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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 570, Torquay, TQ1 9JB.
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.
Friday 19th July, 5:00pm
Langaford Farm Charitable Trust (TQ13 8RH, SX 704 845)
We are delighted to announce this year’s summer BBQ will be held at Langaford Farm Charitable Trust near Lettaford (TQ13 8RH, SX 704 845).
The trust was established in 2002 to maintain and encourage the ecological enhancement of its 100 acres of farm land and for several years has enjoyed working with various outside professional bodies to achieve these aims.
One such organisation is Butterfly Conservation with which they have encouraged many rare and unusual species of butterfly and moth. This work resulted in the trust winning an award in 2011 in recognition of their contribution to conserving the Marsh Fritillary butterfly.
The farm can boast over 100 species of lichen, numerous mosses and liverworts and, by developing large pond areas, has promoted a wider diversity of wildlife.
At 5pm, prior to the BBQ, one of the Trustees and our host John Mills has kindly arranged for us to enjoy both a short talk on butterfly conservation at Langaford as well as a fairly level walk with a butterfly and moth theme.
The BBQ itself will start at 6pm.
The exact location is known as Farm 2 and has a large barn/seating area with toilets and a very large field at the side suitable for car parking. As usual bring along your own favourite choice of drink, bottle of wine, etc – paper cups will be provided.
Full directions and more details will be given in our June Newsletter.
Monday 12th August, 2:00pm – 5:00pm
PL20 6SA, SX 625 735
Layland and Gill Branfield have very kindly invited us to visit their farm at Moorlands, Princetown, Yelverton, PL20 6SA, for our annual farm visit. The farm is situated right in the heart of the moor and entirely within the Dartmoor National Park.
The Branfields rear mainly Stabiliser suckler cows and Swaledale ewes, with some other breeds and crosses of sheep and cattle, for a variety of reasons. Historically, they both left the family farm which was based on Exmoor in 1987 to enable them to start farming on their own at Moorlands. They now have a grown-up family who have moved away to pursue other activities although they still maintain an interest in the farm.
In addition to their animals, they nurture a wealth of flora and fauna and archaeological history on their land which they are very keen to share with us. So as well as receiving a fascinating insight on the day to day running of the farm itself, there will be a walk of approximately 2 miles over rough moorland which will include seeing a 4,000 year old hut circle, evidence of peat cutting and tin streaming, and much more.
After our walk, Layland and Gill are very kindly providing tea for us. There will be no charge for this visit, but donations are welcome at tea time.
Moorlands Farm is sited near the Prince Hall Hotel on the B3357 and directions to it are as follows: Take the turning for Prince Hall Hotel, turn left at the next junction, proceed over a second cattle grid and follow the tarmac road down to the Dartmoor Training Centre. Pass over the small bridge, ascend out of the valley, turn right signed ‘Moorlands Farm’ and follow the concrete road to the farm at SX 625 735. Please park where signposted.
Pre-booking is essential for catering purposes.
Wednesday 18th September, 5:00pm – 6:30pm
TQ11 0DY, SX 743 664
The trust was set up in 1962 to study caves and promote conservation of the cave environment. Research projects include such subjects as water percolation, cave location techniques, palaeontology and bats. The museum displays examples of their conservation work and introduces visitors to many aspects of speleology.
Our visit starts with a walk to the ruined 13th century Church of the Holy Trinity enjoying magnificent views of Dartmoor en-route. Our host Sheila Philips will then take us to Higher Kiln Quarry which, as an area of hibernation for greater and lesser horseshoe bats, has been declared both a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation.
In addition, we will also visit the Joint Mitnor Bone Cave. The cave contains the richest deposit of mammalian remains of the last interglacial period ever found in a British cave, and most probably dates from about 100,000 years ago. Due to its historic significance, extensive excavations were carried out between 1939 and 1941 by the Torquay Natural History Society who found remains of over 4,000 bones of prehistoric animals such as hippopotamus, cave lion, bear, wolf, giant deer, narrow-nosed rhinoceros, bison, hyena and straight tusked elephants.
These fascinating limestone caves also contain evidence of a number of geological features including earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Our tour will also include a visit to the recently refurbished museum where there is a variety of exhibits and an opportunity to learn more about this unique site located on the edge of Dartmoor.
The full address details for this event are: The William Pengelly Cave Studies Trust, Russets Lane, Buckfastleigh, TQ11 0DY. Map reference: SX 743 664.
There is ample parking and toilets available on site and we are recommending that dogs do not attend due to them having to be strictly on a lead at all times and as they are not allowed at all into the bone cave itself.
It is advisable to bring along a torch.
Saturday 12th October, 9:30am – 5:00pm
Ashburton Arts Centre, 15 West Street, Ashburton, TQ13 7DT
The Dartmoor Society’s flagship event this year will focus on the birdlife of Dartmoor and is open to anyone who is interested to know what birds are found on the moor and to understand the measures that are taken to protect them.
