We hosted our members festive lunch at the Ilsington Country House Hotel, near Newton Abbot. This has been our venue of choice for a numbers of years, as it boasts an impressive menu and looks out over the wild landscape of Dartmoor. The hotel has been owned and run by the Hassell family since 1998 and we are particularly pleased to support local businesses in our community.
Despite the stormy weather, we were joined by forty of our members for a three course meal, raffle and quiz. Each of the tables was named after one of our land holdings or important project areas: Pudsham Meadows, Sharpitor, Swincombe, High House Waste and Huccaby Rings. The hotel experienced a power cut just before starters were due to be served, but staff rallied round to produce an impressive, and delicious, alternative menu. Our tables were lit by candlelight, which added delightfully to the festive atmosphere.
DPA Chairman, John Howell, treated us to his Chairman’s Christmas Quiz, which featured questions about Dartmoor and the history of the Dartmoor Preservation Association. Questions included: What is location is the lowest point in altitude in Dartmoor? Where are the ‘White Lady’ and ‘Devil’s Cauldron’ to be found? Where would you find Prince Albert, WM Stone, Old Jack, Victoria, Prince of Wales? Who is the Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar, with many Dartmoor Connections, who lived at Lew Trenchard died 2 January 1924, aged 89 years?
We had an outstanding festive raffle, with a selection of brilliant prizes donated by local Dartmoor businesses. Ticket sales raised £125 for the DPA, and our members benefitted from high quality and unique prizes. We had clothing, wine, books, essential oils, guided walk vouchers and more. We would love to thank all of our generous donors who supplied prizes for the festive raffle: Lisa Schneidau, Moors Wood, CoWorking Devon, Kobashi Pure Essential Oils, Dewerstone, Helen JR Bruce, Roots Activism, Sandridge Barton Wines, Dartmoor Walking Tours, Moors and More Tours and Tom Dauben.
Our annual festive lunch is a wonderful opportunity to catch up with our members face to face, share some of our campaigning highlights from the last year and enjoy the company of like-minded people who care deeply about the special landscape of Dartmoor. We were privileged to have guests travel from near and far this year, with some of our members travelling across the country to join us. We are extremely grateful for the ongoing support of our members and wish them a joyous festive season and a happy new year.