Bellever, Dartmoor

Bellever is another one of my chosen places to photograph. I have chosen Bellever as I have never been before but I have seen photos of Bellever and it looks like a nice quiet hamlet which has a lot of good history behind it.

Bellever

Bellever is a hamlet in Dartmoor. It is located east of the River Dart about 1 mile south of Postbridge. The first record of anyone staying or living at Bellever was in 1355, which was recorded by Duchy of Cornwall. The record by Duchy gives the name of a farm called Welford. The name Welford means 'the mine by the ford'.

Until after World War II the hamlet consisted of Bellever Farm and its outbuildings, with a few cottages for farm workers. Bellever Farm was owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. The farm gained a reputation for the introduction of Galloway and Aberdeen Angus cattle onto Dartmoor, however, in 1930 the Forestry Commision bought the farm and began a large planting scheme. Houses were built in the 1950's to house the forestry workers. The conifers that were planted in 1930 known now as Bellever Forest surrounds the hamlet on its north, west and south sides.

In 1934 some of the barns of Bellever Farm were rented out Youth Hostel Association and to this day form the oldest, still functional youth hostels in Devon.

Since 2011 Bellever has run a bus service through the hamlet. The bus runs between Yelverton, Princetown, Postbridge and Tavistock. During the summer the Forestry Commission run a small visitor centre east of the River Dart.