Dartmoor and South Devon

EXPLORING A DARTMOOR VALLEY
The Meldon beneath our feet   
Peter Keene. Dartmoor National Park Authority
ISBN 978-0-905981-40-6     2007  £3.99
(Size 21 X 21 cm)  36 pages, 38 photos, 6 maps, 6 figs.
This full-colour booklet provides a guide for your own exploration of the Meldon Valley. Maps give clear directions indicating the most convenient ways of approaching this hidden little gem of a valley; by car, train, bus, cycle, horse or on foot. The booklet highlights 12 sites of particular interest, including half-hidden ruins of industrial archaeology, abandoned quarries, lakes and woodland. A comprehensive commentary emphasises the way the archaeology, landscape and ecology are interlinked and are all closely related to the geology beneath our feet.

THE EVOLUTION OF A DARTMOOR LANDSCAPE: exploring Burrator 

Peter Keene,  Dartmoor National Park, 2001.

ISBN 978-0-905981-11-6 36 pages. 36 illustrations. £3.99

The audience includes educational groups but the booklet is also specifically directed to non-specialists who experience pleasure in walking, cycling or driving on Dartmoor yet also seek some explanation for the landscape around them. The approach adopted in this booklet is to concentrate explanation on a selection of viewpoints, all close to or within easy reach of roadside parking places.

A GUIDE TO THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF DARTMOOR ;
ISBN 978-0-905981-40-6
Dartmoor National Park Authority 1996. Reprinted and revised 2003  £3.95
(A5)  74 illustrations including 9 photos and 64 hand-drawn sketches which form part of a comprehensive glossary which aims to help people recognise the different types of archaeological monuments on Dartmoor. The book is divided into sections covering Prehistoric Dartmoor, Medieval Dartmoor, Industrial Dartmoor and Boundaries and Byways. A landscape companion for those who wish to discover and understand more of Dartmoor’s intriguing past. 

MERRIVALE, AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE
ISBN 978-0905981-31-4
Dartmoor National Park Authority 2004. £3.50
(A5)  28 pages. 17 hand-drawn figures, 3 maps, 4 photos.
The inside front site plan of this booklet displays the rich array of features contained within this site, including round houses, stone rows, cairns, enclosures, a burial cist, a reave and leats. A cumulative coverage from 2500 BC to the 19^th century. All these features, easily found within the relatively compact site, are clearly explained within the text.

HOUNDTOR, DESERTED MEDIEVAL SETTLEMENT
ISBN 978-0-905981-07-9
Dartmoor National Park Authority 2002 £3.50
(A5) 18 pages, 10 figures including photographs and an A4 artist reconstruction of the deserted medieval settlement. 5 maps including a comprehensive, clear site map. Explanation includes sections on the Field systems, Longhouses, Corn-drying barns and two small cottages. Discussion includes the contemporary economy and the period of occupation.

EXE IN FLOOD, an Exeter riverside walk Derek Elsom and Peter Keene. ISBN 978-0-948444-43-2
Thematic Trails 2003.  £2.95
A5. 48 pages. 28 illustrations.
On a pleasurable  walk through riverside Exeter a commentary is offered on the long love/hate relationship between the city and the River Exe and the long history of flooding. The catastrophic floods of 1960 are described as are subsequent actions to curb flooding. This new expanded edition reflects on the success of strategies adopted to protect the city over the subsequent 43 years. Enjoyment of the walk is increased by questioning and interpreting what is seen along the way and the reader is encouraged to examine what actions have been taken to curb flooding of the low-lying parts of the city. The commentary demonstrates how flood control measures have dramatically altered the riverside landscape to prevent a repetition of the 1960 floods which inundated over 1,200 houses and businesses. The possibilities of future floods in the city are considered.

For further "Rivers in Flood" booklets click HERE

 

EXETER IN STONE, an urban geology Jane Dove.
ISBN 978-0-948444-27-2  Thematic Trails 1994.  £2.95

A5. 44 pages. 24 illustrations.

 

"Directed at ‘the curious visitor and interested non-specialists', Thematic Trails Trust publications incorporate and translate professional knowledge from the academic literature to which members of the general public don't have ready access....Exeter in Stone is a fine addition to the ever-expanding list of booklets on the building stones of British towns and cities." (Geology Today)

 

DAWLISH WARREN AND THE SEA Peter Sims

ISBN 978-0-948444-13-5 Thematic Trails 1988 & 1998.  

A5. 48 pages. 44 figures.                          £2.95        

Within living memory Dawlish Warren in South Devon has dramatically changed its shape several times. A shoreline walk explains the nature and history of dynamic coastal change and its implications for both short-term and long-term coastal management. An integrated four-page update comments on recent coast defence measures.

 

Letter: “Thank you again for the brilliant guides. I am currently working in a school and have spent the last two days at Dawlish Warren. Both guides were very helpful. I look forward to exploring Westward Ho!” Dave Watkins. (06.11.2006)

 

DAWLISH WARREN ECOLOGY TRAIL 

Janet Keene and Richard Weaving ;

ISBN 978-0-948444-19-7 Thematic Trails 1991.    £2.95

A5. 44 pages, 20 illustrations.

A guided walk and reference booklet suitable for both non-specialist visitor and naturalist interested in exploring the contrasting habitats and wildlife of the Warren.

SITES OF GEOLOGICAL INTEREST IN DEVON
If you are interested in sites of geological interest in Devon here are two www links which will interest you: www.devonrigs.org.uk offers a list of some 117 regionally important geological sites and enquiries for information on these sites are welcomed. There is also an Educational Register of Geological Sites (a guide to Geological Fieldwork in Devon) and this may be found on: www.devon.gov.uk/geology.htm