Dartmoor walk: Drizzlecombe

A much needed airing on Dartmoor for my IWC and me this afternoon. Starting off at Nattor, we walked to Didsworthy Warren and passed what was the old warreners' house, now used by the army for exercises. An isolated house with interesting dog kennels set into the stone walls that enclosed the property.

Dartmoor has been the site of a number of commercial rabbit warrens for centuries and Didsworthy Warren was one of the oldest, probably originating in mediaeval times. These warrens covered large areas and produced many thousands of animals for food and pelts each year. They were placed on the moor for two main reasons. Firstly, to keep them away from edible crops. Secondly, to make it relatively easy to contain them. The land used was not 'rabbit friendly' in the sense that it was rocky and not the easiest of places for the rabbits to build their burrows. So, to get over this, the warreners built raised mounds of earth for the rabbits to use and this encouraged them to stay in the vicinity rather than run off. These artificial mounds ranged from quite small pillow mounds to very large earth banks, as in the photograph. These must be at least 1/2 mile lon - and that equates to a lot of bunnies.

From there we followed the Plym for a short while until we came to the Drizzlecombe stone rows. These date from 4000-5000 BC and, as their exact function is not known, their purpose is generally described as 'religious and ceremonial'.  At one time these particular rows were thought to be unique and of great importance but subsequently more have been discovered elsewhere on the moor. The Drizzlecombe stones have been described as "think parish church, rather than cathedral" and this probably puts them in their proper context.

From there, it was 'up and over', back to the car and off to Prince Hall Hotel for a civilised later afternoon snack. Is there is a better way of spending an afternoon?