Widecombe-in-the-Moor
Devon has a reputation for fresh produce that’s in season, and you can’t get much fresher than the food at Riverford Field Kitchen of TV fame, and don’t forget to pick up a bottle of the Abbey’s Tonic Wine, said to be good for both the body and the soul. For the more active and adventurous the Dart Rock Climbing Centre provides visitors with an adrenaline rush in a safe environment with a high indoor climbing wall that’s fun for all ages.
Bovey Tracey, perched the edge of Dartmoor is yet another Gateway to Dartmoor, and an ideal base if you want to explore the outstanding natural landscape of south Devon and the moorlands. With the wild and imposing Haytor as a backdrop, Bovey Tracey is ideal for exploring the Tors of Dartmoor. There’s a range of outdoor sports for adrenaline junkies, including climbing, canoeing and walking, you can easily access everything that Dartmoor has to offer from this small town.
For retail, Bovey Tracey is typical of the strong tradition of towns in Devon offering a range of quality independent retailers, with delicatessens, high-class butchers, farm produce, and fair-trade shops. For a delicious and traditional Devon cream tea try the Old Cottage Teashop, while you can sample a range of locally made dishes at the fabulous Terrace Café. There is a range of riverside pubs offering great food. The Devon Guild of Craftsmen, in the converted Riverside Mill, facilitates an opportunity to watch craftsmen and women create unique jewellery, sculpture, prints, glass and textiles, from the traditional to the modern. It has a great craft shop and spacious gallery.
From Ashburton Buckland-in- the-Moor is a beautiful hamlet with some of the loveliest thatched cottages you will ever see. On a hill stands the 15th-century church. The church clock does not have numerals. In their places are the words ‘My Dear Mother’ and its bells chime out ‘All things bright ad beautiful’. There is no official explanation for this curiosity but legend has it that it was placed there by a man in memory of his mother. This remarkable lady, when told the news that her son had been lost at sea,
refused to believe it. Every night she lit a candle and placed it in the window to guide him home. Her faith was rewarded; he did return. When she died this is how he repaid her faith. Standing high on Buckland Beacon you will see the Ten Commandments carved in stone beneath your feet. You will be 1,280 feet above sea level looking out as far as the Devon coast at Teignmouth and Torquay. Below is Holne where Charles Kingsley was born.
Widecombe-in-the-Moor is one of the most well known villages in Britain. The song attributed to Widecombe Fair, held annually on the second Tuesday of September, helps to bring thousands of people flocking to this picturesque valley and helps with its prosperity. The magnificent Church...’The Cathedral of the Moor’.... dedicated to St Pancras is a peaceful place of homage. With its peal of eight bells rung by a dedicated local team of campanologists each week, all adds to the atmosphere of this special rural community and can be shared by all those visitors seeking an idyll that has been lost in recent years by so many other places. Don’t forget the legendary Widecombe Fair Tuesday September 13th 2011.
It was in this village that Jan Reynolds was approached by a cloaked stranger who bought his soul from him for seven years of good luck. He agreed, and seven years later the Devil came and took his due, while Jan sat in Widecombe church. Another Myth states - The Devil appeared once in the village, when a bolt of lightning came down from a stormy sky and started several fires. He had arrived to take the soul of Jan Reynolds, who had sold it to Old Nick several years previous. Jan and three others died in the church as it burnt.
Back to Ashburton and finally to Buckfast and its Abbey, a visit here is a truly magnificent experience. During Compline the monks come silently down the aisle, the only sound the swish of their long robes as they pass by; the only light a bidding one over the high altar. As they reach their stalls, they push back their cowls from their heads, and the service starts.
Its simple message is chanted
and reaches out to every corner of the great building. 68
© Calips 2007
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