Any outing planned for Dartmoor is almost certain to be a
wonderful experience and this one was no exception. We thank Ian
Campbell for organising our ringing in two lovely churches, which
both had wonderful settings in vastly different rural scenes, and
at a novelty simulator ring.
Brentor – where we rang before a wedding, is completely exposed to
the weather and seemingly one of the most unlikely locations for a
place of regular worship, even today when transport from the
distant community is made easier by car ownership. Climbing the
Tor on foot is just as hard as it was centuries ago when the
church was first built. One of the rewards for anyone making the
effort is a panoramic view taking in west Dartmoor - to the east,
south - as far as Plymouth, west – over the Tamar valley into
Cornwall and north – probably as far as Exmoor, which we would
have seen had it not been for the distant low clouds and rain.
Needless to say, we were fortunate that the rain had missed us,
making our climb and descent of the Tor safer than it may
otherwise have been. Unfortunately the tenor rope broke at the
start of the rise but it was quickly spliced and replaced in time
for us to have a short ring before the pre-wedding ringing began.
It appears that the way the ladies attend a wedding at Brentor is
to climb the tor in wellies, and then change into their smart
shoes at the top!
Sampford Spiney – where we rang immediately after a wedding, is a
completely unspoilt Dartmoor settlement, complete with a Manor
House and farm. The only changes from past times are that the
village school is no longer functional and the school buildings
have been converted into accommodation. The presence of alpacas in
the field adjoining the church was a charming, if unusual, sight
on Dartmoor. Oh, another change, of course, was the recently
restored bells, which were not only excellent to ring, but sounded
just as lovely too. How do you create a set of bells with a sound
that matches both the size of the church and the setting in which
the bells ring? I don’t know, but plainly someone does. Comments
to the editor please!
The group outside Sampford Spiney church
After some excellent ringing at Sampford Spiney we were guests of
Mischa Thompson in Okehampton, where her late husband Denis
created a ring which handles like real bells, but where all the
sound is generated by a ringing simulator. There are no actual
bells involved! She treated us to tea and, later, drinks and
pasties while we rang an assortment of methods. The highlights
were probably a course of Bristol Major with the six ringers
ringing the front six and the computer ringing the seventh and
tenor, and a chorus of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” rung full
circle on the bells. This certainly tested bell control to the
limit. We would all like to thank Mischa again for her kind
hospitality, which rounded off a very enjoyable day, and look
forward to returning, perhaps after they have been made into an
eight, which is planned for later this year.
(L) Bristol Major with six ringers; (R) The group at the Denmisch ring
Ken Vingoe
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