Horsing around on Dartmoor…

Image courtesy of Babeny Stables

“Descending from White Hill on a summer evening with the sun going down behind Steeperton Tor, down to Taw Marsh riding a sun-bronzed Chester and then galloping the whole stretch to the River Taw, dodging cattle and sheep and springing over gullies and rocks until we stop, at last, in the cool water.”

That’s how our Help Desk Manager, David Hall, a keen rider, recalls one of his memorable outings on Dartmoor. 

It’s easy to spend hours, indeed days, exploring the moor. And now there’s the added pull to the south-western slopes of Dartmoor where scenes from Steven Spielberg’s film of Michael Morpurgo’s renowned novel, War Horse, were shot, predominantly around Meavy and Sheepstor.

We’ve over 90 excellent holiday cottages on Dartmoor and we’re lucky to have a number of places to stay near the film locations:

300 yards from the Royal Oak pub (where many of the film crew regularly lunched) in the pretty hamlet of Meavy, the quaint Acorn Cottage was totally refurbished in 2011 and features quiet, serene meadow and woodland views at the back; equally convenient for high moors or the town.

Just half a mile from Dousland, on a quiet lane and surrounded by a working farm, is The Old Byre, a smart, contemporary detached cottage next to the owners’ former farmhouse. Breakfast on fresh eggs from the farm’s free-range chickens, then head out for one of the Dartmoor National Park Authority’s Guided Walks around some of War Horse’s filming locations.

The Barn, Yelverton, is a beautifully converted, ‘upside down’, 17th century detached stone barn within extensive grounds and gardens. Walking and cycling are great ways to immerse yourself in the landscape but perhaps you’ll be inspired by the film to experience Dartmoor on horseback? There are lots of opportunities to ride on Dartmoor. 

Dartmoor is a fascinating place to visit at any time of year, so we hope you’ll come and create your own magical memories – and perhaps capture your favourite landscape scenes on film? We’d love to see your photos, so feel free to post them on our Facebook wall.

Spielberg on Dartmoor: “An abundance of natural beauty”

Are you a set-jetter? No, we haven’t got our tongues twisted. Set-jetting is the trend of travelling to destinations that are used as movie locations. And it looks like our very own Dartmoor might be the next set-jetting hotspot!

After extensive filming in Dartmoor, Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's First World War adventure novel for children, War Horse, is due to be released in cinemas in January 2012.

Spielberg praised the beauty of the Dartmoor countryside: "I have never before, in my long and eclectic career, been gifted with such an abundance of natural beauty as I experienced filming War Horse on Dartmoor... And, with two-and-a-half weeks of extensive coverage of landscapes and skies, I hardly scratched the surface of the visual opportunities that were offered to me."

Set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War, War Horse begins in Devon with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him.

When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets – British cavalry, German soldiers, and a French farmer and his granddaughter – before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man’s Land.

Filming on Dartmoor started in August 2010 and locations included the small village of Meavy and near Widecombe-in-the-Moor. Ditsworthy Warren House, an isolated Grade II listed building near Sheepstor, served as the Narracott family's farmhouse.

You can watch the official trailer here:

You can also watch a photo montage of the crew filming on location here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqPlEu4ry0w

We’ve over 80 fabulous holiday cottages on Dartmoor so come and visit this magical place to create your own visual memories and tales to tell.