I was up early on a glorious winter's day to get out and explore Dartmoor. Oh how I love Dartmoor - the wild moors, the crazy scary little roads, the ponies, the beautiful villages and towns. You could spend ages visiting all the little places housed inside the area of Dartmoor National Park.
First stop on the agenda was Chagford, quite a well-known town in Dartmoor. On the way there, I had to stop - it had been cold overnight and the frost and blue skies was just too gorgeous to resist. I parked on the side of the road (with enough shoulder to be safe!) and had a look around, before heading off to Chagford. Unfortunately, it turned out that I'd gone at what must have been peak hour, as there was absolutely nowhere to park, and I drove out the other side. It was too narrow and dangerous to turn around to go back so onwards I went!
Next destination was Lustleigh, and I managed to find a park there. These little towns and villages only really have street parking and limited amounts of it too, so you've got to time it right! I parked up and had a wander around the few little streets. I went to this park where there was a monument to the May Queens of Lustleigh since 1955. There was a stone chair on top of the monument so I presume the Queen is crowned and popped on top of her throne there.
Lustleigh was a gorgeous little village, very quaint and quiet. Next stop was Manaton!
The drive from Lustleigh to Manaton was an interesting one. I'd ignored a GPS command on the drive to Lustleigh because it had been raining and the directions required me to drive through a big puddle. So I drove on roads around it. On the way out of Lustleigh I realised that I'd come the way the GPS had wanted me to go in the first place and ran straight into the puddle. I stopped on the side of the road, next to some very cranky cattle, and walked over with a stick to check the depth. It didn't look that bad so I ploughed on through. Better to be safe than sorry!
I went to Manaton because Mum and Dad had taken me to this beautiful place in the summer and I wanted to go back. I'd researched churches in the area and come to the conclusion that we'd gone to Manaton. Turns out that for all my researching, I was dead wrong. Nevermind though, as Manaton was a lovely place. The church there was amazing, plus there was a hike up to so-called Manaton Rocks, big rocks that stuck out and from the top you could see for miles. So it was definitely worth a visit!
By the time I got back to my car, I was so hungry. The next destination was Widecombe-in-the-Moor, and I got there in time for a late lunch. I went to a pub there and ordered their venison goulash, which was so tasty! From there I went for an exploration of the church, then wandered around town a bit. I went back to the parking lot, still unable to pay the attendant the 50p fee, as I had no cash on me. I'll have to pay her double next time I go!
I figured I could add in one more stop for the afternoon, though on reflection I really was pushing it. I turned up at Buckland Abbey about 5 mins before the last tickets, and had about 30 mins to look around. Most of the Abbey was closed and it was pouring rain while I was there so it was a bit of a wasted trip. But as I drove back to Sampford Courtenay, it started snowing.... so it was all worth it!