Wistman's Wood
Located about twenty minutes walk from the road at Two Bridges on Dartmoor is the mysterious and picturesque Wistman's Wood; three small groves of dwarf oaks growing through a clatter of tumbled granite rocks. Stunted by the wind and thick with moss, clinging to a steep slope overlooking the West Dart, the trees have survived all nature's challenges, including a fire in 1886, and now form an important microhabitat for wildlife. As a rare example of the ancient high-level woodlands of Dartmoor, it is a site of special scientific interest.
The origins of the wood's name are shrouded in mystery, some saying it comes from the Celtic uisg maen coed (or 'stony wood by the river') and some that it derives from the Saxon word wealas, meaning 'foreigners' - so 'Wealasman's Wood' would be the wood of the Celts. A third alternative is that the wood was a popular sanctuary for Druids and so the name means 'Wise Man's Wood'. |