The Potting Shed

18/02/2024

Fancy a Spring break on Dartmoor? Dog friendly self catering holiday accommodation with Dartmoor on the doorstep. 

20/09/2023

Autumn is a lovely time here on the moor and Dartmoor's Daughter has some great walks and talks coming up...

The Autumn Equinox, Emma's love of foraging, Autumn Walks & Talks

18/08/2023

DARTMOOR HISTORY & GEOLOGY
Join Dartmoor’s Daughter for a walk by the China Clay pits of Lee Moor and Trowlesworthy Tors, investigating how the the granite turned into clay and its effect on the nearby tors.
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Join us for a walk by the China Clay pits of Lee Moor and Trowlesworthy Tors, investigating how the the granite turned into clay and its effect on the nearby tors. Josephine Collingwood, author of ‘Geology of Dartmoor’ will help us to explore curious crystals, kaolinite, veins, quarried oddities...

12/08/2023

Here is Peter Rabbit on his annual visit to the Potting Shed! He visits every year for the Dartmoor folk festival.


30/07/2023

The garden is a real haven for wildlife. So many guests comment on the number of butterflies and bees and, if they are really lucky, hummingbird hawk moths. 


29/07/2023

WITCHES ON DARTMOOR
Here’s another fascinating walk with Dartmoor’s Daughter.
Myths and legends of witches abound on Dartmoor, click on the link to find out more…


Myths and legends of witches abound on Dartmoor – Old Hannah, Witch Hare, Levera, Vixana, Mary Ann, and more.  Some offered helpful ‘blessing for bleedings’ or wart charms. But most stories tell of women who were old and wicked. This twisted truth stems from the medieval witch-hunts, and ...

29/07/2023

This delightful garden is just a couple of miles down the road and well worth a visit.


28/07/2023

Despite the recent rain the garden continues to flourish.

28/07/2023

We are very pleasantly busy this year, but strangely, have a gap in the middle of August! If you fancy a break here on Dartmoor, with great walking on the doorstep, then get in touch. And you can even bring your four-legged friend!
PS. We do not charge extra for dogs 🐾💕

26/07/2023

How fabulous is this - live music while you walk!  Enjoy a beautiful circular walk from here in South Zeal up to Cosdon Beacon and back again accompanied by songs and music inspired by Dartmoor. You can walk alongside and be entertained by Jim Causley, celebrated folk singer songwriter and musician here on Dartmoor.
This is just one of many walks and experiences with Dartmoor’s Daughter, click on the link to find out more.   

Rare opportunity to walk alongside, and be entertained by, Jim Causley celebrated folk-singer, multi-award winning songwriter and musician. Our beautiful circular walk from South Zeal up to Cosdon and back again interspersed by songs and music inspired by Dartmoor. BBC Music Magazine said J

09/04/2023

The best magazine for everything Dartmoor!


Happy Easter to all Dartmoor Magazine followers, subscribers, contributors, photographers, purchasers, advertisers, sales outlets and general supporters! You know who you are... thank you for keeping DM going. The summer issue will be number 150!
Photo shows the church of St Thomas a Becket at Sourton – on the route of The Dartmoor Way circular walking trail.

27/02/2023

This is a lovely walk! 

25/02/2023

Just down the road, we’ll worth a visit.
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Only one week to go before we open the Castle doors!

25/02/2023

23/02/2023

15/02/2023

We are trying 100% plastic free sponges and cloths in the kitchen of The Potting Shed. Traditional scourers are just awful! These products from Seep are plastic free, made from wood pulp cellulose and loofah and are completely compostable.
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31/01/2023

A fascinating area to explore…
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THE WALLABROOK - “Beneath its ragged ridges (Rival Tor), in a vast granite amphitheatre, twinkled the cool birth-springs of the little Wallabrook and the water here looked leaden under shade, here sparkled with silver at the margin of a cloud shadow, here shone golden bright amid the dancing heads of the cotton grass under unclouded sunlight.” – Eden Phillpotts, Children of the Mist, p.245.

The Wallabrook begins life on the south-eastern flank of Hangingstone hill at Walla Brook Head. It’s waters then flows north towards Wallabrook Combe before a making sharp detour south-east when it wends its way down to join the North Teign River. The whole of its twisty moorland course is over 5 kilometres. “Wotesbrokelakesfote” first appears as a boundary point for the 1240 perambulation of the Forest of Dartmoor. It has been suggested that the first element of the name – ‘Wott’ – referred to a personal name, ‘broke/lakes’ as the water course and ‘fot’ being the foot of brook where it joined the North Teign River. Therefore it may indicate the confluence of Wott’s Brook with the North Teign. It has been muted that this confluence may have been known locally as ‘Blackstone’. In 1871 H. Spence Bate noted that on Dartmoor “There were no less than seven streams known as Wallabrook (I only know of 5), besides other associated words; and he had no doubt that in that word they had the key top the prehistoric history of Dartmoor. He took it that the word was not from the German root, signifying ‘strange’, but from the Cornish word ‘whela’, to work, - whence wheal, a mine.” This theory may well apply to the Wallabrook on the river Dart but not to this one.

Near to the confluence William Crossing noted this “On some maps will be seen marked Literally Tor, between the North Teign and the Wallabrook, at a short distance above the point of confluence. No such tor exists. On the rising ground there is a small clatter or clitter, may be seen, and I suspect that this word has somehow been transformed into Literally, and applied to a supposed tor. In this immediate neighbourhood there seems to be a tendency to call hills on which are nor rocks or piles – tors.” - Amid Devonia’s Alps, 1888, p.201. Sadly, he does not mention which maps this appears on.

