The Magical Moors of Devon

 “I have never before, in my long and eclectic career, 

been gifted with such an abundance of natural beauty

as I experienced filming War Horse on Dartmoor... 

And, with two-and-a-half weeks of extensive coverage of landscapes and skies,

 I hardly scratched the surface of the 

visual opportunities that were offered to me."

 Steven Spielberg 

And our trip through Southwest England with Sugar Bear continues...

On Saturday morning, we drove through Dartmoor National Park.

I'll apologize in advance for this picture heavy post,

but I just don't have the words to describe this place.  

Dartmoor is a moorland area in South Devon that covers about 350 square miles.

We spent three hours driving across the moors with many stops along the way.

There was so much to see and the views were indescribable.

 I took hundreds of pictures and I've tried to narrow it down for you, but it's so hard.

I still can't believe all of these various sights were all within a three hour drive.

It was just wonder after wonder.

I can see how this landscape has inspired artists and writers for centuries.

At the highest elevations the wind is brutal.

 We pulled over to take pictures and opened all three doors at the same time.

Big mistake.  The wind ripped our map off of the dashboard and sent it sailing across the moors.

 One of the standing stones that are scattered throughout the Moors.

 Sugar Bear and I both squealed when we spotted our first wild ponies.

This little guy was a joy to watch.  He was racing around and kicking up his heels.

Frolicking is the only word for the fun he was having.

There have been wild ponies in Dartmoor for over 3,500 years.

They moors are also full of sheep roaming about freely.

I couldn't stop taking pictures of them.  They posed so nicely.

Standing on a rock.

We were planning to stop in Postbridge to see the Medieval Clapper Bridge. 

When we pulled into the carpark, this is what we saw...

Remember how I told you that I hate taking pictures with random people in them? Pfft.

We raced ahead to get to the bridge first with 150 German tourist hot on our heels.

I was able to click about three pictures before this...  

The stone bridge was erected about 1,000 years ago.  

This is the bridge that we drove over which is also pretty old and very scenic.  

After picking up a new map, we continued on our journey.
We ended up seeing the German tour buses several times over the next few days.
Luckily, we were always one step ahead.

There are hundreds of miles of stone walls in Dartmoor used to enclose land holdings. 

 This is the Burrator Reservoir which is one of many that were constructed in the 19th and 20th Century to provide water to the surrounding area.

This is the view from the Dam.

I couldn't get over the color of the water, such an amazing rich blue.  

And look how much the landscape has changed now that we are at a lower elevation.

We spotted a little waterfall and had to stop to climb.

I don't ever want to leave this place.

The wild ponies are everywhere.  But you are warned not to feed them.

 Every time we turned a corner, I was begging TE to pull over for more pictures.  It was just spectacular.
And we only saw a small area of the total moorland.  There is so much more to see.

  

It was like traveling back in time. 

I'd love to go back and spend a few days just wandering and exploring.  

If you've actually stayed with me this far, thank you.  Here is one last sheep pic for you.

I'm thrilled to share our photos of Dartmoor with you.  

It is an absolutely magical place.

Still more to come!

xoxo

Selena 

pics taken by me or TE with the Nikon.