Tramping Boots are well used!

Princetown, Dartmoor has a very bleak prison first used to house French soldiers in the Napoleonic wars. Many parts of our 4 days were some what bleak in the highest parts of an exposed South West England.
Rows of headstones of prisoners, early 1900's. Simply had their initials for these true 'lifers'.
Looks pretty bleak here too. All the roads are sealed but unfenced for common grazing, the animals are oblivious to us. Day 2 at my little home. Got plenty of reading done but wished for a mattress.
Day 3 morning, note all the mole hills. Never saw a mole but the piles kept changing. Day 3 pm....we got it tough. Imagine cooking in these conditions, being cramped up all day. But...................
Night time at the tents was little different. But..................
Our camp site is in the back yard of this pub. The Duchy has looked after us well. The scholars did their walks and found their way to camp sites independently of us. We simply checked up now and then between entertaining ourselves. Lydia, NZ teacher sets up the local Jail Ale. http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/



Our first camp meal. Each night followed a similar pattern.

But yes, the famous boots! Half NZ were involved in getting them out here, it was most appreciated. Such comfort. How can I get them home, far too comfy to dump.

Knocked the bastard off!

Tors galore in this lovely Moor.

Some walking revealed many features. This aquaduct had served the tin miners and now provides water for the city of Portsmouth. Lydia and Keith, Bearwood teachers. Markers on a Roman Rd.

Another lovely bridge and river. That word 'pretty' is used so often. .....and it really is.

Twin Bridges was 1st stop on Keith's 'guided tour 'day.
Buckfastleigh's steam railway is a major attraction.Hunting out a famous Long house, we found this instead. Older than anything in NZ.http://www.virtuallydartmoor.org.uk/visits.html

Benedictian Monastery, ruins after Henry's efforts, much older than NZ too, rebuilt last century. Buckfast.

But this is remains of a Bronze Age village.http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/andyspatch/grimspound.htm Inside of one of the little round houses. Hookney Tor top rt.

Front entrance.

Looking back at Grimspound from Hookney Tor

Dry stone walls abound .....that is an understatement. Had to join in and add to this one.It took a while to get it all tidied up.The short cut back to van. Lydia and Keith in the bracken. "I am a dry stone waller,

I dry stone wall all day long,

Of all the most appalling callings,

dry stone walling is worst of all!"
per KB

And yes we did see scholars, at least once. These ones interrupted our sightseeing as we saw them wandering along very close to our sealed road. Not all that remote!