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Jill Pendleton at Castle Drogo Devon"Hi, I'm Jill Pendleton,
I've run this website for 12 years. I'm passionate about Dartmoor, and I want you to find the best places to stay when you visit." Jill's Blog

Dartmoor Devon B&B Hotels Self-catering Camping & Youth Hostels and camping barns

  • The National Trust on Dartmoor
    Welcome to the National Trust on Dartmoor - loads of information on places to go, things to do, ways to get involved

    • Fire Starting through the Ages - Lydford Gorge
      Wednesday 4 August, 12 noon, 2pm and 3.30pm: Demonstrations will show this essential ancient skill and the different techniques used. Normal admission charges apply. Suitable for age 11+, £3 per person. Booking essential on 01822 820320, lydfordgorge@nationaltrust.org.uk.
    • Young Bird Watchers - Plymbridge Woods

      A fun childrens walk in the woods on Wednesdays 4, 11,18 and 25 August, 10am-12 noon. Come and identify all the different kinds of birds that live in the woods. Adult £1, child £4. Meet at Plym Bridge car park, grid ref SX 524 585. Booking essential (weekdays only) on 01752 341377, dartmoor@nationaltrust.org.uk.
    • Can you help with our community consultation for Castle Drogo
      You may or may not be aware but at Castle Drogo we are in the early stages of developing a major project called Castle Drogo - A Design for Life?  A project to stop the Castle leaking whilst enhancing the visitor experience during a major £11.6m building project.


      We are not expecting the building work to start until early 2012 so we are at the early development stages of the project and are keen to kick start some consultation and to get local organisations and groups thoughts and ideas at this early stage. In particular we are keen to understand if you would like to be involved and how we can build on existing working partnerships and possibly create some new and exciting opportunities together around the project both in the development of it and the delivery post 2012.

      We would really value and appreciate your thoughts at this early stage and the link below takes you to a short questionnaire which should take only 5 minutes to complete.

      We really appreciate your time in helping with this. If you are able to complete the online questionnaire by Monday 2nd August that would be great.
    • Pond Dipping - Parke, nr Bovey Tracey
      Wednesday 28 July, 2-4pm: Discover the life in the leat with the aid of nets and microscopes. Child £2. Meet in main car park, grid ref SX 805 786. Booking essential (Monday to Friday only) on 01626 834748 or dartmoor@nationaltrust.org.uk.
    • Bracken in the Upper Plym Valley

      Long term volunteer, Ryan (left) and Plymouth University placement student, Dan, carry out the annual bracken monitoring project in the Upper Plym Valley. The monitoring, which was established in 1997, is carried out between the 14th and 18th of July each year and is used to gauge the effectivness of the bracken management.


      The bracken mangement, which has included spray treatment, bruising by hand and bracken rolling, is carried out to help protect the archaeological features on the site. The Upper Plym Valley is rich in archaeological remains and includes Bronze age settlements, 19th century tin streaming and the artifical mounds, known as pillow mounds, that originate from rabbit warrens.

    • Exeter College Away Day



      Yesterday, 15th July, saw more than 60 members of the faculty of Exeter College came to Castle Drogo to work alongside staff members and volunteers from Drogo, the Teign Valley and Lydford Gorge.





      It was a great day - even the weather was pretty kind to us (for St Swithin's Day) - and everyone got stuck in, working hard on a variety of projects, including; clearing the space around the 'Bunty House' in preparation for conservation work, the building of a fire pit and the start of construction of a temporary structure that will provide some shelter for school groups, etc. visiting the Castle over the summer.



    • Dunsford show 2010


      Another show for the staff of the Teign Valley and Lydford Gorge, this time Dunsford show on the 3rd July. This is a lovely little show with a very friendly crowd. Profits from the show go to the local primary school. We had lots of interest at the stand, with people badge making, having a go at green woodworking or trying out the cross-cut saw. We had numerous takers for bird box making and interest in the goods in the shop manned by the girls from Lydford Gorge. We are always looking for new volunteers to help man our shows, and to help us engage with the public in general, so if this sounds like your kind of work, contact the Teign valley warden on 01647 433356. For more information on the Dunsford show, visit www.dunsfordshow.co.uk
    • Jazz on the Lawn - Finch Foundry
      Sunday 11 July, 12.30-4.30pm: Bring a picnic and enjoy an afternoon of jazz with The Plough Boys. Adult £8 - admission by ticket only. For tickets call 01837 840046. (Normal admission charges apply.)
    • Dartmoor to the Sea - Widecombe
      1 July - 30 September, 10.30-4.00pm: Come and see our free exhibition of machine embroidered pictures by Pauline Hearn. For information: 01364 621321.
    • Plym Peregrines take to the air

      The peregrine chicks have been showing of their newly discovered wings at the National Trust Plymbridge Woods estate. The public viewing platform on the Cann Quarry viaduct gives some spectacular sightings.

