Widecombe in the Moor Things to Do

The Widecombe village cross has been missing for many years (the yew tree was fairly new in 1902) but its base still stands just outside the church lych-gate. It is octagonal, about a metre and a half high and two metres in diameter. There is an ancient, partially restored cross standing in the churchyard, so it is possible that this was the original village cross.

I noticed that the village cross in Morteonhampstead had also been replaced by a tree, so it seems likely this was a common thing during the end of the nineteenth century.

.............in Widecombe church. Not much of it remains (originally it would have stretched high up, to partially block the view of the altar area) but there are some panels left. They are beautifully painted. I couldn't find a date for the screen, but guess it is probably 16th or 17th century. Easy to miss it though, and not fully appreciate the beauty of the colours and artwork.

.......in Widecombe church. This style of church roof is more-or-less unique to Devon, and dates from Medieval times. You'll find many churches in this area with similar roof styles; the bosses are always worth looking at.

When the wind is whistling across the Moor, driving the rain horizontally against the pub windows, we bank up the fires, the beers are poured, the port bottle set on the table and the Monopoly set comes out.

With convivial company the game takes on new dimension both for participants and spectators alike - here are the Williams family battling it out for dominance - strangely enough Di always seems to win, perhaps that's because she is holding the bank's money - and Rod says: "Nothing new there then!"