You are not currently signed into the Member Centre – Sign In.
| An independent voice and a forum for debate for those who find Dartmoor a source of livelihood or inspiration |
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.
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
‘Songways of Dartmoor’ – FULLY BOOKED
Carolyn Hillyer, Nigel Shaw and Danielle Barlow
A 10½-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. This event is now fully booked.
‘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 www.buckfast.org.uk/boxoffice, Abbey Bookshop or on the door
‘A Mighty River of Song’ – The Inspiration of Contemporary Folk Music on Dartmoor
Jim Causley with Mark Bazeley, Chris Hoban and Bill Murray
7.30pm at Clearbrook Community Village Hall, Clearbrook, near Yelverton, PL20 6JD
Tickets: Adult £10, Child (14 or under) £5
‘GRANITE’
The GRANITE Band – Kate & Mike Westbrook with Roz Harding, Jesse Molins, Matthew 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’ – FULLY BOOKED
Carolyn Hillyer and Nigel Shaw, Bones and Woodwose (Katy Marchant, Steve Tyler and Ricardo Noronha)
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. This event is now fully booked.
William Andrew Fiddle Day
Nick Wyke and Becki Driscoll
10am–5pm at Fairplace United Church, Okehampton, EX20 1DT
Full day tickets: Adult £30, Under-18 £20
Half day tickets (morning or afternoon session only): Adult £15, Under-18 £10
A day of workshops, using tunes from the fiddle player William Andrew of Sheepstor.
For more details or to buy tickets please go to the Wren Music website.
‘Gothic Dartmoor’
Songs from, and inspired by, the Baring-Gould folksong collection with Marilyn Tucker and Paul Wilson (Wren Music), Hannah Cumming 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’
Devonport Park Community Choir, Okehampton Choral Society, West Dartmoor Benefice Choir with Andrew Wilson, Lucy Luxmoore and Pauline Hamilton-Leggett
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.
Friday 6th July, 6:00 for 7:30pm
Brentor Village Hall (SX 483 813, PL19 OLR)
This summer’s Society BBQ will be held at Brentor village hall, grid ref SX 483 813, postcode PL19 OLR, starting at 7.30pm. There are a small number of parking spaces immediately in front of the hall with extensive parking along the adjacent road.
Prior to the BBQ at 6pm, Tom Greeves will lead a walk from Brent Tor car park (SX 469 805) to explore the prehistoric and post-Roman earthworks and the church of St Michael de Rupe on Brent Tor.
The tor is the only volcanic peak on Dartmoor and affords spectacular 360° panoramic views from the top. It is accessed via a stony track and the steep climb to the top is over rough grass – appropriate footwear is advised.
Please bring your own drinks.
Wednesday 22nd August, 2:00pm – 5:00pm
SX 676 604, TQ10 9HN
Philip and Charlotte French have kindly invited us to visit their farm at Corringdon, South Brent, this year.
Corringdon is first documented in 1284. It is a family run farm on the southern slopes of Dartmoor, all within the National Park. The farm consists of lower (more productive) fields running up to moorland at Corringdon Ball (an enclosed newtake with substantial
archaeology – this area is managed to reveal and protect the archaeology under an environmental scheme).
There is also some ancient woodland which has had livestock excluded under the same scheme.
There is a herd of suckler cows and a flock of sheep, both of which graze adjoining commons, and the majority of the progeny are finished on the farm.
The farm is now run by the younger generation with the emphasis on increasing productivity and efficiency.
The visit will comprise a walk of about 3 km/2 miles on rough moorland to Corringdon Ball and also to woodland, followed by tea.
Bring suitable outdoor clothing and footwear.
There is no charge for the visit but the tea will cost £3 per person. There is no limit on numbers, but pre-booking is required.
The farm is about 1½ miles west of South Brent, at grid ref SX 676 604, postcode TQ10 9HN, and is approached by narrow lanes. Car share if possible and park at the farm.
Wednesday 19th September, 1:00pm – 5:00pm
Lewtrenchard Church (SX 457 861, EX20 4PN)
Following on from our very successful 2017 Dartmoor Society Research Lecture where Martin and Shan Graebe told the story of Baring-Gould's journeys across Dartmoor and his search for songs, we are delighted to now offer our Members a very special joint visit which will provide many Baring-Gould references.
