©Baz Richardson - Wheal Betsy
©Wendy Radford - Cosdon Hill Stone Row
Step back in Time When you gaze out across Dartmoor’s high moorland and empty wild spaces, it is hard to believe that you are looking at a landscape that has been managed for over six thousand years. Dartmoor’s first occupants were hunter-gatherers and, all over the moor, you can find archaeological evidence of our occupation of the land, right from the first ancient hunting communities, all the way through to today’s hill farmers and visitors. It is this sense of history that makes Dartmoor such an exciting and interesting place to explore. When humans first came here, exposed tors would have been flanked on either side by densely wooded valleys, the remnants of which can still be found in the ancient woodlands of Dartmoor. These are best represented by the famous Wistman’s Wood and Black a Tor Copse, with their dense stands of gnarled, moss-covered oaks.
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©Alex Graeme - Hameldown
©Nigel Jones - Devon Longhouse
