ABOUT THE DARTMOOR ARTISAN TRAIL
Suzy Bennett photographs Dartmoor printmaker Anita Reynolds sketching at Great Staple Tor.
Blacksmiths and beekeepers, potters and painters, woodturners and weavers - Dartmoor National Park, in Devon, has one of the most diverse and talented artisan communities in the UK.
The Dartmoor Artisan Trail is a self-guided art, craft and food trail that links the moor's finest artist and craftspeople, giving the public the chance to glimpse behind the workshop walls and try their hand at traditional skills.
The trail was set up and photographed by Suzy Bennett, a travel writer and photographer based in the Dartmoor village of North Bovey.
Suzy's project started life as a photography exhibition of portraits of local artisans, but soon evolved into a Dartmoor-wide trail that gives the public the chance to see age-old skills in action.
The project was featured on the BBC's Countryfile and won 'UK's Best New Tourism Project', awarded by the British Guild of Travel Writers. It has also been widely acclaimed in the national press, with features in The Guardian Travel, Lonely Planet Magazine and The Daily Telegraph, who named it one of the UK's best travel experiences. Locally, it has been featured in Devon Life, as a centre-spread in The Moorlander and a 14-page photo spread in Manor Magazine.
“This project is a celebration of Dartmoor’s rich creative heritage. There is a resurgence of interest in traditional skills and crafts across the UK, and Dartmoor is one of the creative hubs of this new energy. In a world of mass production, it’s wonderful to see that things are still being made by hand, with passion, honesty and integrity.
We are increasingly looking for products that last and have a story. On this trail, people can see exactly where - and by whom - Dartmoor’s products are made.”