Even more Moor

Waterfalls and cascading fingers of rapid were frequent features of today’s walk. Water was rushing from the land to join the Dart at every opportunity. And it looked bloody lovely! Sounded great too.

More Moor

For the return journey from Dartmeet I decided to take a higher path. I'd cooled down a bit stopping for lunch, and the climb out of the Dart Valley was hard going. There's a path between Combestone and Venford Reservoir, below the Holne Moor Leat and skirting the top fringes of the Dart Valley woodland. It's a wonderful rocky path, which hugs the contours of the land. It passes through boulder strewn and moss covered stands, in addition to the moss the trees are lichen covered too. I heard a cuckoo, first of the year. Every turn, every gap in the canopy reveals stunning views over the steep Dart Valley, and glimpses of its bubbling river. The trees are still naked and, for the most part, you can see good distances through the woodland, that wont last for long though, when the canopy comes to leaf the woodland and valley will close in on themselves, adding to the magic. It'll be a different world completely. From Venford I returned to the familiar path that skirts the river down to New Bridge, a path we've walked countless time, though a path that never loses its appeal. Back in the deeply cut gorge, more moss covered rocks and tenacious trees cover the steep slopes above you, and again the sound of the thundering Dart is your walking music. Wonderful. Too soon I was back at New Bridge and walks end. I say too soon, it was, though I'd set off with strains, sprains and pains, I have to admit to overdoing it and that the return leg of the walk was increasingly hard going. Still, the walk was just what I needed. Dartmoor oozes an energy and magic which you soak up like a sponge, the thing is, life wrings it out of you. I suppose the solution is to visit more often...sounds good to me.  

Dartmoor

Dartmoor's been calling me for some time now, always drifting around the peripheries of my mind, popping up in my dreams and thoughts, and over the last week its draw had become intense. What could I do? I had to go. Ever since I first went to Dartmoor over 30 years ago it's had a hold on me. I couldn't tell you the times we've visited or camped in the folds of this magical rugged landscape. Dartmoor is one of the few places in our tiny country that still retains a semblance of its primal wildness, and somewhere we can feel an echo of the connection we once would have shared with the land. Dartmoor is a sacred place to me, steeped in memories too. It was 0830 as I struck out from New Bridge, I'd made good time travelling through two counties before the hurly burly of the day had got going. Now heading up the right bank of the Dart I was excited, although we've walked this section of the Dart countless times we'd never completed the walk from New Bridge and Dartmeet on this side of the river. It was as cool as I'd imagined, discovering the unfamiliar in somewhere familiar always is. I could feel the knots that bind me loosen and fall as a genuinely felt smile broke the jaded expression I currently wear, it feels so good to be here, so energizing. Good energy, natural energy. The walking was immersive, you're in a deeply cut gorge, moss covered rocks and tenacious trees rise above you, the sound of the thundering Dart fills your ears, and clean ionized air fills your lungs. My senses are overwhelmed, and my smile is now fixed. I follow a narrow winding path just above the river, past hidden pools and secret spots. I call it a path although a lot of the time you're required to use something akin to the 'force' to define it. The familiar river looks so different from this bank, there are several long islands above New Bridge and I'd never seen this side of them. The walking was very different from the other bank, as I say, the path was less defined, that is until you reach the halfway point and Luckey Tor when there are many more areas of flat open space. Before I knew it I was approaching Dartmeet with it's ancient clapper bridge and more modern road bridge, and the furthest point of my venture, and my walk half done.

