FEELING MOORISH

Dramatic gorges, devilish goings-on and merciless justice are the spooky backdrop for an autumn trip to the moors, Susan Taylor discovers

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When your booking confirmation tells you to “drive in between the big red shoes and watch out for the griffin”, you start to wonder if you’re going to the right place. Then, when booking your table for dinner, you are given the option of the ‘Witchy Corner’ or ‘The Bellows’, so you check the date to make sure you're not visiting during Halloween!

Mermaids and minotaurs

The Highwayman Inn in Sourton, Devon, is probably the quirkiest pub and camping spot I have ever visited, and I've stayed in a lot of places over the years. Originally a 13th-century coaching inn, these days, the inn is a local landmark, with the eye-catching entrance representing the old Launceston to Tavistock coach, and inside, a recumbent mermaid, a white-robed skeleton and a grotto housing a 6ft - high minotaur, among others. Add a couple of resident ghosts and you can see how the place got its wacky reputation.

We stayed here last autumn as part of a holiday to the southwest, primarily to catch up with some good friends who have moved to the Devon coast.

The menu is simple pub grub, with plenty of vegan options. For us, that meant fish and chips all round, and a large side order of chatting and laughter.

The next morning, after a cooked breakfast, Ro and I headed out to nearby Lydford Gorge. Owned by the National Trust, Lydford is a deep river gorge, hidden from the outside world by lush woodlands that give it an eerie, Jurassic feel.

The ghostly gorge

The White Lady waterfall and the Devil’s Cauldron whirlpool add to the surreal, otherworldly atmosphere and once again, I was glad we weren’t here at Halloween, or who knows what we might have encountered?