It is an opportunity for those who work on bird projects to share their latest research. These are local enthusiasts and scientists who carry out surveys and monitoring on the ground, and those who take this raw data and use it to answer questions about how we can retain our bird species and even increase their numbers. Their work is an essential resource for organisations and individuals who develop land management policies aimed at improving habitats and maintaining healthy bird populations.
We will look at the factors that make this work necessary, such as pressure on habitats and food sources, farming, recreation and climate change. How do we balance the need to prevent disturbance to birds and their habitats, and to protect their food sources, with the requirement to make Dartmoor ever more accessible to people?
The day will take us across much of Dartmoor from the high moor and the wetlands through to wood and farmland species.
Our chair is Alison Kohler, Director of Conservation and Communities at Dartmoor National Park. Ally’s job brings her into daily contact with people who are protecting Dartmoor’s culture, heritage and wildlife. Our speakers all work on Dartmoor and are passionate about its ecology and birdlife.
0930 Arrival – refreshments available.
1000 Formal welcome by The Dartmoor Society.
1005 Chair’s introduction to topic and speakers.
1010 Fiona Freshney – RSPB Ecologist and Advisor to the Dartmoor Upland Bird Project.
An overview of Dartmoor bird species and their habitats focusing on some of our wetland birds such as snipe, dunlin, lapwing and curlew, including case studies. The issues conservationists face and the opportunities offered by land management trials.
1040 Mark Lawrence – British Trust for Ornithology Bird Ringer and Nest Recorder.
Days in a Gorse Bush. The highs and lows bird surveys. Nest recording requires patience and skill and Mark has recorded and then monitored thousands of nests on Dartmoor for over 8 years, providing the vital raw data for scientific analysis. His own species of interest include cirl buntings, peregrine falcons, ravens and crossbills.
1100 Charles Tyler – Professor in Environmental Biology and Deputy Head of Biosciences at the University of Exeter.
Charles has 30 years’ experience in environmental research and he will explain how he works on field data provided by Mark to understand the ecology of ground nesting birds such as meadow pipit, stonechat and whinchat. A major component of his work focuses on the diet of cuckoos and meadow pipits, whose nests the cuckoos parasitise, in order to build a better understanding of this relationship and so provide conditions that will ensure their success on Dartmoor.
1130 Tea/coffee break
1200 Malcolm Burgess – Senior Conservation Scientist at the RSPB.
Malcolm is at the leading edge of bird tracking technology and will be talking about how he uses this technology to find out more about migration patterns and so try to establish causes for the decline of migratory woodland birds on Dartmoor such as the pied flycatcher, spotted flycatcher, wood warbler and whinchat.
1230 Questions and discussion
1300 Buffet lunch
1400 John Walters – Field Naturalist, Wildlife Artist and Author.
The Secret Life of Long-tailed Tits. This new talk is the result of many hours observing and recording the behaviour of long-tailed tits on Dartmoor. John has worked on many television and radio programmes including the BBC’s Life in the Undergrowth, The Living World and The One Show.
1430 Naomi Oakley – Dartmoor Farmer, Environmentalist and Natural England Advisor.
A Dartmoor Farm Managed for Stock, Visitors and Wildlife. Naomi will explain how stock and wildlife on her farm are mutually beneficial, how Agri-environment schemes work and what is meant by ‘natural capital’.
1500 Afternoon tea/coffee and cakes
1530 Sara Zonneveld – Ecologist based at the University of Exeter.
Sara will talk about her work for SWEEP (South West Partners for Environment and Economic Prosperity) and her research and findings on how we can protect vulnerable species with an increasing local population and ever more visitors.
1600 Speaker TBC
1620 Questions, discussion and summing up
1700 Close
When booking, please ensure you inform us of any special dietary requirements. There are no tickets supplied for this event, however, all online bookings will receive an email response. Please book by 5pm on the date shown.
Ashburton has a public car park that is just a few minutes’ walk from the arts centre. This car park can get busy at weekends so early parking and car sharing is advised. There is a dropping off area in front of the arts centre for those with limited mobility.
The confirmed programme will be posted here just before our October newsletter is published.
Friday 15th November, 7:00pm
Dolphin Hotel, Station Road, Bovey Tracey, TQ13 9AL - SX 813 782
Dr Paul Lunt is Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) in Environmental Science, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at Plymouth University. He and his students have been working closely with The Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust (DPHT), headed by Dru Butterfield, and with grassland conservation grazing specialist Malcolm Gibb. The DPHT is a charity created to help ensure a sustainable future for the Dartmoor pony on Dartmoor.
Their research has taken place at Bellever Forest, Postbridge, and involves intensive studies with the aim of meeting Natural England’s requirement for scientific evidence of pony grazing impacts. The DPHT project measures the effectiveness of ponies combatting Molinia invasion. There will be a slide presentation and time for comments and questions afterwards.
When booking please ensure you inform us of any special dietary requirements. There are no tickets supplied for this event, however, all online bookings will receive an email response.
