Dartmoor national park in the south west of England is an area of natural beauty that had previously been a very abundant granite mine. Throughout the park are various reservoirs with large dams. The oldest dam still standing on the park produces the Tottiford reservoir from the Trenchford Stream and built in 1861. The dam below is comparatively young having not lived through both world wars and only built in 1942.

Camping on Dartmoor is one of the big attractions as one is allowed to pitch their tent in all but the restricted zones. This on the face of it would seem to be counter to the idea of free access but those restricted areas are military firing ranges.

To purely face the elements and survive only on what can be foraged, caught or fought is a different challenge to actually trying to enjoy camping. Once there is no longer the use of a car, train or bus to haul ones gear the only method is to lug it, this is why being selective with the comforts is essential. As a fairly lightweight option (in comparison to an Xbox) this author chooses is a coffee pot as warmth the greatest luxury when camping.

Dartmoor is home to much wild life. Above are some of the youngest lives in the park. The most famous animal of Dartmoor though is the Dartmoor Pony. They are let to roam free and are part of the common ownership of the of the Dartmoor Commoner. Sadly the breed has been in decline for the past century with as many as 13,500 during the final years of Queen Victoria to as few as 5,000 today.