9 January Artists Day

Granite Elements Calendar

We have been working hard to put together a Calendar for 2017 - Thank you Viv for putting it together - Now you can put the dates in your new diary!

Granite Elements Flags

With the help of some lovely volunteers 3 flags created so far - one more to come !

Flag Making Days

Come along even if you just have a couple of hours to spare and find out more about Granite Elements 

Rewarding Day

We were fortunate to have a day of sunshine  for the 13 volunteers who came to clear Gorse . They made quite a difference to the section of the Granite Tramway we were working on. A big thank you to them all for giving up part of their Sunday to come and help.
Archaeologist Phil Newman made quite a few finds of joints between the setts to record and we learnt a lot from him and from Albert Knott from Natural England.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself and recommend it as a therapeutic day spent out in Nature achieving something that makes a difference to preserving our local heritage.  

Before

After 

Imparting wisdom !

Clearing Gorse November 6

This section of the tramway is disappearing under gorse and scrub , please come and help keep it clear so that people can continue to walk along it

Granite Elements : Community Walk 1 October

Granite Elements : Community Walk 1 October: Do all come along and walk the Granite Tramway with us on Saturday 1 October  Booking from info@moorthanmeetstheeye.org

Community Walk 1 October

Do all come along and walk the Granite Tramway with us on Saturday 1 October 
Booking from info@moorthanmeetstheeye.org 

Flora of Dartmoor Walk 10 September

Archaeology walk review

The Archeology of the Haytor Quarries

Phil Newman & Natural England

At Higher Haytor carpark I joined a diverse group of 24 people from youth to maturity, plus a dog. There we met our leader Phil Newman and were briefed by Albert from Natural England on the hazards of slippery surfaces and thirsty ticks.

First stop was a small quarry carpeted with “Moor Stone” which is stone, broken off from tors and fallen randomly on the ground. The concept of something as static and inedible as granite being “harvested” was slightly alien but evidently this has happened from Prehistoric, through Medieval times onwards – Widecombe & Ilsington Churches are products of this harvest.  In fact quarrying didn't need to develop until early 19^th century. Phil introduced us to 3 successive methods of quarrying: Wedge & Groove, Feather & Tare; and Blasting – this set the theme for our forensic investigations of subsequent quarries.

Next stop was Harrow Barrow.  Here we learned that George Templer had started The Granite Tramway in 1819 and London enterprises including London Bridge became recipients of Haytor granite : suddenly Dartmoor seemed less remote.  Later, Phil embroidered the character of George, a driven man, eccentric and reveler whose antics included nurturing tame foxes, borrowing a consecrated church chandelier and amending any confrontation with a poem.

At Emsworthy Rocks we found Granite Tramway setts, some intact & undisturbed - others half finished & abandoned to add confusion to the chronology of the tramway.  Jagged tooth-like reeves emerged as field divisions, early sculptural forms punctuating the landscape.

Next onto Rubble Heap Quarry. En route we passed a ruin, possible early accommodation for quarry workers, reflected in one of the 19^th century etchings supplied by Phil to help transport us back in time.  Spoil heaps and overburden tips unfolded the directions and rhythms of the tramway.   In the quarry we were flanked by a large vertical rock surfaces: one natural and rampant with growth, the other man-made and tidy – a theatre of before and after.  As a sculptor I felt united with the marks of early stone masons including the neat undulations left by Wedge and Groove, the regularly spaced button-hole remains of Feather & Tare, the long dramatic vertical shafts drilled for explosives.  It was awesome to imagine the physical feat and duration of this task without the machine tools of the present.

After lunch, we trundled into Holwell Quarry which was a feast of gorgeous colours, rounded rocks and electric rowan berries.  A nearby ruin engulfed in undergrowth featured in another 19^th century etching sporting a crab winch portable crane and a hive of tool sharpening activity. Further on a contrasting building in form of a granite igloo was once home to a store of black powder explosives. An abandoned broken pound-stone nestled alongside the path like a contemporary abstract sculpture.

Finally we headed back to Haytor amidst a swarm of flying ants settling on some people's heads like crazy hairnets.  Haytor Quarry itself was a sound montage of rippling water, splashing dogs, foreign accents and children's voices.  A rusty crane with 2 meaty metal stabilizing rings coexisted with exotic waterlilies. A feather and tare concealed in a hole was secret evidence of an industrial past. Tracing the tramway sets homewards, we spotted more evidence carved into the granite setts: “S”, “W” and “4C” , possible initials and dates to feed our imagination before the impact of a hectic car park and a welcoming ice cream van. 

