Our Locality |
| The area, that this site is primarily concerned with, is situated in part of the U.K., on the South West peninsular, in the County of Devon. It is located in the north of the area of natural beauty and rugged wilderness known as Dartmoor. Our particular part of that countryside, shown in red on the map, has, at its heart, four villages - Belstone, South Tawton, South Zeal and Sticklepath and the various hamlets that they contain. Each village has its own community and there is much friendly rivalry between them but all share a common culture and cohesiveness deriving from historical and family ties. We hope you enjoy your ‘cyber visit' to us and would like to visit here in person, one day, to enjoy more! |
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The one feature that stands out above all others, the one every local inhabitant looks for on their journey home from foreign parts (like Exeter or Launceston), is Cosdon (previously known as Cawsand) Beacon. Devon is one of the largest counties in England. It is also one of the most spectacular, with craggy tors and rolling farmland creating a rich and varied landscape studded with pretty villages. Five of these villages, Belstone, South Tawton, South Zeal, Sticklepath and Throwleigh, , are clustered together on the northern edge of Dartmoor, overlooked by this great hill. These are the Beacon Villages. (Note: This site does not directly represent Throwleigh, it has its own web site - see links.)
If you take St. Mary's chapel in South Zeal as the geographical heart of this area, then it is surrounded by an inner circle of Beacon villages, a midway circle of local villages and then a boundary of four area towns. Anywhere outside of this web is foreign parts, only to be visited out of necessity or to make peace with distant relatives!
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G Gidleigh SC Sampford Courtenay Sp Spreyton W Whiddon Down
1 Belstone 2 Sticklepath 3 South Tawton 4 South Zeal 5 Throwleigh |
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The Beacon villages, in yellow, are Belstone, South Tawton, South Zeal and Sticklepath, with Throwleigh, to the south east.
The local villages, in green, are Sampford Courtney (closely associated with Belstone), Whiddon Down, Gidleigh (associated with Throwleigh) and Spreyton.
There are other villages that the Beacon dwellers get to know as they make their way to Exeter, the most notable of which are Bow & Copplestone, leading to Crediton Town, and Cheriton Bishop and Tedburn St. Mary on the 'old' A30.. |
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Our main area town is Okehampton, in terms of doing the weeks' shopping for ones self or ones animals.
Oke is empty on Tuesdays as folk are off to Hatherleigh for its wonderful market.
If you want arty things or any hard to get item of hardware or hiking stuff, there are two wonderful old rambling 'super' hardware emporiums, side by side in Chagford.
Without wishing to offend anyone there, I personally have found only two reasons for visiting North Tawton, young sapling trees for planting and great fish and chips (excellent).
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And there you have it. Apart, of course, from the moor. If you are looking for rock concerts, super shopping, traffic rage and the latest films and theatre shows - go to a big town. If you are looking for sun, sex and sangria - go to Spain (many of us do). If you want culture and sophistication, operas, concerts and large museums - look elsewhere. But, if you want a stress free, interesting, never boring time, with as much or as little physical activity as you enjoy, all in the company of really friendly villagers, who will welcome you, with open arms, to their virtually crime free environment - come to Dartmoor, come to the friendly Beacon Villages! |
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