Notes on Dartmoor's Wild Colour - a short essay
As I write these words, the mist hangs heavily outside our Princetown home. There is barely a breeze, and the birds are calling through the soft grey. These are my favourite days on Dartmoor, where I am hugged by nature and safely held by clouds. Soon, I’ll go out for a walk along a route I follow dailyish. We’ve had several weeks without rain on the moor, but the weather has changed and last night’s rain will now be seeping through the high moor, creating rivulets, widening waterways, and perhaps spilling over in various places to form transient waterfalls. Although I’ll take my map and compass, the route is one I can follow without aid, never too far from a feature that is easy to follow when visibility is reduced. Down a track, along a man-made water channel known as a leat, through old tin workings to an abandoned farm, down a tributary, up a hill alongside a wall, back along the leat, and to the road where our workshop is. A round trip of about seven miles. Further if I get distracted.
From the introduction to Wild Colour. The essay is approximately 5000 words, and is printed on a home laser printer. The cover is letterpress printed in our workshop with metal and wood type. The papers for the book are all British, recycled paper.
This listing is for the print copy of the essay. The text of this essay is also available as a free download to subscribers of our mailing list. There should be a subscription form on the bottom of this page if you'd like to preview the text.
As I write these words, the mist hangs heavily outside our Princetown home. There is barely a breeze, and the birds are calling through the soft grey. These are my favourite days on Dartmoor, where I am hugged by nature and safely held by clouds. Soon, I’ll go out for a walk along a route I follow dailyish. We’ve had several weeks without rain on the moor, but the weather has changed and last night’s rain will now be seeping through the high moor, creating rivulets, widening waterways, and perhaps spilling over in various places to form transient waterfalls. Although I’ll take my map and compass, the route is one I can follow without aid, never too far from a feature that is easy to follow when visibility is reduced. Down a track, along a man-made water channel known as a leat, through old tin workings to an abandoned farm, down a tributary, up a hill alongside a wall, back along the leat, and to the road where our workshop is. A round trip of about seven miles. Further if I get distracted.
From the introduction to Wild Colour. The essay is approximately 5000 words, and is printed on a home laser printer. The cover is letterpress printed in our workshop with metal and wood type. The papers for the book are all British, recycled paper.
This listing is for the print copy of the essay. The text of this essay is also available as a free download to subscribers of our mailing list. There should be a subscription form on the bottom of this page if you'd like to preview the text.
Notes on Wild Colour
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