2023-10-22 08:44:21
Dartmoor. The word is the epitome of the uncanny. It stands for wafts of mist over the high moors, a notorious prison and the most famous of all Sherlock Holmes stories: “The Hound of the Baskervilles”.
In the novel, the London detective and his sidekick Dr. Watson solve a mysterious death: Sir Charles Baskerville was found with a look of utter horror on his face – with the footprints of a gigantic dog close by.
To research the material, Sherlock Holmes inventor Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) took a trip to the lonely primeval landscape in England’s southwest in 1901. One of his main informants was the local vicar and Dartmoor expert Robert Duins Cooke.
Alex Graeme stands next to the grave of Robert Duins Cooke. He was his great-grandfather and advised Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1901 on his research for The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Source: dpa-tmn/Christoph Driessen
His great-grandson Alex Graeme specializes in taking tourists to the places where the world-famous crime novel was created. For anyone brave enough to do it, it’s the ultimate Halloween adventure. Nice chill guaranteed.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle roamed Dartmoor on foot
The beginning is quite harmless: Alex comes to the hotel in his car, which makes the tour a lot easier than it was during Doyle’s time, who had to roam mostly on foot through the inaccessible heathland.
Alex is the ideal guide: excellent with the material, but never tiring and with a great English sense of humor. His eight-hour “The Hound of the Baskervilles Tour”, which is not offered by anyone else, has now given him some notoriety in Great Britain.
“Henry Baskerville” is written on the weathered gravestone in Ashburton cemetery, one of the first stops on the tour. A character from the book? Not quite. Doyle simply borrowed the illustrious name from the coachman Henry Baskerville, who drove him around Dartmoor at the time.
There really was a Henry Baskerville, as his grave in Ashburton cemetery shows
Source: dpa-tmn/Christoph Driessen
Baskerville led a quiet life and died peacefully in bed in 1962 at the age of 81 – and not hunted to death by a calf-sized phosphorescent hellhound.
Wild ponies warm themselves on cars
The day is milky, cloudy, like so many here. Occasionally threatening skies seem to herald a storm, but each time it remains just a few drops.
Wild ponies grazing on Dartmoor
Quelle: Getty Images/500px/Bruce Alexander
The landscape is dominated by brown and green tones, sometimes enlivened by wild Dartmoor ponies. The animals sometimes seek proximity to parked cars to warm themselves up. Landmarks on the horizon are the dramatic towering “tors”, unreal rock formations. They look like giant building blocks that have been stacked up and some of which have collapsed again.
Like giant building blocks stacked up and some of them collapsed again: “Tor” is the name given to the rock formation typical of Dartmoor
Source: dpa-tmn/Christoph Driessen
“I advise you not to cross the moor in those dark hours when the forces of evil are at work,” says Doyle’s novel. It’s still the middle of the day now, but deep black clouds have gathered in the sky.
A particularly bleak sight is that of Prison Dartmoor. The prison was built in 1806 for French prisoners of war who had previously been interned on dismantled ships. The gray granite boxes are still in operation as a prison today. In “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” an escaped convict creates additional tension.
A scene to scare: In 1992, someone started a fire and most of the Holy Trinity Church in Buckfastleigh burned down
Source: dpa-tmn/Christoph Driessen
The site most closely associated with the Sherlock Holmes story is the ruins of Holy Trinity Church on the edge of the village of Buckfastleigh, which stands alone among leaning tombstones. In 1992 it burned down – someone had set a fire.
Sold the soul to the devil
The arson may have been related to cults of black magic and Satanism, which are said to have been practiced in the lonely walls. The fact that the building attracted such people had to do with the massive burial chamber, which stands undamaged next to the church.
Here rests the landowner Richard Cabell III, nicknamed “Dirty Dick”, who was feared as particularly cruel during his lifetime and who was said to have sold his soul to the devil. Since his death in 1677, the passionate huntsman has been said to hunt across the moor with his dogs as a phantom on stormy nights.
A landscape made for myths: view over the Dartmoor area
Source: dpa-tmn/Torsten Velden
Doyle placed this very legend at the center of his detective story: In his case, it is an evil Baskerville from the 17th century who stalks young women on the moor at night until he is finally chased to death by a dog.
Alex reports that the local population was so afraid of Cabell’s ghost that they placed his coffin in the massive grave house behind thick walls, iron bars and, on top of that, under a massive stone slab.
More holiday tips for England:
According to an old tradition, if you walk around the burial chamber seven times and then put your hand through the iron bars, Cabell or even the devil himself will bite your fingers. It is noteworthy that there are several signs saying “Dogs prohibited” on the overgrown area. Does this ultimately refer to the ghost dog?
Suddenly a moment of shudder
From the ruins we now go into the swamps of Fox Tor Mires. This gloomy area is said to have been Doyle’s model for the fictional moor Grimpen Mire, the particularly isolated region where the dog is up to mischief.
And that’s exactly where it happens: right on the road, on a hilltop, a giant pitch-black beast suddenly stands and blocks Alex’s car’s path. The shock sinks into your bones. Only upon second inspection does it become clear that it is a large piece of cattle.
Alex slowly drives away again and the horned ruminant disappears behind the hill. When the car reaches the hill, nothing can be seen – the animal seems to have disappeared. All you can hear is the whistling wind.
The moss-covered oak forest Wistman’s Wood appears enchanted
Quelle: Getty Images/Martin Ruegner
After this horror, it’s high time for something tranquil and calming. The cozy hotel restaurant „Two Bridges“ Not far from the moss-covered oak forest Wistman’s Wood, which is on the program, seems ideal. But – you could have guessed – it is haunted there too. The “Wisht Hounds”, bloodthirsty dogs with burning red eyes, are perishing.
However, in the rustic pub, where many hikers strengthen themselves and rest, a fireplace crackles comfortably. Everything seems fine. Now first have a hot cream tea and scones with jam. Splendid. And the ghosts? They have to stay outside. And one hopes that they stick to it.
Dartmoor is located in the English county of Devon
Source: Infographic WELT
Further information about the tour:
Getting there: Many German tourists come with their own car. The journey from London takes around four hours. The only non-stop flight connection to the region in the summer months is from Düsseldorf to Newquay on the north coast of Cornwall. You can rent a car at Newquay Airport, and from there it takes about an hour to get to Dartmoor.
Entry: German holidaymakers have needed a passport since Brexit. The ID card is not enough.
Tour: The eight-hour The Hound of Baskervilles Tour with Alex Graeme isn’t cheap. It costs 450 pounds (around 500 euros) for a couple, 595 pounds (almost 690 euros) for a group of six people, uniquedevontours.com/index.php/days-out-devon/day-tours/hound-baskervilles-tour.
Additional Information: visitbritain.com/de
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