Dartmoor

Oh, man, Dartmoor, how I love thee. From the very first time I drove through it's rugged ancient landscape it stole a piece of my heart, I was smitten. The subsequent years of walking its wooded valleys and austere granite topped hills, camping in its secret places and dipping into its chilled waters, have imbued its landscape with deep layers of memory, of times and people. It is a special place to me, a magical place. I feel differently here, I feel excited like a child. Today's walk was up the wonderful Walkham Valley; a beautiful wooded valley through which the crystal clear Walkham flows around boulders and islands, forming rapids and pools amongst dappled light. It's a place we've walked for 30 years or more, and even though it's been some time since we last walked here, and there have been changes, walking here feels like coming home. Taking in all the sights, sounds and smells which abound around us we make our way up the river as it slowly narrows, and just before it emerges from its wooded valley, out into the open moor and the high origins of its source, we turn abruptly upwards through the humid wooded valley side. It's steep and the climb is hard.  Though when we reach the woodland edge and brake cover we're greeted with stunning views across the wild expanse of the moor; up towards our destination, Kings Tor, and looking back down over the wooded valley we've just left. Stunning. We continue, threading a path between natural boulders, then through the expansive detritus of the stone working industry of the previous 2 centuries, and finally, up atop the granite stack of Kings Tor. From up here we have views out across the moor and way beyond, off into Cornwall and out to the coast. What a spot. We can't stay here too long though, out here with no shade, and under today's blazing sun, it's too much. So, down we go, back tracking through the piles of waste stone chippings and half formed blocks. It's not too long before we find ourselves back in the welcomed shade of the canopy. The humidity is high, and as we descend through the trees the sound of the river grows; it's calling us to take a dip. Well, on a day like today it would be rude not to. The water bubbles up from deep below and even on a baking day like this is freezing cold, immersing yourself is a spiritual experience as much as an invigorating and refreshing one. Wow. It's amazing how refreshing it is, for the remainder of our walk back to car I feel air conditioned, in fact, I could feel the effects of our 5 minute dip for the rest of the day. Too soon we were back at the car, where we'd left a wounded member of the mission who'd missed out on the walk. I say 'wounded', massively hungover in truth, though he had recovered on our return, which was good. What a walk, man, not too long, sub 10, and virtually every step arduous, though the reward was massive.  As I said in yesterdays Here and Now gig post, life can kick the shit out of you, and to pinch a Here and Now lyric 'it's the little things', the simple things which give you strength. Today's walk and last nights gigs will charge my batteries and keep me running for some time. Oh, happy days.

Here & Now @ Unit 23 Totnes 17.6.2017

Ah, the Here and Now Band. Since I first heard Here and Now's 'All Over The Show' album in the early 80's, the bands music has remained a constant on the soundtrack of my life.  The bands line up may have changed over the years, though a consistent throughout has been the quality of musicians and the quality of the music, both have remained very high.  The current line up of Keith da Bass, Mark Robson, Andy Roger, Andy Burrows and Gem Quinn is fantastic, and together they have an amazing chemistry, the energy created fair crackled across the stage tonight.  Andy B on guitar and Gem drums are newbies, though you'd never know it, so tight is the band sound you'd think they'd been there forever; credit to them as musicians, you should see them in their other bands too, Andy with MOTA and Gem with Kangaroo Moon, wow.  As for the other band members, well, Keith's Keith, a bass legend who deserves the title, a man with Vibranium fingers; Mark, no matter in what manifestation (H&N, Kangaroo Moon, Magic Brothers) a multi instrumentalist par excellence; and Andy R, a master of the electronic universe, a wizard of soundscape creation.  Naturally, our expectations were high, Here and Now have set themselves a high bar over the years and have never failed to reach beyond it, other than... only kidding, of course they've never failed to produce the goods, they're feckin ace! Tonight the set list was outstanding, a smorgasbord of tracks from the bands extensive back catalogue; some tracks that when we were first seeing them we could could only dream of hearing (they weren't included in the live sets at the time), like 'Surgeons Knife' and 'little things' (two particular favourites of mine), and then there were tracks of the 'Secrets' and 'The Mega Number' period, aw, man, the 'The Mega Number', a track I remember blissing out to at so many gigs through the 80's. The band delivered every track perfectly, and with gusto and panache. But that's not all, no, there were new tracks! Yup, we thought we heard one during Here and Now's Avalon Ballroom set at the King Arthur, but tonight, there were more! All good strong stuff too, one in particular, a long number, was outstanding! That's an exclamation mark at the end of the last three sentences, if that's not an indication of how good the evening was, then I give up! We the audience were loving it, man, you couldn't help but move; the band too looked like they were enjoying it, which is when the magic happens. And, magic was happening. Each time I looked about, everyone was smiling, people dancing and moving (there was some great moves on show too), people were really feeling the energy. Life can kick the shit out of you, and it's bands like Here and Now who can put the wind back into your sails, and for that we thank them and love them. And, there was certainly love in the room this evening. Now, we've seen Here and Now many many times over the years and it would be fair to say that tonight their performance ranked with the very best of them, and as I said, that's a high bar. They finished with, of course, 'So Glad You're Here', the joy in the room was palpable. Every member of the band had brought their best game. Special credit though needs to go to both the Andy's who'd already performed a stella set this evening as MOTA, bravo fellows. What a stunning performance, and one that will raise a smile for a long time to come. I can't wait for the new album, yeah, that's right, that's what I heard from a reputable source, and if that doesn't excite any Here and Now fan, I'd check your pulse. Finally, a big thanks to Mike (I'd found out from a friend that Mike was the guy who put the gig on), when ever I'd seen him he was bobbing about beaming, and why not, he'd put on a beautiful thing, nice one, man. And thanks to the venue and sound guy, both top draw, big up. 'Till the next time, thank you Here and Now.

