Dartmoor; Widecombe and Lydford Villages

This post covers two villages visited as we travelled between Haytor and Okehampton.

We visited Widecombe in the Moor after the Haytor circular walk; the village is very pretty and noted for its Church of St Pancras and its association with the old song "Widecombe Fair". The song is about a group of people travelling to the fair, including "Uncle Tom Cobley" - an expression that now relates to "anyone and everyone."

We visited Lydford after the Lydford Gorge walk; Lydford was originally an important town in medieval times as it was the most westerly burgh (fortified town) in Alfred the Great's Kingdom of Wessex. Its remoteness and changing times have caused a decline, but it is still very pretty and has relics of its past.Read more