What's new on Our Dartmoor
Our Dartmoor is a small project being built and improved bit by bit, often with the help of AI. This is where we log what's changed - newest first.
2026
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A new Map Reference Finder
Got a map reference such as SX 5800 8920 and want to see where it is? Or standing somewhere and want to know your reference? The new Map Reference Finder turns grid references, GPS coordinates and place names into each other for anywhere in Devon, shows the spot on the map, and lists the tors, crosses and old sites nearby. It opens at Princetown, and tor and landmark pages now link straight to it. Built with the help of my AI assitant, and checked against Ordnance Survey data to well under a metre. -
More links, clearer sources
Many of our Dartmoor monument pages now link place names, tors and rivers to their own pages, so you can follow a name straight to what we hold on it. Links in descriptions are now easier to spot, and the sources we draw on are credited with a clear highlighted link. A new page for the Dartmoor Exploration Committee, the group that dug and restored Dartmoor’s hut circles and stone rows from 1893, joins a new listing for the Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks website. All of this connecting of the data was put together with the help of my AI assistant. -
Map pages tidied up
On the full-screen maps, some information cards were showing over the map itself. They no longer do. The same source details are one tap away under Sources. -
More Dartmoor writers, books and free reading links
We have added portraits and pages for more Dartmoor authors, six more books by Beatrice Chase, and a new listing for guide Keith Lambeth of Out There on Dartmoor. Older books now link to more free copies to read online, search is better at handling phrases like “out there”, and Watchet Hill Cottage now links to Eden Phillpotts’s novel The Secret Woman. -
More local businesses and people, shown through their social pages
We’ve added listings for local businesses, makers and outdoor creators who share their work on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok but have no website. Each page can show their latest posts, but only if you choose to, and nothing is loaded from those platforms until you press the button. Some listings now have a tab for each channel, and there’s a link to their profile if your browser blocks the panel. -
A note on good faith
Every page now carries a short note in the footer: everything here is included in good faith, and if you are unhappy with a photograph, a piece of text or a whole listing, one message is all it takes for it to be removed. -
Plainer facts on the historic sites
The descriptions on more than 1,300 ancient and historic sites have been cleaned up to give the plain facts first, with the padding taken out. A number of individual entries, among them Sittaford, Hobajon's Cross, Wooston Castle, Beardown Man and Bowerman's Nose, were corrected against their sources. -
Explore further from every ancient site
Each stone circle, cross, cairn and historic landmark now has quick search links to explore further, and the first mention of a nearby place or listing in its description is a link you can follow. Link labels now say where they lead, such as Wikipedia page, rather than just a web address. -
Tors now have a page of their own
Dartmoor's tors are gathered into one place, with an introduction explaining which outcrops count as tors, and a separate Hills & Mounds page for the high ground that isn't granite-topped. Browse more than two hundred and forty tors by name. -
Fixes behind the scenes
A fault that could blank a listing's description when it was edited has been fixed across the whole site, and a handful of links that pointed at the wrong page have been put right. -
Clearer maps, and a new rights-of-way layer
Every map now shows exactly where its data comes from via a new "Sources" button, and a new layer shows Dartmoor's public footpaths, bridleways and byways. -
Kind Words, sorted
The Kind Words page no longer quietly hides comments once there are a lot of them, and every card is now clickable anywhere on it. -
A proper home for Dartmoor's films
The Films page has been restyled and now features a spotlight on a Dartmoor YouTube channel each month, alongside its clips. -
A new homepage
The homepage has a new hero section and a "Discover Dartmoor" module surfacing some of the site's more unexpected stories, rather than just a search box. -
New Connections articles
Started a new "Connections" series digging into Dartmoor's links to the wider world - including Arthur Conan Doyle's Hound of the Baskervilles and the story of the moor's granite. -
Tidier results, fully clickable cards
Directory results pages are tidier: the map now tucks away behind a single button so the listings show first, and every card is clickable anywhere on it, not just the title. -
More Dartmoor writers, more of their books
We've been steadily adding more of Dartmoor's writers to the directory, past and present, along with the books they wrote about the moor. -
An artists' trail through Ashburton
Two dozen Ashburton artists and artisans have joined the directory in one go, from potters to painters, following the town's own walking trail. -
Every parish and council now listed
Every Dartmoor parish council, town council and local authority now has its own entry, each checked against the council's own website. -
