Walk: Field System presents Black Dogs and Wisht Hounds around Hound Tor with storyteller Helen Bruce
Saturday 2nd May, 11:00 – 14:00, Hound Tor
Join folklorist Helen JR Bruce for a guided walk through a Dartmoor landscape of legend. Taking in Hound Tor, the ruined medieval village and nearby Bowerman’s Nose, Helen will be exploring Black Dog folklore in some of the places which inspired the tales. You will leave this walk with a deeper knowledge of the legendary Dartmoor hounds in the context of their kin in folklore across the country.
From its origins in the pagan Wild Hunt, through Christian-influenced retellings of Hellhounds, through to modern interpretations as omens and spirit guides, the idea of Black Shuck or the Black Dog is a powerful one. The folkloric ancestry of the dog is tangled with humans as far back as 12,000 years, with black dogs becoming a powerful archetype that, across many cultures and mythic systems, is believed to be able to cross between worlds. And on Dartmoor, black dogs not only accompany Dewer, Old Crockern and the Dark Huntsman, they are also a form that cursed human souls can take.
Helen JR Bruce is a folklorist and storyteller who has researched Black Dog folklore for almost 20 years. She has published two books so far in her Heat of the Hunt trilogy, set in Dartmoor and inspired by the local folklore, and often speaks at events and tells stories at festivals. The collision of ancient tales and modern life fascinates her and she believes that storytelling has immense power as a catalyst for positive change.
TICKETS £14.30 BOOK HERE: KEY INFORMATION BELOW
Photos: Helen Bruce by Glavind Strachan
Meeting Place: the main Hound Tor car par at Swallerton Gate: TQ13 9XQ. OS grid ref: SX 73986 79325 Google pin: https://maps.app.goo.gl/GXpAzaDu6ZWQ8KvDA
What3Words: specifies.going.jetting
Time: 11:00. Please arrive 15 minutes before the start, the walk will start promptly at 11:00
Length: 5.75km
Terrain: This walk is mostly on moorland paths and includes a sustained climb up to Bowerman’s Nose, plus a gentler slope and some rocky terrain near Hound Tor.
Suitable for children 12 and upwards with an accompanying adult