With thanks to Phil and Albert for enabling us to share this experience

Angela Holmes (Artist)

Great Walk on Thursday

Archaeology walk with Phil Newman at Haytor Quarries

Albert Knott from Natural England pointing out an archaeological highlight

Archaeology Walk 18 August

Great opportunity to learn from Phil Newman 

The role of the Dartmoor Pony in the granite tramway

Come and find out more 

Colour pallettes

We had another lovely walk around the quarry at Haytor with Amanda Pellatt, selecting our colour pallettes for July - quite different from June with the bracken being incredibly diverse in range ,I am now itching to go and make some more selections to work from! 

Soil Walk

Another fabulous walk , learnt loads and had cake made in the style of different soils we discovered along the walk from Haytor to Yarner Wood. Thank you Rob, Harry and Albert for all your input. and Thanks to Clare and Chris for the cake.

Peat - we got Chocolate Brownies with this! 

Shortcake and nuts for River Valley Soil

Sunday 10 July

Volunteers needed this Sunday to work on historic tramway Come and join Dartmoor National Park Ranger Simon Lee on Sunday 10 July as he leads a team of volunteers to continue working on the popular Templer Way walking route near Haytor. The day runs from 10:30 until 3:30 and starts at the National Park Visitor Centre, Haytor. The Templer Way follows the route by which granite was taken from the quarries in the Haytor area during the 1800s on an 18 mile journey toTeignmouth on the south coast. A granite tramway was used to transport the stone down to Stover Canal from where it was shipped down to the docks at Teignmouth. Large parts of the old tramway still exist, especially in the area near Haytor itself. Conservation work days are a great way of getting healthy exercise in a fantastic environment and meeting like-minded people as well as helping look after this special place. You will also learn more about Dartmoor’s fascinating history and moorland management. If you are interested in coming along on one of Simon’s Haytor conservation work days please get in touch by emailing slee@dartmoor.gov.uk  or calling 07711 104541. Booking is essential as tools and equipment need to be organised. For those who come along regularly there will be plenty of variety with practical work being carried out on habitat management and archaeological sites as well as helping keep this iconic Dartmoor location looking good.

A Granite Legacy

The Bovey Tracey Parishscape Project, Granite Elements, is uncovering more than the magnificent stone tramway that ran from Hay Tor to the navigable Stover Canal.  A walk led by Albert Knott from Natural England, and Barry Green , an expert countryman, illustrated the many skills that local people use to exploit and manage the land adjacent to the tramway route.  The walk had many notable views and first we looked across the rolling Devon countryside criss-crossed with hedges and the hills topped with trees.  This old pattern has changed in many places as the hedges were ripped out to create larger fields for modern machinery and this has affected the wildlife who use the hedges as corridors.  Some field boundaries are very ancient indeed going back to the Bronze age.

We continued through a wood where we stepped across a stream channelled by an appropriated piece or tramway - it's always easier to use what's around than cut your own!  We looked at the flora and fauna of felled areas, admired the industry of ancient coppicing, saw the damage that larger animals can cause to trees but how this in turn can produce an airy parkland environment.  We were shown the points of good fencing and the styles of stone wall building.  We followed the track through Yarner Wood where  volunteers, as elsewhere along the route,  are making  the tramway more visible.  We discussed how the granite was cut and shaped to make the tramway and the simple tools and incredible labour of the men who made it   Contemplating  all that effort for something that  was only used for about 20 years added to the  effort over centuries of those who maintain the land made us all feel thirsty and luckily Ullacombe Farm  cafe was our final destination.

I attended a second walk on the art and ecology of the Tramway that was equally enjoyable and illuminating so look out for others and discover the many elements of this exciting project.

Philippa Wood Walk participant 

Soil: The world beneath your feet

This is the next Granite Elements Walk on Wednesday 13 July

Creative Walk around Haytor

Thank goodness the rain cleared and the sun came out by the end of the walk around the Quarry and along the newly cleared Granite Tramway (we were all very impressed by all the hard work that has gone into that)
It was led by Amanda Pellatt and there was so much to experience, awakening all our senses throughout the afternoon. We are so lucky to live here !!

Newly cleared Granite Tramway

Haytor Quarry

Great Walk on the Granite Tramway

We had a great walk on Friday with Barry Green and Albert Knott the magical duo full of so much information about Rural Skills and how that heritage affects the landscape, the fauna and flora and us humans. 

Looking forward to the next walk now ! 

Art Walk on 20 June

Granite Elements Stand

A lovely day on Sunday for engaging with the outdoors at The Dartmoor Wildlife Festival at Yarner Wood. Viv and volunteers from the Heritage Centre ran a stand about Granite Elements, to help inform people about the Granite tramway. and the opportunities to engage with it. 

Cleaning the granite tramway

There has been some lovely days recently - Sunday was one of them when Volunteers went up to Haytor with DNP to clean a bit more of the tramway. The Granite tramway does require a bit of looking after at times to keep it visible. 

