We had a lovely holiday in Devon and Dorset this summer, with a visit to the Neolithic Sweet Track on the drive down from Cheshire. In Devon we stayed in a beautifully furnished cabin in Dartmoor, and we were also able to visit Thomas Hardy’s house with the study where he wrote “The Woodlanders” in 1886/7.
Last year I visited Devon for the first time to attend the Small Woods Association AGM then at the national park headquarters. I stayed in a shepherds hut holiday let and knew I’d be coming back to the area. We found an equally interesting property this time. As you can see below, the cabin in Haytor Vale is nestled in woodland. It’s on a private track with footpaths leading to the village (and The Rock Inn which does very good food) and off into the surrounding countryside. There is a wood stove and a good supply of logs but we didn’t need it in the heat of this August of course.
Inside it is furnished in a very bold style, with some architectural elements in the style of Provence I think. Fully functional kitchen with dishwasher, and solid WiFi and smart TV. The two bedrooms have their own ensuite bathrooms. We loved the design, and the views of the surrounding trees through the skylights in bed and through the windows – I photographed the rabbit through the bedroom window. On one of the days I just enjoyed the location itself without going anywhere else.
The next set of photos shows one of the routes leading away from the cabin along a small wooded valley and then via public footpaths onto the moor itself. The moor is home to the famous Dartmoor ponies who are owned by the commoners but roam freely during the year. We were lucky enough to see them a couple of times. The Templer Way is a walking route that runs from Haytor down to the coast at Teighmouth but we only followed it a short way to reach the Yarner Woods National Nature Reserve. This was England’s first NNR and the Way runs through the edge of it, along a tramway made of granite blocks which was used to carry granite from quarries on the moor down to the docks.
As well as Devon, we also visited Dorset including the house Thomas Hardy designed for himself at Max Gate in Dorchester. Over the years he extended it and his study moved from bedroom to bedroom. However, the one shown here is where he wrote the novel “The Woodlanders” in 1886-7. Last year I went to see the house Hardy grew up in, which quite resembled the setting of “The Woodlanders”. Hardy’s father had a bustling builder’s yard rather than timber yard next to the house, but both were in small hamlets in a wooded area. The novel eventually suggested the name of the Woodlanders Facebook group for people involved in British woodlands.
Not far from Dorchester there is Bovington Camp, home to the Royal Armoured Corps and the British Army’s tanks. Next to the base is the Tank Museum which is the best military museum I’ve seen. The quality and depth of the presentation of the exhibits, the breadth and significance of the collection, and the simultaneous catering to everyone from full-on tank geeks to children in the same exhibition space is striking. Galleries explain the full history of tanks, starting with First World War prototypes and ending in the war in Ukraine – with important tanks from the story in the exhibition space with you. Astonishing. Frankly, it shames efforts like the Imperial War Museum North, with its sparse spaces filled with few objects, and acres of bare walls unused for explanation or context, and tens of millions wasted on expensive architecture instead.
Every day the Tank Museum has a demonstration of tanks driving and blank-firing in their large outdoor arena. We were lucky enough to see the Sherman tank “Fury” in action, which was lent by the tank museum for the making of the Brad Pitt film of the same name. Back at the army base, there is a viewing area next to the road where the public can watch part of the training area and enjoy their taxes being well spent. I photographed a Risk of Fire sign in some woodland next to the viewing area and I expect we will see more of them in future hot summers.
