Deep in the Dartmoor Woods

I grew up in England and until recently, I went back to visit family and do photography every year. Thanks to Covid, I wasn’t able to travel overseas for 2-1/2 years so when I finally booked my ticket in November 2021, I was very excited to see my family again and get out into the landscape and create some new art.

I’ve been to this location several times over the years, going back to when I first shot there with film in 2004. I’ve decided not to identify it exactly because I’ve noticed it’s become more heavily visited, and a lot of the moss covered boulders in this primeval woodland have been worn bare from thousands of visitors tramping over them. Unfortunately, thanks to social media (specifically Instagram), an influx of people have invaded what was a very remote area, that once saw only a few hundred visitors a year.

These ancient oaks were first noticed several hundred years ago and an early visitor noted that the trees were all no taller than a man’s head, stunted, gnarled and covered in moss and ferns from the very wet climate. They were also reputed to be haunted which helped keep the more curious away.

On my recent visit, I waited until the weather conditions were right; I didn’t want to be there on a sunny day but I wanted fog and mist to add to the ethereal feeling of the place. I watched the forecast regularly, and the day before I was to fly home turned out to be the day, so I woke up at 3:30am and headed out into the darkness for a 3-1/2 drive down to Dartmoor in Devon.

When I arrived, there was a decent amount of fog about, but it started to dissipate as I walked the thirty minutes from the car park to the woods. Fortunately, the sun mostly stayed away and I was left in peace, alone in the woods under a light drizzle, for an enjoyable seven hours of photography. I only saw four or five people during that time, but they all hiked further into the national park, leaving me entirely alone in the woods.

I didn’t see any of the spectral hounds that are supposed to live in the woods, not any pixies or fairies, but if you let your mind drift a little, it would be easy to imagine them being there….

Camera, Pentax 645Z medium format

Lenses- 75mm f/2.8, 28-45mm f/4, 25mm f/4