Dartmoor

Granite tors, peat bogs and swift rivers give Devon's central moorland its character in Arthur L. Salmon's illustrated travel account. He considers how Dartmoor acquired its name, describes the landscape's granite formations and follows the traces of earlier inhabitants through hut circles, standing stones and old tin workings. The descriptions also register how mist, strange rock shapes and solitude can encourage stories of spirits and other unseen presences.

The account moves between open uplands and settlements along their edges, including Chagford and Moreton Hampstead. Along the Teign, Salmon notices wooded valleys, bridges, ruined walls and the damage visitors have done by gathering rare ferns. Grimspound's enclosed huts and Moreton's lost dancing tree bring very different kinds of local history into view. Readers interested in Devon's landscape and folklore can find a period observer connecting scenery with archaeology, place names and the customs attached to particular sites.