When “those feet in ancient times” were travelling across the moor one way of crossing the Walla Brook was at the Wallabrook clapper bridge. It has been suggested that the little granite bridge first dates back to the Elizabethan era when it would have taken tinners and wayfarers across the waters of the Wallabrook. The clapper would have also provided a crossing place for those wishing to visit the timeless Scorhill stone circle as can be seen on the map below. In 1889 Charles Slegg Ward wrote - “Cross the Walla Brook by a clam bridge, a fine specimen of its kind (slab slightly arched 12 ft. by 3 ft. and about 1½ ft. thick) and take a cart track to the circle.” In 1902 at the Chagford Parish Council meeting it was proposed that funds be found to purchase the private road which ran from Teigncombe gate to Kestor and the Wallabrook. It was stated that a Dr. Budd had only recently repaired the track on it was in fairly good condition. It was then suggested that its acquisition would be of a public benefit and so the District Council should be approached with a view to taking the track over.

The clapper bridge has been the subject for many of the noted Dartmoor artists including F. J. Widgery, W.S. Morrish, D. H. Pinder, H. Wimbush, to name but a few. When postcards became the fashion the old clapper appeared on many produced by the makers Judges and Valentine. Today there is a gnarled hawthorn tree sitting sedately on the bank. Nobody seems to know how long it has been there but certainly (unless it’s artistic licence) it does not appear on the late 1800s, early 1900s paintings or postcards. In 1939 The Cycling magazine published an article about “Harrow ways” which they suggested were Bronze Age trading routes. One such ran from Marizion in Cornwall to Dover and then to the continent and was used to transport tin. It further added that “the noted clapper bridges at Postbridge, Dartmeet, and Wallabrook are relics of the Harrow Way which led from Marizion to Dover.” Possibly somewhat of a circular route to take? :)
In 1987 the clapper bridge was designated as a Grade II listed building and according to Historic England dated back to between the 18th and 19th centuries. Described as an “irregular-shaped slab of undressed granite which arches slightly,” which just about says it all.
A few metres upstream from the clapper is the Wallabrook Ford which was a popular crossing place for the moormen driving their livestock between the old eastern and northern quarters of the Forest of Dartmoor.

In 1836 a moorman made a rather gruesome discovery when he found the bones of a dead man in a patch of rushed near the clapper. At the inquest some shreds of clothing allowed the unfortunate man to be identified as coming from Plymouth. He was described as being “unsound of mind” and had wandered off from his friends house.

Sportsmen and huntsmen found plenty of quarry along the Wallabrook as it was a favourite spot for fishermen, otter hounds, fox hounds, and the occasional poacher. In 1931 two men from Sticklepath and South Zeal appeared at the Moretonhampstead Petty Sessions charged with “trespassing in the pursuit of game without a licence on the Wallabrook.” Both were found guilty and fined a total of £6 and 6s. In the 1930s the Wallabrook was one of the obstacles on the Gidleigh point-to-point course where rider had to jump across the waters on the way to Rival Tor.

27/01/2023

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25/01/2023

I have been on several walks with Dartmoor’s Daughter and highly recommend her. Why not book one and combine it with your stay in the Potting Shed? 


18/01/2023

A little snow on the high tors and a gorgeous sunset, just up the road at Belstone yesterday. 

10/01/2023

A really interesting post about the history of this fascinating section of Dartmoor. Come and explore, it’s right on the doorstep! 

16/12/2022

It’s a bit nippy!


17/11/2022

Autumn glory today on one of our regular dog walks in the Skaigh Valley, just half a mile from the Potting Shed. 

02/10/2022

Fresh out of the oven, homemade shortbread - just one of several treats that greet guests at The Potting Shed!
 

18/06/2022

When you stay in the Potting Shed, Dartmoor really is on the doorstep. There's no better way to discover more about this wild and wonderful area than by booking a bespoke day (or half-day) out with Dartmoor's Daughter (AKA Emma Cunis) to explore all the different aspects of Dartmoor. Emma takes time to personally tailor each experience to your interests eg: archaeology, flora, fauna, myths & legends, sacred sites, dowsing, navigation, foraging, wild swimming, etc as well as your walking ability. Click onto her latest newsletter to see all the Dartmoor experiences she has lined up – and make you stay extra special!

Summer Solstice, NEWLY RELEASED Walks & Talks, Bespoke Walks For You and your visitors this summer, Spaces Available for our Public Walks

15/06/2022

If you want a peaceful and relaxing get away – visit The Potting Shed on Dartmoor. With airport chaos and the soaring cost of fuel why not arrive by public transport? The newly opened Dartmoor Line means you can arrive in Okehampton by train - we'll collect you and drive you the 4 miles to The Potting Shed. The 6A bus from Exeter will bring you directly to village. And if cycling is your mode of transport, we can provide secure storage for you. The Potting Shed is small but perfectly formed for 1 or 2 people to stay in complete compact comfort with miles of fabulous walks right on the doorstep. And it's dog-friendly! The village shop is 80m away and stocks everything you might need while the King's Arms pub is 50m away, a friendly local serving good pub food.
https://airbnb.com/h/thepottingshed-dartmoor

Entire home/flat in South Zeal, United Kingdom. The Potting Shed is small but perfectly formed for 1 or 2 people to stay in complete compact comfort. And it's dog-friendly! An entrance lobby for ...

09/06/2022

Fancy a break in June? A late cancellation means we have 14-23rd available! 3-night minimum stay. Extra 10% discount if you book for a week - please message for details.