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The following events have been organised over the next few months. More details can be found in our Newsletters. New events are normally added to the website to coincide with Newsletters being posted.
Please use the Book Now buttons to book places and pay online. If you are a Dartmoor Society member please sign into the Member Centre beforehand so you can book places for members-only events and not need to enter all your contact details every time.
Alternatively you can download and print a booking form and post it to us together with a cheque to cover any payment to The Dartmoor Society, PO Box 38, Tavistock, PL19 0XJ.
When our events are over-subscribed, waiting lists are created. If you find that you cannot attend an event you have booked for, please contact the Honorary Secretary as soon as possible. Your place can then be allocated to someone else.
Wednesday 9th May, 11:00am – 1:30pm
Located near South Brent, Hillyfield is a very interesting example of small woodland restoration on Dartmoor which won 2nd Prize at the Devon County Show in 2014. Set in the valley of the Harbourne River, just south of Harbourneford, are 18 acres of organic pasture and 27 acres of mixed woodland, some of it designated ancient woodland which has interesting features of the work carried out over history, and even prehistory.
The tour will be led by woodland owner Doug King-Smith and cover aspects of woodland management, site history and issues pertaining to planning and social inclusion. An appeal hearing, regarding refusal of planning permission for various structures needed for woodland management (DNPA Applcn 0259/15) took place on 10th April 2018. Visit www.thehillyfield.co.uk for more details.
Access: using the A38 from Exeter or Plymouth, take the Rattery Junction (between Marley Head and Dean Prior). From the mini roundabout at the top of the slip road (from Exeter direction cross over above the A38) take the lane north-westwards towards Harbourneford. After about 250m turn left between double gates onto a new farm track at SX 7250 6242 (not shown on OS map) which leads south-westwards towards Tom’s Brake and Hillyfield.
There is plenty of room for parking inside the double gates from where there will be a walk of about 2km, some of it on fairly steep ground. Bring stout footwear and outdoor clothing suitable for Dartmoor weather.
Wednesday 6th June, 9:00am – 1:00pm
Our hosts will be Lt Col Crispin d’Apice and Lt Col (retired) Tony Clark OBE. In this, the final centenary year of commemoration of the First World War, they will outline the history of the military’s activity on Dartmoor show us some of the camp’s historic buildings.
There will also be a presentation on how military training is managed on Dartmoor and, depending on military training programmes, an opportunity to see training in action on the Okehampton Range.
Parking has been arranged for us within Okehampton Camp. Please arrive at the main gate with ID such as a driving licence, passport, bus pass, etc to hand. If anyone has a 4×4 vehicle we would be very grateful if you can bring it along on the day as this will assist with moving members to the range area which is an important part of the visit – please let Tanya Welch know by email or telephone if you have such a vehicle and how many passengers you could take.
Please note although some transportation will be supplied there will also be a certain amount of walking required over some tough moorland terrain, so stout footwear and a moderate level of fitness will be required.
Saturday 16th June – Sunday 24th June
A 9-day Midsummer Music Festival, using a wide variety of venues and events, to celebrate the remarkable diversity of composers and performers of sacred and secular music, from prehistory to the present day, all inspired by Dartmoor.
This rich cultural thread, which has not been explored collectively before, will contribute significantly to a sense of place, both old and new, reaching out to communities on Dartmoor, in Britain and beyond. Several pieces of new music will be performed.
You can book tickets online and pay using a credit/debit card using the Buy Tickets buttons below.
However if you are unable to buy your tickets online, or would prefer to pay by cheque, please contact us to arrange that.
‘Impressions of Dartmoor’
Dartmoor Resonance Festival Orchestra
Conductor: Simon Ible
7.30pm at Tavistock Parish Church of Saint Eustachius, Bedford Square, Tavistock, PL19 8AU
Tickets: Adults £20, Child (14 or under) £5.
‘Songways of Dartmoor’
Carolyn Hillyer, Nigel Shaw and Danielle Earp
A 12-mile moorland pilgrimage walk from Postbridge to Gidleigh, with pack ponies and minstrels, with a theme of ancient music, travelling by stone circles, etc. New songs and music created. Free (donations asked for).
More details at Seventh Wave Music.
Register at info@seventhwavemusic.co.uk.
‘White Bird’
Dartmoor Resonance Festival String Orchestra
Conductor: Simon Ible
7.30pm at the Parish Church of Saint Andrew, South Tawton, EX20 2JX
Tickets: Adult £17, Child (14 or under) £5.
‘Dartmoor Resonance’
Sacred Music from the 15th and 17th Centuries
Sung by Voces, Director: Martyn Warren
7.30pm at Buckfast Abbey, Buckfastleigh, TQ11 0EE
Tickets: £10 from Buckfast Abbey Box Office, Abbey Bookshop or on the door.
Jim Causley & Friends: ‘A Mighty River of Song’
The Inspiration of Contemporary Folk Music on Dartmoor
7.30pm at Clearbrook Community Village Hall, Clearbrook, near Yelverton, PL20 6JD
Tickets: Adult £10, Child (14 or under) £5.
More details to follow.
‘GRANITE’ – The Kate Westbrook Ensemble
Kate Westbrook & Mike Westbrook with Roz Harding, Jesse Molins, Matt North, Billie Bottle and Coach York
7.30pm at Ashburton Community Arts Centre, 3 West Street, Ashburton, TQ13 7DT
Tickets: Adult £15, Child £5.
More details on the GRANITE page and at Westbrook Jazz.
‘The Call of the Heathered Hills’
Carolyn Hillyer and Nigel Shaw, Woodwose/Daughters of Elvin and Bones
7pm–11pm at Seventh Wave Music, Lower Merripit, Postbridge, PL20 6TJ
Tickets: Adult £16, Concession £12, Child (14 or under) £5.
A wild Dartmoor celebration with ancient and medieval music and songs.
More details at Seventh Wave Music.
William Andrews Fiddle Day
Nick Wyke and Becki Driscoll
Fairplace United Church, Okehampton, EX20 1DT
A day of workshops, using tunes from the fiddle player William Andrews of Sheepstor.
More details at Wren Music.
‘Gothic Dartmoor’
Songs from, and inspired by, the Baring-Gould folksong collection with Marilyn Tucker and Paul Wilson (Wren Music), Sarah Owen and Jon Dyer
7.30pm at Charter Hall, Market Street, Okehampton, EX20 1AA
Tickets: Adult £12, Child (14 or under) £5.
More details at Wren Music.
‘Festival Finale: Songs of War, Cuckoos and a Witch’
Okehampton Choral Society, Devonport Park Community Choir, West Devon Benefice Choir with Andrew Wilson and Lucy Luxmoore
Soloists: Geoffrey Bersey and Morag Thomson Findlay
7.30pm at St Michael & All Angels Church, Tavistock Road, Princetown, PL20 6RE
Tickets: Adult £10, Child (14 or under) £5.
Songs of Dartmoor, Napoleonic Wars, American War of 1812 (including a world premiere of 3 × songs written by an American PoW in 1815) and Conscientious Objectors of First World War, plus ‘The Tavistock Witch’ by Andrew Wilson.
