Wistman’s Wood – escaping the rain

The next day, Wednesday, was an almost total wash-out. We tried Widdecombe and the church, but it was wet outside and we had to retire to the cafe. We went back to Princetown to a different cafe for lunch. We all got soaked walking up to Dartmoor Prison Museum and some went into it. We retired to the inn and did a little bit of Lightroom chatting.

So the next day, our last full day, we set off for Wistman’s Wood. A legendary bit of ancient woodland managed and cared for by the Woodland Trust. Quite a hike to get to it – I wish I hadn’t carried all my camera gear – been a bit more selective – but once there and having got acclimatised to the strange, eery atmosphere inside the wood, it was shutter and stumble as we picked our way across the mossy boulders.

Here’s a gallery of the better shots that I took …

After lunch at Princetown … again, we tried another location in the afternoon – Whiteworks – an abandoned mining site. A few interesting possibilities – mostly micro-landscapes – but our hearts were not in it. The weather had got the better of our spirits. A great shame. I’ll have to go back another time when I can choose the time according to a decent weather forecast. We didn’t manage to visit a single tor!