's famous high spots - known as tors for those who don't know - making the most of the breathtaking views on offer while offering information about the landscape and something of the history of surrounding area. The tors explored are chosen for the variety of walk they offer and the exciting scenery.