Dartmoor's Daughter

21/03/2026

Belstone Common has so much beauty to offer, and this adventurous family were keen to discover it all.

They clambered up tors, admired vast views, appreciated the archaeology and geomorphology, listened to stories, discussed the challenges of land ownership and access, and finding the balance between livestock grazing and wildlife habitats. We talked about traditions such as beating the bounds. And there were taste-tests of pennywort, sorrell, and gorse petals. A brief river dip was enjoyed by a couple of hardy souls. And the chat was interspersed by moments of silence and a sense of peacefulness.

Thank you so much Wendy and family for inviting me to guide a belated birthday walk for you all! And to The Tors for looking after our guests so well with pre-lunch drinks🍻

20/03/2026

Sunny Spring Equinox Blessings to you all! What a glorious day it was. May this turning of the year bring brighter, lighter & wiser decisions to our precious world☀️🍃🐴🌸🥾🐝🌳

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWHkSR8DHQp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

19/03/2026

Gorgeous dry and sunny afternoon for a walk☀️but the easterly wind🌬️was way stronger than forecast - I had to lean into it at several points! Beautifully sheltered in the valleys though. And a refreshing ginger beer afterwards at Dartmoor Inn, Merrivale 🥤

🧭🍃🗺️🌼🐾🌳🐝🌊🌸🐴🐶💚🍃🥾☀️
Would you like to walk on Dartmoor more often and need a confidence boost to explore new places? Have memories faded of how to use your map and compass and you’d like a refresher? Or to learn more advanced navigation techniques?

Join friend and mountain leader Verran and I on Saturday 28th March to visit a Dartmoor that’s off the beaten track, a day to help regain your confidence to visit places you’ve never been to before. Providing both a reminder of how to use your map and compass, and an opportunity to to discover other ways to feel your way through the landscape - natural navigation (feeling and seeing the landscape). Experience how to always know where you are and how to get to where you’d like to be, whatever the weather!

To Book & more info - https://www.dartmoorsdaughter.com/public-walks/walk-navigation-intermediate-march-26

18/03/2026

Beautiful morning for a creative, brainstorming stroll, inviting the land to inspire our creative thinking towards future outdoor workshop possibilities. More to come on this later in the year….

In the meantime, the ancestors of Dartmoor revealed themselves in a small piece of worked flint…always an exciting find for me! What do you think it was - an arrowhead or just debitage?

(I’ve reported the find of course along with the location in case of future archaeological research/digs)

14/03/2026

Thank you Hannah for the invitation, great questions, and company

13/03/2026

🐝Our Spring Equinox newsletter is out and features:
🍄Fungi Foray Dates released for 2026
🎁 Gift Vouchers for the special person in your life
👣Spaces Available on Upcoming Walks

"We experienced the most breathtaking sight last week - thousands of starlings gathering and flying together in mesmerising and fast-moving formations at dawn, dusk and at all times in between..." to read more copy and paste this link into a new webpage https://www.dartmoorsdaughter.com/march-newsletter
🔗 (link in bio)

Our walks, talks and any special offers are released first to newsletter subscribers!
To subscribe, click the link in bio 🙏✨

Spring Equinox blessings to you all, Emma x

12/03/2026

The is a friendly and inspiring group that regularly head out on to Dartmoor to find accessible routes for mobility scooters.

Started in 2017 at the annual Dartmoor Outdoor Festival they have continued meeting up over the years along with a dedicated group of volunteers from Moorland Guides Dartmoor Walks And they said that they always welcome new members if you know anyone that would be interested to join them - www.dartmoorwags.org

If you don’t own a mobility scooter/tramper, there are several places on Dartmoor that you can rent one and follow nearby accessible routes such as DNPA Postbridge Visitors Centre, and National Trust Dartmoor is doing a good job at Parke National Trust, Lydford Gorge National Trust (March-October), and Buckland Abbey - National Trust.

To support access for all Dartmoor National Park has also been making small but key changes in a few locations on Dartmoor such as swapping stiles for gates, mending paths, and widening picnic tables - www.dartmoor.gov.uk/enjoy-dartmoor/outdoor-activities/accessible-dartmoor/miles-without-stiles

And for those of us with non-visible disabilities, I started last year offering short and gentle routes specifically designed with several rest stops along the way and moments of mindfulness/nature-connection to soothe mind, body and soul - www.dartmoorsdaughter.com/public-walks/gentle-stroll-dartmoor-navigation-skills

Thank you to Gordon, Andy and Dawn from DartmoorWAGs for inviting to join the day and learn more about their aims and group. And thank you as always to Hannah for organising another interesting and inspiring day out together.

Please tag/share with anyone you think maybe supported by this info, thank you!

12/03/2026

08/03/2026

08/03/2026

Apply by 13 March

07/03/2026

Grey and misty morning for our ‘Navigation Training for Beginners (or Refresher)’ hands-on and practical, walking workshop.

We divided into two groups to ensure personalised learning, walked in opposite directions (crossing paths in the middle), and practiced all the key basic map and compass skills along the way. These sessions help to build confidence to explore new places, and walk off the beaten track - whatever the weather!

Given current world events, it was a particularly poignant moment to have a rest stop at the memorial cairn and cross, and to reflect on a young Lieutenant who lost his life at war.

Thank you to everyone that joined us today. And thank you Townsend for co-facilitating with me.

If you’re interested to learn map and compass skills, join one of our upcoming groups (Beginners or Intermediate. More dates to be announced in our monthly newsletters) or book a 1:1 session. Tickets and more information on the website - Link in Bio.