A new look for the whole site
Our Dartmoor has a fresh, hand-drawn look across every page, built around torn paper, granite textures and warmer colours. Still the same directory and map underneath, just easier on the eye. -
More ways to browse the directory
The business directory now sorts into far more specific categories - potters, jewellers, woodworkers, glassmakers and more each have their own home, instead of one large "makers" catch-all. -
See Dartmoor's scattered trees on the map
A new map layer shows the trees that grow outside the woods all across the moor: lone trees, small groups and little woodlands. Switch it on and the map moves to an aerial view so you can see the real trees, and you can click any tree to find exactly where it is. It comes from open national data, so it is a guide rather than a survey of every tree. -
A century of Dartmoor rainfall
You can now explore how wet different parts of the moor are, from long-term records reaching back more than a hundred years to the rain falling right now. The high moor is one of the wettest places in southern England, with well over two metres of rain a year in places. -
A satellite view of the moor
The maps now offer an aerial, satellite view alongside the standard and terrain maps, so you can see Dartmoor from above. Choose it from the Map layers button on any map. An improvement to pave the way for the Tree map layer - coming soon! -
Maps are easier to use
The maps have been tidied up: a bigger map, a Map layers panel you can move out of the way, clearer keys shown one at a time, gentle animations, and a short "How to use this map" guide that appears the first time you visit. -
All the Dartmoor maps in one place
Our Dartmoor maps now include rivers, rainfall, wild camping, firing times, river health, trees, the historic landscape and more, each with a short explanation of what it shows and where the information comes from. Browse them all from one page. -
Sixty more moorland markers added to the map
We have added sixty more features that walkers pass every day without a second glance: old wayside crosses, guide and boundary stones, milestones, and holy wells. Each one now has its place on the map with a grid reference, a short description, a photo where one exists, and a link to its official Historic England record for anyone who wants to dig deeper. These were gathered and drafted with AI help, then checked before going live. -
Finding the moor's ancient sites just got easier
The moor's ancient and historic places are now sorted into clear groups you can browse, rather than sitting in one big heritage pile. You can go straight to stone circles, stone rows, standing stones, cairns and barrows, cists, wayside crosses, milestones and boundary markers, holy wells, clapper bridges and more. Sorting more than a thousand sites into the right groups was done with the help of AI, working through each one so you don't have to. -
All the Dartmoor maps in one place
Our maps now have a single home. Pick from firing times, wild camping, rivers, river health, the historic "through time" maps, the sun and golden-hour tool and more, each with a clear guide and its data sources. -
Follow Dartmoor's rivers and waterways
You can now trace Dartmoor's whole river network on the map, from the great rivers down to the smallest named brook, plus its reservoirs and moorland pools. Every named river and brook also has its own page. Switch on the new "Rivers & waterways" layer to explore it. -
Cleaner heritage and landmark pages
We've tidied the layout of our tor, ancient-site and heritage listings. The description and photos now sit right at the top, with the safety notes, background information and "explore further" links moved neatly below the gallery and map. It's a small change that makes each page quicker to scan and puts the place itself front and centre. -
More to see on What's On and a tidier calendar
We've added a big batch of upcoming events, including a festival's worth of guided walks and talks plus a run of Dartmoor Preservation Association walks, each with its own photo and details. The month calendar now displays busy days neatly with nothing clipped. -
Open the map full-screen
Maps - a "Full screen" button opens a big, distraction-free map that remembers your position and layers. -
See Dartmoor's ancient landscape from the air
Maps - a new LiDAR map layer (official open survey data) reveals earthworks hidden in the terrain, even under bracken. -
Share your "Thoughts" on Dartmoor's places
Places and landmarks now invite "Thoughts" rather than "Kind Words," which I thought suited them better! -
Grid references on every outdoor listing
Every tor, ancient site and heritage place shows its OS grid reference, tappable to open that spot on an OS map. -
"Explore further" links on heritage and moorland pages
tidy link sets to official records, specialist per-site pages and trusted Dartmoor resources - if you know any resources I've missed - drop me a message. -
Hundreds of ancient sites now easier to find and understand
Dartmoor's prehistoric sites (hut circles, cairns, cists, clapper bridges) each now have their own map, grid reference, nearby photographs and links to explore further. -
Clearer maps and richer detail for Dartmoor's ancient sites