      "Look At My Beautiful WIngs!"

      At 7 weeks old and with only a week and a half’s flying practice under their belts, they are already showing themselves to be accomplished fliers. Landing on the other hand is not so easy! The juveniles have been learning the hard way that some branches are too small for a peregrine to land on, braking is necessary before landing and it can take several attempts to land on a small ledge on the quarry face. So our young peregrines have a lot to learn before they can fly and hunt with the same grace and elegance as mum and dad. In the meantime, we are lucky enough to watch as the young find their wings and test their abilities.

      Catch Me If You Can

      Peregrines are, however, very fast learners so it won’t be long before the juveniles are able to fend for themselves.

      We are still seeing the kestrel parents going in and out of their nest site. We are expecting to see chicks any day now. Stay posted for news!

      Thanks again to Steve Waterhouse for the beautiful photos.

    • Exeter NTV strike again!


      You may have read on this blog about the Exeter National Trust Volunteers efforts to help us tidy up Whiddon wood in the Teign valley.

      Well the other sunday they were back, helping us with some footpath work at Fingle bridge.

      As you can see they did a grand job helping us to lay a new gravel path over our recently piped stream, following the line of bare ground created by the public using the crossing over the last few months (called a desire line). They will be back later in July to finish the job. If anyone is interested in joining the Exeter NTV, E-mail Susan at s.e.illing@btinternet.com

    • Castle Drogo Awarded Dartmoor First

      Today we received the wonderful news that Castle Drogo has joined our sister properties at Finch Foundry, Lydford Gorge, Parke Estate, Plym Bridge and Widecombe Cottage in being awarded Dartmoor First.

      This award, which is presented by the Dartmoor National Park Authority, is for everyone associated with Dartmoor to recognise their commitment to sustaining Dartmoor and its special qualities.

      If you would like to know more about this award please click on the following link http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/vi-dartmoorfirst
    • In the thick of it.

      Well, it's that time of year again. Here in the Teign Valley summer can mean only one thing- Bracken. Whilst in some of our sites bracken is looked upon in a rosy hued way as habitat for Frittillary butterflies, not far away in Whiddon Deer Park it is just invasive vegetation- just one of the many such variable attitudes one has to adopt as a conservationist.
      So this week we don't want bracken- at least not in the Deer Park. To that end we have been cutting bracken with the help of Silvanus services and also rolling it with our brackenbruiser. Cutting or bruising bracken 2-3 times a year quickly weakens it and makes it much less prolific, allowing other species to gain a hold. Bruising works by bending and crushing the stem, leaving the frond connected to the rhizomes but causing the stem to bleed and dry out, severely weakening the plant. The roller/bruiser can be towed behind a tractor, landrover, ATV or even a horse and is merely a series of steel bars that flatten the frond and bend it sharply. When we've finished this period of bracken control there's only a couple of months before we do it all again.
    • Taking science to new heights





      If you had wandered up the drive at Castle Drogo last week, or do so tomorrow (24th June) you will see an unusual site- scientists climbing up trees.
      This is group from Plymouth University who are carrying out an OPAL funded survey of the amount of carbon that different trees remove from the atmosphere (called carbon sequestration).
      They have come to Castle Drogo to conduct their experiment on our evergreen Holm Oaks (Quercus ilex) and English Oak (Quercus robur) as this is one of the highest places in this part of the world in which both species are found. Volunteer climbers assisted the team with accessing the canopies of our trees with rope and harness.
      OPAL (Open Air Laboratories) is a lottery funded organisation aiming to make science more accessible to everyone, we have been involved with them before undertaking Lichen and Pond surveys which are designed to be done by anyone and are particularly suitable for school and volunteer groups- for more info visit http://www.opalexplorenature.org/.