Vale of the Wisht-man

“To the artist is sometimes granted a sudden, transient insight which serves in this matter for experience. A flash, and where previously the brain held a dead fact, the soul grasps a living truth! At moments we are all artists.”

Arnold Bennett (British novelist, playwright, critic, and essayist, 1867-1931)


Late evening transient light catches the clouds above the West Dart river.

The stunted and ancient high-moorland oaks, rowan, holly ,and willow trees that grow amongst the granite boulders of Wistman’s Wood are seen on the east side of the river.

It lies at an altitude of between 380–420 metres in the valley of the West Dart River near Two Bridges, at grid reference SX613770.

The wood been a Site of Special Scientific Interest since 1964, and is an Nature Conservation Review site.

It is quite probable that the name derives from Wisht-man's wood, the vernacular word wisht meaning eerie or haunted.

In Devon, the Wild Hunt is said to be that of hellhounds chasing sinners, the unbaptized or those lost on the moors after dark. The dogs in the Devonshire dialect are known as Wisht Hounds.

This legendary hunt is particularly associated with Wistman's Wood and tales speak of the end of the hunt being at the Dewerstone where they unfortunate souls are driven off the top of the rock into the raging waters of the River Plym below. The Dewer is the Devonshire name for the Devil himself.

Pentax K-x
Pentax 18-55mm SMC/ DAL lens
Hoya circular polarizer
Hand-held

Aperture = f/8

ISO = 200

HDR from 3 RAW files (at -1.5,0.5, + 2.5ev ) using Photomatix Pro 3.26. Finished in Adobe Photoshop 6.0