1 - Bellever Tor & Forest

After months in the planning (in my head mostly) I finally got out and made a start on my latest creative project! YAY!! What I didn’t realise until this morning was that I am going to share this journey with you via a blog and here it is, post 1. It’s the first, who knows, it may be the last, but I don’t think so!

So what’s the project? I’ve always got some new idea burning away and this time it’s a big one; I’m going to write and self publish a book about the River Dart.

The Dart is a huge source of inspiration to me and has been for as long as I can remember. Whenever I am near the Dart I feel refreshed and alive. I know a lot of places along the Dart already but this project is going to take me to loads of new places too and will make me look with new eyes at the places I think I already know so I’m super excited.

So today, with the sun shining for the first time in what feels like forever, I got out the map and announced to my family that we were going to Bellever Forest.

The River Dart has two sources, the East Dart River and the West Dart River, which converge at Dartmeet (and you will hear more about this another day), but here at Bellever Forest it’s the East Dart that flows alongside, between Bellever Tor and Riddon Ridge.

By the time we had walked from the carpark by the main road to the top of Bellever Tor I was already feeling invigorated.

Bellever Tor

That’s Bellever forest down below

At this point I have to admit I was starting to think we might not actually see the river on this adventure…. so downhill we headed. Then Rob suggested we go ‘through’ the woods rather than on the track. This bit was less fun I have to admit. In 500 yards of undergrowth I basically decided we were lost forever hahahahha.

But then, seemingly out of the blue; there was the East Dart River! I was honestly so excited. The Dart has been a common sight for me throughout my life, but I’m not really that familiar with it’s source rivers and it felt really significant that today I am looking at it all anew.