Something about ravens – and me.

Dartmoor. August, 22nd. 2020.

Hi, I am Melanie; a Dartmoor wayfarer.

The idea of creating a blog, is to connect with kindred spirits through the medium of my writing and my photography.. .

Occasionally, I walk with a group called, ‘The Beanies’ – wherein my prefix name is ‘Raven’ Bean, because I get excited whenever I see – or hear Corvus corax, the Common Raven; the Raven is my spiritual bird.  It is always such a thrill to encounter one of these elusive, intelligent birds——or even to find without looking, a black feather.  After several years walking in Dartmoor’s wilderness —— I have gathered quite a collection of Corvus corax ‘calling cards’. I keep them as mementos in a pot beside my computer——like writing quills —— where they quietly evoke thoughts and memories of my walks and experiences out on the Moor. . .

Getting a-weathering at Lints Tor (left) —— and The Thurlestone at Watern Tor (right) 2021.

My photographs can be enlarged by simply clicking on them. . .

Raven on Bleak House chimney stack

Raven atop Oke Tor - Dartmoor

Huginn and Muninn fly over Great Staple Tor - Dartmoor

The Ancient Raven Stone – Dartmoor.

"Cronk Cronk" Raven in Burrator Wood

“Cronk Cronk” – Raven in Burrator Wood

Raven in Ravens' Haven - Dartmoor.

Raven in Ravens’ Haven – Dartmoor.  2nd. May 2017

The Internet is infinitely more vast than Dartmoor – so by whatever miracle – or link you have stumbled upon, that has brought you here —— I hope you enjoy Something About Dartmoor

longleat-raven-in-the-long-grass-something-about-dartmoor


And Something About The Brontë Sisters too. . .

Seated at home, at my computer, where I do most of my Brontë research; shedding light on the true ‘lost’ portrait of Emily Brontë. 

EmilyBronte inside Fur Tor

In some shape, form or other, I carry this small portrait with me on all my walks nowadays; it’s impossible for me to forget her. A facsimile of the true ‘lost’ portrait of Emily Brontë inside Dartmoor’s remotest Tor. 

The Real Deal.

15 thoughts on “Something about ravens – and me.

  1. What a beautiful , unique blog~ am I able to receive your posts if I ticked the box which says notify me of new posts? Would love to subscribe to your blog. Thank you.

    • Hello and Thank you! Yes – just tick the boxes to subscribe. Your lovely comment had gone into spam – unfortunately others get lost in there but I’m very pleased that I recovered yours. Welcome to Something about Dartmoor!

  2. Hi there, I love the blog and will found the piece about Hawthorns very interesting. Me & Emma love to walk on the moor and come across those lone stragglers, clinging to the windswept hillsides like the last of the Sunday morning drunks staggering home! I always wondered why the odd tree defies the weather and soil when all others fail, and never realised there was a possible connection with ley lines and energy. So thanks and I will bookmark your blog to return again and again.

    • So pleased to know that you both enjoy my Dartmoor blog – we pass your place quite often on our way back home after our walks…we might just stop by and say hello and maybe order some chips etc!!!

  3. Thank you Melanie,
    I grew up in Devon and around Dartmoor in the 60’s and 70’s but I set off on a wonderful adventure that has taken me to far flung corners of the world. Now 40 years later I feel a longing to be back on Dartmoor. I can’t explain why that is.
    Tonight I’m sitting in what many would regard as a tropical paradise and yet I somehow yearn for the powerful energy of Dartmoor.
    Quite how I found your blog and why I sent you a message I can’t explain. Perhaps just to feel a connection somehow with the place from which I came. Next time you gaze out over that magical landscape please pause for a moment and realise how blessed you are to be there. Best wishes and thanks for your words and pictures.

    • Hello Peter – and Welcome. I’m a child of the sixties and seventies too – we have that in common as well as a love of the same magical landscape – Dartmoor. My most recent posts have been a bit off topic – about my obsession with the Art of the Brontes – but your message today has reminded me to get back up on the Moor again – as if a calling. I may just go tomorrow if the weather looks okay-ish…so watch this space! Thanks for the timely prompt. X

    • So beautifully put, “Truly magical beings in plain sight of the modern world…” you are poetry to my ears on this lockdown Sunday morning, dear EmilyInGondal! X

      Fellow Raven-lover, next time you visit – check-out these Raven related posts about Shed Hunting titled ‘Gateway to Legends’ and ‘Quest’.

  4. What a treat to read this blog post and see your wonderful photographs; how amazing it must be to see ravens on the wild heights of Dartmoor! They seem like such timeless birds to me – we live in Cornwall and often walk in Idless Woods, where there’s an Iron-Age hill fort (round as a raven’s eye from the air) and I once saw a pair of ravens flying overhead, looking totally at home and timeless…I hope you have many more encounters with them!

    • A Happy ‘Cronking’ New Year Ellie!!!

      How timeful to receive your wonderful comments TODAY on the 2nd day of 2022! – and from Kernow too, the land of my birth! Thank you very much – or in Raven speak ‘Cronk Cronk’!

    • Dear Claire,

      thank you so much for your wonderful compliment.
      I don’t want to disappoint you BUT I’m really much too retiring to do a podcast – and besides, my blog and Instagram is quite enough; as it is I struggle to keep up with both. Just about to check my Instagram messages…X

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