Hundreds of the moor's prehistoric sites - hut circles, cairns, cists and clapper bridges previously shared a single stand-in photo (usually a CC image). We're giving each one its own map showing exactly where it sits, its grid reference, nearby photographs, and a set of links to explore the area and dig into the official records. -
New Photo Gallery on the Homepage
The main page now features a scrolling strip of photographs from across Dartmoor - each linking to a place or listing on the site. More images will appear as the collection grows. -
New Landmarks added
More of Dartmoor's places have been added to the directory. -
Richer write-ups for the moor's tors and landmarks
We have rewritten the descriptions for hundreds of Dartmoor's tors, hills and landmarks so they draw on real, published sources instead of some generic holding text. Each one now sums up what makes the place distinctive and points you to trusted sites where you can read more and plan a visit. The write-ups are drafted with AI help and then checked against sources - each will be individually curated at some point. -
More photographs for the website
Constructed a script to read my photography social media and website to allow me to grab images I took and add them to listings on the Our Dartmoor website - several 1000's to check on. -
More original photographs across the site
Many of the moorland listings now carry some of my original Dartmoor photographs, giving a truer sense of each place than a stock image ever could. I know my style isn't to everyones taste - feel free to offer your images to be used. -
Updated Security Features
Emails from the website didn't always insist on an email address - Cloudflare security is already present. Made sure to ask for an email, so random chancers cannot suggest edits without giving me an opportunity to check they are real people. -
Updated the Logo/Cover Photo on Listings
Sorted out some Logo or Cover images not displaying correctly in Listings -
Added some more "Creatives" Listings
Started a deep search to find less well known creatives - artists/artisans and makers on the internet. Used a rebuilt Python script to look for data and images. -
Share buttons on Component Pages
Pages like the "Old Map" page and the "Ephemeris" page now have share buttons - so you can spread the word wide! -
Added Share buttons to Articles
Up until now you couldn't just click a button to share articles (still a few hiccups - component generated pages don't have share buttons yet! Working on it) -
Added "Instagram Only" Listings
Found that Our Dartmoor was being followed on Instagram by many people/businesses that only had an Instagram presence - so found a way to showcase their work. -
Listings Share Buttons
Added some buttons below each listing that allows you to quickly share details with your friends through your preferred channels! -
Smarter safety alerts
The on-site alert now reminds you again on any day there's live firing or a sewage spill, instead of only once, when you first arrive on the website. Alert is updated every day. -
A clearer safety guide for the moor
We've added a page explaining live military firing and river health, so you can check stuff before you head out on to the moor. -
Live safety alerts on the map
The map now shows live military firing times and river 'storm overflow' status. When firing is scheduled the ranges light up with a clear warning, and a floating alert lets you know at a glance if either is active as you arrive. -
River health on the map
A new map layer shows where storm overflows may be discharging into Dartmoor's rivers and streams right now, or have in the last 24 hours - handy to check before you swim or paddle, especially after rain. -
More local businesses, properly written up
We added many more Dartmoor businesses to the directory, each with its own description and images rather than a bare name and address. -
Sunrise, sunset and golden hour
A new tool shows sunrise, sunset and the direction of golden-hour light for any spot on the moor - built with photographers and walkers in mind. -
Longer articles about Dartmoor
Started publishing longer reads about the moor's places, history and folklore - beginning with the strange afterlife of the Bowerman's Nose legend. -
Village and town guides
Introduced pages for Dartmoor's villages, towns and hamlets, each with a short introduction and photographs. -
Historic maps you can slide through
Fade between today's map and historic surveys of Dartmoor going back to the 1880s, to see how the landscape and its places have changed. -
Tors and landmarks
Dartmoor's tors and best-known landmarks are now in the directory and on the map. -
Heritage and ancient sites
Added hundreds of the moor's stone circles, hut circles, cairns and monuments, so you can find the archaeology near wherever you're headed. -
Myths and legends
Began adding Dartmoor's folklore - its pixies, witches and petrified huntsmen - as its own part of the directory, tied to the real places on the map. -
A cleverer search
Search now copes with apostrophes and near-misses - type 'bowermans' and it still finds Bowerman's Nose. -
News from around the moor
A Dartmoor news page that gathers recent headlines from local outlets in one place, always linking back to the original report. -
A rebuilt Our Dartmoor
The site moved to a new, faster, purpose-built directory with an interactive map at its heart. Like much of what follows, it was built with the help of AI - a small project trying to do a big one's job.
