Dartmoor

Dartmoor roads are much like the rest of Devon: narrow, winding, and sometimes only one lane to accommodate both directions - so heaven help us if you have two lines of cars, each trying to use the one lane - usually you back up a bit, but it must be hard if you have several cars behind you.

Tried to get a look at Castle Drogo (not a real castle - built less than 100 years ago) - but you can't even see it from the outside without paying heaps - because it's all hidden behind masses of trees.

Finally into Dartmoor National Park, once over a cattle grid.  It's been drizzling on and off all day, and quite cold at times.  Summer!

Got rather wet climbing to the top of Hay Tor.  And my knees were not happy going back down.  But I had to do it.

Haytor

Not even for the view.  Just because it was there, so I should be able to say to myself that I went to the top.

view from Haytor

Where Dartmoor is not farmland, it's rolling moorlands, relatively sparsely vegetated - somewhat like Desert Road in New Zealand.  But then, apparently in the middle of the national park, you encounter villages, rather similar to the rest of Devon:

Widecombe In The Moor

 It's pronounced "Widdicum".  Steep hills going down to it, with a speed limit of 40 mph - but you'd have to be barking mad to go that speed.

I've just finished lunch there.  My Facebook friends wouldn't post that photo above - they'd usually do this:

Veggie Pie Of The Day, New Inn, Widecombe In The Moor

Anyway, that's not what I did.

There were geese and chickens in the backyard.

I'll have to get going soon.  Soggy shoes, damp trousers from climbing the tor in the rain.

Still no WiFi access, and phone reception is sporadic at best, pretty much everywhere.  So |I post when I can, as now.

Update:  I passed through Two Bridges (close to the centre of Dartmoor), then looped back towards home.  Although there's a large area marked Dartmoor Forest, I saw only a few patches of wooded land in the distance.  On the way, I saw a couple of wild ponies galloping around,

(I suggest you expand to full screen for best impact)

one of which came up close to be fed.

Rosalie wanted a pony

 A couple of women had come prepared with a medium-sized bag of carrots.  He ate the lot.  They commented on how healthy he looked (probably because he's used to getting carrots from tourists).  He nuzzled me in search of more, in vain.

slightly dejected pony, leaves when food is gone

In the distance you can see a dry stone wall - that is, it's made by carefully fitting together stones to make a wall, with no mortar to hold them in place - just good jigsaw-like assembly.

dry stone wall

...then back home via Moretonhampstead.

Moretonhampstead