Graham Yeo, Chairman of the Friends of the Forgotten Garden of Lewtrenchard, and his father-in-law Dr Ron Wawman, who has been active in the Sabine Baring-Gould Appreciation Society (SBGAS) for many years, will conduct a tour of Lewtrenchard Church with its numerous Sabine Baring-Gould connections.
After this we will visit the nearby Forgotten Gardens which include woodland, a holy well and a lime kiln which is being lovingly restored as part of a local community project. The tour will last about one hour and is free, although donations are requested.
Please park thoughtfully and congregate in the car park of the Church of St Peter in Lewtrenchard at 1pm.
At approximately 2pm we will drive the very short distance to Coombe Trenchard, following pre-prepared signage, where we will be able to park on the driveway.
Once there we can enjoy a leisurely afternoon with our hostess Sarah Marsh, who will share her passion for the whole estate whilst conducting a guided tour around the ground floor of the house, which is a fine example of an Arts & Crafts Edwardian country house.
After the tour we will be able to walk around the beautiful Edwardian gardens at our leisure.
Coombe Trenchard is an Invitation to View property and normally a visit to the house, with tea, costs £18 per person. For our visit, which also includes a hot drink and a slice of homemade cake, a price of only £12 per person has been arranged, which represents excellent value and a wonderful opportunity to visit both venues.
Directions: Exit the A30 via the slip road signed Broadwoodwidger and head south towards Sprytown and Lifton. At the next junction, turn left towards Lewdown. At Lewdown turn right after the Post Office to Lewtrenchard. At the junction, turn left into Lewtrenchard and the church is near the junction on the left.
Our apologies, but any cancellations after Sunday 9th September will not be able to be refunded.
Saturday 20th October, 10:00am – 5:00pm
Meldon Village Hall (SX 560 924, EX20 4EU)
Dartmoor’s distinctive stone resources have been used since prehistory to create the distinctive built heritage of the area, and further afield.
However, for many years, quarrying within the national park has been perceived by many as anathema, and since 1997 there has been no working granite quarry on Dartmoor.
Nevertheless, two quarries survive, and both are important employers – one producing limestone on a large scale at Linhay, Ashburton and another, much smaller in scale, producing metamorphic building stone at Yennadon, Dousland.
The principle of using local stone for local and regional needs fits with contemporary ideas about wise and environmentally sound use of resources. Are we doing enough to meet this imperative?
A wide range of speakers will explore what makes Dartmoor stone so special – in the morning its geology, archaeology, and its potential use for historic and modern buildings will be explored; in the afternoon the role of the two working quarries will be told.
There will be ample time for discussion.
1000 – Welcome
1015 – Kevin Page (University of Plymouth): The geological diversity of stone in the Dartmoor region
1100 – COFFEE
1130 – Tom Greeves (independent cultural environmentalist): The archaeological legacy of Dartmoor stonecutting
1215 – Mike Barr: The importance of local stone, its use for building on and around Dartmoor
1300 – LUNCH
1400 – Ian Glendinning & Barry Wilson (Glendinnings): Limestone: its use and history of quarrying at Ashburton
1445 – Andrea Robertson (John Grimes Partnership Ltd): Yennadon Quarry: continuing Dartmoor’s tradition of supplying building stone
1530 – TEA
1600 – Discussion: Have we got the balance right?
1700 – Close
Friday 9th November, 7:00pm
Dolphin Hotel, Bovey Tracey (SX 813 782, TQ13 9AL)
by Adrian Colston
Adrian is a PhD student at the Centre for Rural Policy Research at the University of Exeter researching the topic ‘Stakeholder attitudes to the narratives of the Dartmoor Commons: tradition & the search for consensus in a time of change’.
He has a BSc (Hons) in Biological Sciences (Zoology and Ecology) from Exeter University and an MSc in Conservation from University College, London.
He was General Manager for the National Trust on Dartmoor for 12 years, and Property Manager at Wicken Fen for 7 years.
His research on the Dartmoor Commons is of the greatest importance at a time of major changes in upland farming and environmental thinking.
