Baskerville country, Dartmoor, Devon Countryfile. Over the green squares of the fields and the low curve of a wood there rose in the distancea grey, melancholy hill, with a strange jagged summit, dim and vague in the distance, like some fantastic landscape in a dream. Sir Arthur Conan Doyles description of Dartmoor has captured imaginations for more than 1. Compelled by his friend Bertram Fletcher Robinsons tales of monstrous characters, escaped convicts, demonic hounds and desperate inheritance battles, the author visited Dartmoor in 1. It is said he walked 1. When he finally penned The Hound of the Baskervilles from the Duchy Hotel in Princetown, now the Highland Moorland Visitor Centre, he wove the real people, places and legends of Dartmoor into a tale so gripping it would become his most famous and celebrated work. Luckily for Baskerville fans, the chilling action unfolds within a patch of Dartmoor some 6 miles across. Putting together your own tour of the locations that inspired Lafter Hall, Merripit House, the jagged peak on which Holmes hides out and the great Grimpen Mire requires but a little detective work and a sense of adventure. The great Grimpen Mire. Fox Tor Mire, a vast shallow amphitheatre scarred with abandoned tin mines, is the only contender for Grimpen Mire. As treacherous in real life as it is in fiction, I joined a guided walk with David Brookes, who plays Sherlock Holmes in the Baskerville Dining Experience. Title Length Color Rating Hound Of The Baskervilles Hound Of The Baskervilles Setting About 188485, most of story takes place at Baskerville. The mysterious death of Sir Charles Baskerville is blamed on a longstanding curse that has followed the Baskerville family for two hundred years. The glorious weather was unlike anything Id seen before on Dartmoor and it was hard to conjure the grim mist hugged quagmire on which Conan Doyles thriller unfolds. Yet even in the sun, the mire had an eerie quality the tufts of grass strangely pale against a bold and cloudless sky. Patches of moss and still pools hint at the true nature of the mire, which in the book swallows ponies whole and in real life is notorious with walkers. A false step yonder means death to man or beast, the fictional Stapleton had warned. David, our guide, is under no illusions Keep to the tufts, he warned as I gingerly stepped in his footprints, and if you get worried at any time just shout and well stop. I was more than a little unnerved. Our steps alternated from springy peat to deep spongy moss that began to pull us under, as Watson said as if some malignant hand was tugging us down into those obscene depths. Legendary Dartmoor. Once safely across, we came to a lichen covered granite cross. David tells me that the cross commemorates Childe the Hunter, an 1. Saxon earl who became stranded by a blizzard. In an attempt to stay alive, he disembowelled his pony and crawled inside, scrawling a message in blood to say that whoever buried his body in hallowed ground could claim his estate. He then froze to death on this spot. As we walk, David recounts more Dartmoor legends, including a tale about Squire Richard Cabell, a monstrously evil man who lived in Brook Manor, north of Buckfastleigh, in the 1. The squire would gallop across Dartmoor accompanied by hounds the size of ponies. When he died, the villagers buried him in Holy Trinity Church in Buckfastleigh, but that night a phantom, fire breathing pack of dogs came baying across the moor to howl at his tomb. To silence his restless spirit, the villagers built a thick granite mausoleum around Cabells grave where, for now, he waits. Bellever Tor. Noting the likely location of Lafter Hall Laughter Hole House, David believes that the jaggedpinnacle of granite on which Watson spots the mysterious moonlit silhouette of Holmes can only be Bellever Tor. As the sun lowers in the sky, we scramble to the summit and survey Baskerville Country. To the south west lies Princetown, where the author wrote under the brooding shadow ofthe prison. From a general summary to chapter summaries to explanations of famous quotes, the SparkNotes Hound of the Baskervilles Study Guide has everything you need to ace. Dartmoor the place, people and legends provided the inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyles classic, The Hound of the Baskervilles. Read online or download for free graded reader ebook and audiobook The Hound of the Baskervilles by Conan Doyle of elementary level you can download in epub, mobi. The Hounds of Baskerville is the second episode of the series two of the TV show, Sherlock. It. Further still lies the vast mire and all around the desolate, lifeless moorthat captivated Conan Doyle stretches to the horizon. The longer one stays here, Watson had written to Holmes, the more does the spirit of the moor sink into ones soul, its vastness, and also its grim charm. Sitting on the very spot Conan Doyle forged his tale more than a century ago, I cant help but agree. HOW TO GET THEREThe walk on Fox Tor Mire starts at Whiteworks Tin Mine, 2 miles south east of Princetown. MORE INFOThe Baskerville Experience. Laughter Hole House, Postbridge, Dartmoor PL2. TTbaskerville experience. Baskerville A Sherlock Holmes Mystery. Sat 9 Dec to Sat. PLAYHOUSE. 3010. An evening full of high drama and Victorian cuisine, starting with a guided tour across Grimpen Mire, followed by dinner with Sherlock Holmes. STAYLower Willsworthy Cottagewww. Guests at this refurbished three bedroom cottage,7 miles north of Tavistock, have the run of the owners 4. National Park. A large, well equipped kitchen, lounge with woodburner and beautifully decorated bedrooms ensure a relaxing stay. EATLords CafTavistock Road, Princetown PL2. QElordscafeprincetown. Warm up after a walk with the cafs famous cream teas. Play All The Games You Love. Copyright Game. House 2.