Memories- The Moorland Hunt Part 1

A long time ago, we were up on Dartmoor. We left the car behind and started our hike. We were out looking for a cuckoo. I kept on ploughing through gorse, still headed up. Once I found a nice spot, I laid down a blanket and had some lunch. A cuckoo was calling from down below so I decided to head down as soon as I had finished.

Once I had finished, I took a different path down so I did not have to go through gorse. Once I made it to the road, I carried on down it until I came to a gate.

 I went through and there was a slope down to a path in some trees. I carried on down it and the cuckoo was quite loud. There was obviously an individual around somewhere. The path led to a reservoir. It turned out the reservoir was called Venford. A beautiful lake loomed out in front of us, surrounded by lush green trees. A daunting stone dam stuck out at the far end, creating this oasis in the centre of rough Dartmoor.

 I started walking around it, looking out at the view. I can clearly remember hearing a strange sound about halfway round. I looked up at the tree where the call had come from and then I heard it again. This time I managed to spot him. Mostly grey with a black crown. It turned out to be a blackcap. This was my first positive sighting of a blackcap.

Sadly, there was no sign of the cuckoo yet and he’d gone quiet. I carried on, still hopeful but sadly, I reached the end of the path with no sight of the cuckoo.

I went through the gate, strolled down the road and went up and across a bridge that led me back to the car park.