By Roberta Muir
I donÕt want to leave
Dartmoor – a wild expanse of gorse covered rocky moorland where friendly
Dartmoor ponies graze alongside timid black-faced sheep, dotted with old pubs
and ancient structures such as the 13th century St Michael de Rupe
church just outside the village of Brent Tor, where service is still held every
Sunday from Easter to September. This massive gnarly lump of volcanic rock
(called a ÔtorÕ) rises high above the surrounding moorland with a tiny chapel
and a few gravestones perched on top in the most windswept spot imaginable. The
parishioners and minister must be fit for the 10 minute steep climb up to the
chapel each Sunday, though once up there and looking down over the surrounding
moor theyÕd be in no doubt of GodÕs majesty.
The White Hart Hotel in the
centre of Moretonhampstead, a lovely village on the edge of the moor, is a
great base for a few days exploring this beautiful wilderness. Built in 1639 it
was originally a posting house where the Plymouth to London mail coaches
stopped to change horses, and during the Napoleonic wars it provided a meeting
place for paroled French officers from nearby Dartmoor prison. In 2003 it
underwent an extensive but sensitive renovation, so it now contains necessary
creature comforts such as good showers and wireless internet access while
maintaining all of its heritage-listed charm. Staff is friendly and helpful and
the food is sourced locally and well prepared. GoatÕs cheese is whipped to a
light mousse and served with a caramelised sherry and hazelnut dressing, a
thick moist chock of gently smoky haddock on a bed of spinach is topped with a
soft-boiled egg that provides a rich dressing and Dartmoor beef is tender and
juicy with a blue cheese salad and hand cut chips. A glass or 2 of Sharpham Dart
Valley wine, made just 5 miles down the road, is a surprisingly good
accompaniment.
Hacking (horse riding) on
the moors is a popular pastime in Devon and a morningÕs ride out of nearby
Skaigh Stables is an excellent way to really immerse yourself in this
landscape. After seeing the moor on horseback, drive around the edge to one of
the many pubs offering lunch or traditional cream teas then spend the afternoon
driving across the moor visiting sites such as the above Brent Tor church, Lydford
Castle and the many standing stones (also called menhirs) such as ÔBeardown
manÕ, that dot the expanse.
Cornwall - Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder
Beauty is in the eye of the
beholder – and plenty of English tourists behold Cornwall and find it
beautiful, especially at this time of year and especially when the weatherÕs as
perfect as it has been this Easter long weekend. The first sight of sun sends
them scurrying for the southwest coast, stripped down to shorts and singlet
tops bearing their white limbs to the sun. And good on themÉbut we found the
ÔspectacularÕ coastline full of narrow, seaweed-strewn rocky beaches, the
quaint villages bared to traffic with crowded parking lots on the outskirts of
town and steep walks down into the village itself (and back up again to the
car!). And it was enough to send us scurrying north to WalesÉstay tunedÉ