Many and varied excuses for going out for tea on Dartmoor...

One of the (many) great things about being editor of Dartmoor Magazine is that I have a valid excuse to visit our many wonderful tearooms and cafes in the course of my work: checking out new establishments for the News pages, a refreshment stop for a Walk & Eat feature, or through one of the many meetings I have with contributors throughout the year to talk about future features for the magazine.

So it was that last weekend I took a trip to Belstone to a) go for a quick scamper on the moor and visit Nine Maidens stone circle (seen on the Contents page of the winter issue on a much prettier day!) and visit the newly opened Old School Tearoom behind the Methodist Chapel. Cosy, friendly, relaxed, with space for dumped rucksacks, comfy sofas and a welcoming wood burner – and pretty good lemon drizzle cake to boot. Good luck to Marion and her team (and thank you for joining the ranks of Dartmoor Magazine sales outlets).

Nine Maidens on a dull January day

Another fairly recent new sales outlet is the Dartmoor Bakery at Leg o’ Mutton Corner, Yelverton, owned and run by Avis Jones and her daughters Sorrel and Autumn. I went there last week for a meeting with Lisa Jenkins of Dartmoor Accommodation. Another wonderful place for coffee (supplied by Voyager Coffee of Buckfastleigh, featured in the winter issue, and quite delicious!). The bakery is brilliantly situated just on the edge of Roborough Down (and will be featured in this autumn’s magazine: I did a Walk & Eat route from there last year). Very well worth a visit.

Dartmoor Magazine beautifully displayed at Dartmoor Bakery!

And thinking of other teas I have enjoyed recently (there seems to have been a bit of a run)… in November last year, as covered in an earlier blog, we held Dartmoor Magazine’s 30th birthday cream tea party at The White Hart in Moretonhampstead: a lovely occasion with scones and cream and jam to die for! Soon after my brother David and I were treated to a very smart afternoon tea at Bovey Castle (for which thank you very much), complete with a glass of champagne in front of a blazing fire…

… closely followed (for me) by afternoon tea in the Library at Hotel Endsleigh, helping a colleague who is writing a ‘doggy’ Dartmoor blog. It was a marvellous affair where you are invited to help yourself to a fantastic range of tempting homemade items (we both found it difficult to stop eating!).

And if that wasn’t enough, in December I had an author meeting with Nick Baker at The Old Forge in Chagford, recent winner of the Afternoon Cream Tea Experience Challenge (as reported in the winter issue), where we enjoyed a cream tea. And it was indeed fantastic…

So – it’s clear that the life of a magazine editor is not all about editing and writing and reading proofs!