Ventiford Basin Granite Tramway

We went on a reccie to see how long it would take to get to the Ventiford Basin excavation site , parking at Teign Bridge Car Park we walked back along the Templar Way, which is now the vastly improved new route, of course suitable for cycling and walking. Stopping to look at the highlights of Stover Canal along the way passing Teigngrace Lock and Graving Dock Lock and with time to read the notice boards it took us 3/4 of an hour to get to Ventiford Basin where the newly discovered part of the granite Tramway is.
A very pleasant walk suitable for people with mobility problems. 
Phil Newman who is leading the dig will be there from 14 May , but suggests that from 21 - 27 May there will more to see of the next part of the excavations. Enjoy 

Granite tramway excavated 2015

Ventiford basin Tramway Excavation

A fantastic opportunity has come along. Phil Newman is supervising the archaeological excavations at Ventiford Basin at Stover Canal from 21 - 27 May if you want to visit, you will have to walk or cycle there as there is no parking nearby. You can cycle or walk from Bovey Tracey down the new cycle route which starts near the Landrover Garage  following the Templar Way signs. 
Contact Bridget for further information

Phil says of the photo. This represents about 18m of track but we have reason to believe the total exposed by the end of the dig this year will be 70m, plus an additional short siding, the junction for which is partly exposed in the foreground of this photo.

8 May Cleaning the Tramway at Haytor

Volunteers needed to continue work on historic tramway Come and join Dartmoor National Park Ranger Simon Lee on Sunday 8 May as he leads a team of volunteers to continue working on the popular Templer Way walking route near Haytor. The day runs from 10:30 until 3:30 and starts at the National Park Visitor Centre, Haytor. The Templer Way follows the route by which granite was taken from the quarries in the Haytor area during the 1800s on an 18 mile journey toTeignmouth on the south coast. A granite tramway was used to transport the stone down to Stover Canal from where it was shipped down to the docks at Teignmouth. Large parts of the old tramway still exist, especially in the area near Haytor itself. Conservation work days are a great way of getting healthy exercise in a fantastic environment and meeting like-minded people as well as helping look after this special place. You will also learn more about Dartmoor’s fascinating history and moorland management. If you are interested in coming along on one of Simon’s Haytor conservation work days please get in touch by emailing slee@dartmoor.gov.uk  or calling 07711 104541. Booking is essential as tools and equipment need to be organised. For those who come along regularly there will be plenty of variety with practical work being carried out on habitat management and archaeological sites as well as helping keep this iconic Dartmoor location looking good.

Bovey Tracey Heritage Centre

There is a display about the Granite Tramway in the Heritage Centre showing the tools used and an example of a Feather and Tare  marking in a piece of Granite 

First Artist Walk along the tramway

We managed to sneak a walk in between the showers from Shaptor Studio to the Edgemoor Hotel and back to introduce some artists to the granite tramway. Found some feather and tare features along the way and listened to some amazing bird songs !

Spring Cleaning the granite tramway

Granite Elements launch at Colehayes

Come and find out more about this exciting project for Bovey Tracey 

On Tuesday 1 March at 2pm 

At Colehayes Field Study Centre, Haytor Road, Bovey Tracey 

2.00 p.m.      Arrivals and introductions

2.30 p.m.      Illustrated talk by Dr.Tom Greeves, Dartmoor author

                    'Dartmoor's Granite Legacy - People and Place '   

3.15 p.m.      Share your ideas over afternoon tea in the lounge

Sunshine !

At last a sunny day, even though everything is very soggy still , it is still lovely to get out in the sunshine ! There is now some blossom out along the tramway as well as a few daffodils and primroses.
We are just waiting for the weather to improve to be able to get out and explore the Granite Tramway in more detail 

Love granite

Bovey Tracey Heritage Trust is really excited about this project which will inform and inspire our love of granite. Bovey Tracey's granite heritage has shaped the lives and work of the people who live here. Looking forward to some great granite walks!

Granite Elements Description

This is a Moor than meets the eye Parishscapes Funded project for Bovey Tracey

There will be a series of walks, talks, demonstrations and workshops aiming to explore the Granite Tramway around Bovey Tracey. Local groups will be researching the heritage of the Granite being quarried at Haytor this underpins the project and how it has  impacted on the local community

Local artists responses to the Granite Tramway will be exhibited in key places around Bovey Tracey as will the findings from the research.

The legacy will be a better understanding of how the Granite Tramway affects our community and how it needs to be looked after for future generations to continue to enjoy.

Granite Elements

We got the funding for this new Parishscapes project through just before Christmas ,It is funded by Moor Than Meets the Eye, Landscape Partnership through Heritage Lottery. 
We had a first meeting of interested parties in the New Year and now we are busy getting ideas buzzing and walks and workshops set up.