Dartmoor National Park
The trip to Dartmoor was very spontaneous. A friend of mine had a good friend who lives in Dartmoor and he put us in touch with her. In fact, he said that everything would be fine and that we should simply contact Charlotte as soon as we were on her doorstep.
And that’s what happened. A friend and I bought a ticket to London and hired a car at the airport to drive to Dartmoor. My brain was in knots from driving on the wrong side and the roads were getting narrow and tight and it was getting dark as we drove past Stonehenge. As it got pitch black and late, with walls appearing to the right and left of the roads, we got closer and closer to our destination, Corndonford Farm. Charlotte got us up and took us to our room. We thought she was putting us up in her mother’s B&B, but she had prepared the guest room in her house for us. It was wonderful. Tiny and simple and just wonderful. The family took us in and we were a part of it for ten days. And we were enchanted by Dartmoor. It was so wild and vast and full of secrets. We had been so unprepared and looking back it was one of my best trips.
And the best thing was: there were ponies. wonderful Dartmoor Hillies as they are affectionately called here. They live semi-wild here on the moor, together with sheep and cattle and other wild animals, and work as landscape conservationists. Charlotte fights for the tough and loyal ponies to gain more recognition so that their existence and way of life can be protected and preserved.
If you would like to know more about the Dartmoor Hill Ponies and support them, please visit Wild to Wonderful.