MOTA Music of the Andys @ Unit 23 Totnes 17.6.2017

Excited, car packed with camping gear, we made our way west to the picturesque town of Totnes, down in Devon, and to the excellent Unit 23 venue, in order to see the magnificent Here and Now Band, supported by the equally magnificent Music of the Andys. We'd been to Unit 23 back in March to see Gong and Magic Bus supported by The Invisible Opera Company of Tibet (what a top evening that was), though arriving only shortly before the gig we had no time to explore the town. Today we arrived in plenty of time allowing us time for a good look around, what a lovely town, full of character, good pastries and cake.  After a lazy afternoon milling about it was off to unit 23 for the evenings entertainment. First up, Music of the Andys. If you've not heard the Music of the Andys you've been missing out, and if you have, then you'll understand our excitement at seeing them again was well placed. As has become their style, the 'Andys' gifted us a unique and entrancing set of psychedelic trance. 'Andience' is how the band describes their sound. Andy Roger, keyboard wizard and professor of synth-tastic sounds, looking studiously out from his nest of wires and gizmo’s, laid down a solid foundation of deeply layered hypnotic beats and spaced out sounds, creating a rich flowing sound-scape through which Andy Burrows deftly thread some wonderful noodled guitar, not just noodling, mind, Andy 'B' uses his guitar in a bewildering range of ways to create a plethora of mind melting sounds, and has a whale of a time doing so, by the look of it. Together the 'Andys' created a wonderful musical universe to become lost in, and the audience were loving it, shuffling throughout and showing their appreciation noisily at the end of each track.  We first saw Music of the Andys last year and they were good, though over the last year their sound has grown exponentially, deeper and more layered, producing a tight style which easily moves from the heavy trancey drone of tracks like the 'the Banger' to the more drifty meditative trance flavours of 'the Goose of Perception'. And, each time we've heard these tracks, they've evolved in some way from the last performance, each time they have slightly different aspects and qualities to them, 'Andience' is clearly fluid.  What a splendid start to proceeding, another stellar performance, bravo, Music of the Andys!

Music of the Andys have a couple of tracks available on Bandcamp, check them out; with any luck there'll be an album at some point. 

Misty Moor

Dartmoor touches me like no other landscape I know, in any season, in any weather, the magic is so tangible, the landscape crackles with energy.  There's just something about the place. Maybe it's primal aspects of the rugged landscape with its exposed moors, high tors and deeply wooded river valleys, often cloaked in mists. Maybe its that where ever you walk, you walk in the footsteps of the moors past inhabitants, like an archaeological onion the moor has layer upon layer of history. Low cloud and swirling mist, heavy with moisture, shrouded the Moor today, and as damp as that was, it couldn't dampen our spirits or our desire to explore. First to Merrivale, a complexed landscape of natural rocks and human activity and occupation, of isolated Bronze Age stones settings, rows, kists, circles and menhirs. Constructed during a very different climatic period of drier warmer days and clear sky nights, their current isolated setting in a deteriorating climate lends them an additional air of forlorn mystery. Then it was off to Wistman's Wood. Tucked into the side of the West Dart River valley, it's all that remains of a much more extensive woodland, remnant of our Atlantic rainforest. It's gnarled Oaks emerging from moss covered boulders have a fantasy air about them, home to mythical beasts and fairy folk. Below them the West Dart was in full flow, bubbling and splashing as it sought to escape the Moor.  Returning to the car we made our way across the Moor, stopping periodically to take in a site or a view, before our final stop at Hay Tor and its adjacent quarry.  We arrived at Hay Tor during a break in the clouds, bathed in warming sun, although by the time we reached the Tor the cloud had returned and with strong gusting winds which made any ascent of the Tor too treacherous to contemplate.  I love the Moor, I feel so connected to it, I felt it my first time there and that feeling has only grown over the years of visits and camps.