Dartmoor: Ponies, Sheep and Tricky Lanes!

Aside from the thatched cottages and cream teas that Devon is famous for, it also has the moors:  Dartmoor and Exmoor.  Today, we spent some time on Dartmoor.  (Later in the trip, we will go to Exmoor in north Devon).

We left Otterton and drove through Budleigh Salterton which, again, brought back lots of nice family memories.  This area is also part of the Jurassic Coast and the red cliffs along the coastline here are stunning.  FYI, the Jurassic Coast (World Heritage Site) covers 95 miles of truly stunning coastline from East Devon to Dorset, with rocks recording 185 million years of the Earth's history.

From there, our first stop was going to be Buckland in the Moor, often considered one of the most beautiful villages in Britain.  There are two main problems with it:  getting there is on one-track country lanes which are two-way but barely wider than one car and, therefore, a challenge; and, second, there is absolutely nowhere to park to get a photo of it.  So, I had to steal one from the Internet.  Its population according to the latest census is 94.  

From there, we continued on along some more narrow lanes to Widecombe in the Moor.  It is bigger (not big - just bigger) and it was market day.  There are no thatched cottages here; everything is built from stone, likely granite.  Its church is known as the Cathedral of the Moors on account of its tall spire and its size, relative to the small population it serves.  There are a few tiny shops and we also wandered around the very small market (in the market hall) where cheeses, cakes and fudge, locally knitted stuffed animals, local honey, and fabulous professional photos were being sold.  I confess I couldn't resist the award-winning vanilla fudge!  We also stopped in the pub for a drink before we set off again.

As we drove across the moor to our next destination (Postbridge), we saw plenty of Dartmoor ponies as well as sheep, some sleeping right beside the road.  No one ever accused them of being the brightest animal on the planet.  We stopped several places to get some photos.  

Our next destination was Postbridge where there are two iconic bridges:  its fabulous clapper bridge which dates back to the 13th century and the 18th century granite bridge right next to it!   We stopped and finally met the challenge of taking photos without other people taking selfies being in them.  All it took was patience.

Then, we set off to our accommodation for the evening, a thatched pub on the edge of the moor.  Now, all day we had been travelling on very narrow roads but the single-track on the Garmin got us on was beyond silly.  It was barely one car wide and yet it was two-way.  It was pointed out to me by my friend, Dave, back in Victoria, that as least I wouldn't get confused about what side of the road to drive on - there was only one side!  I kept hoping we wouldn't meet anyone as there was almost nowhere to pull off.  Well, we nearly made it until a big Land Rover came looming toward us.  Yikes!  At least he was nice enough to back up and we managed to maneuver by each other.  I will post the video but please ignore the f-bomb I dropped when I saw the car.  I honestly thought Nawal had quit filming by then!  

Once we got off that road, our journey was much easier and we ended up on a major A road as we drove south.  We found the Bearslake Inn without any problem.  This is 4 star thatched inn and the oldest part of it, the bar, is thought to date back to the 13th century.  The original building is a Devon Longhouse, a dual purpose building providing human and animal shelter under a common room.  In the 16th and 17th centuries, the original building was extended and chimneys, a parlour wing, and first floor accommodation were added.  In the 1960s, it was converted to a public house.  The name comes from "bear" or be-re", an old Devon word meaning wooded place.  Lake is the hamlet where the farm is located so the original name may have meant "the wooded place in Lake".  Regardless of its history, it is a charming place to be staying, even if it is only for one night as we slowly make our way to Cornwall.