Series Description:
Having enjoyed several other series on Dartmoor, this is my first attempt at a small one of my own.
The famous five series of books are generally assumed to be set in fictional places, except for perhaps Kirrin Island which some say might be based on Corfe Castle on the Purbeck Peninsular in Dorset.
This series of caches is loosely based on Enid Blyton's "Five on a Hike Together". Whilst re-reading the book recently, I was struck with the similarity of the places described in this story with Dartmoor. There was a prison in the story in the middle of the moor (Princetown Prison?). Other places described which could be on Dartmoor were the "sunken lanes" upon which the children travelled, the marshes on the moors, the standing stones and the beacon hills. I enjoyed imagining the story being set in the real parts of Dartmoor that I now know.
This series of caches could be used as an introduction to some of the many delights of Dartmoor as it will take you to places which are like some of the places in the book. It does not attempt to follow the children's journey and locate everything in one area because the book is a work of fiction and is not set in any real place.
Most of the caches are within 3 miles of the suggested parking and none of them are situated within a firing range.
All caches in this series are placed in accordance with DNPA guidelines
Please be aware that most of the caches will involve walking on Dartmoor on quite rough terrain. The weather on Dartmoor can change suddenly and unexpectedly. Please ensure that you have the correct clothing and map & compass even though the cache may not be far from the suggested parking.
Although you do not have to attempt the feeder caches in any order, you may wish to follow the order in the titles if you want to follow the story of the book.
Enjoy!
Geocache Description – 1. - Timmy chases rabbits.
The Story
At the start of the story, the children climb Rabbit Hill then drop down into Coney Copse where Timmy gets stuck down a rabbit hole.
The Cache
This cache is placed on a hill near Headland Warren which was one of the commercial rabbit farms functioning on Dartmoor until the mid-20th Century.
A return walk from the suggested parking is less than 2 miles.
Points of Interest
Many parts of Dartmoor are associated with the now defunct practice of farming rabbits (warrening). This cache is placed near some old "pillow mounds" which provided shelter for rabbits when they were reared commercially on Dartmoor’s warren farms. Pillow mounds are generally long straight sided mounds with rounded ends and raised profiles, usually aligned across the contour of a hillside, with a drainage ditch surrounding them to prevent them from becoming damp or flooded.
The suggested car parking is just up the road from the Warren House Inn which is famous for its fire which has been burning since 1845 and where they serve Warreners Pie amongst other things.
Bennetts Cross is very near to the suggested parking. It is an ancient wayside cross and is a boundary marker for Headland Warren and for the parishes of Chagford and North Bovey.