Iam out and about on Dartmoor. Again. Lol

Walked around Burritor reservoir and then drove to Princetown. Dartmoor. Pics of Dartmoor Prison. Two bridges pub. A phone box the kray twins met Frank Mitchell at after his escape from Dartmoor jail in 1966. Now sat eating a lemon slice and enjoy the view at dusk. Its peaceful and beautiful.

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FreddieUK · 70-79, M

A beautiful part of the world. In the past I had occasion to visit the prison from time to time. It was a lovely day out for me, because I was going to go home afterwards and they had one of the better visitor centres of the various prisons I visited. (For clarity not as an official Prison Visitor).

I wonder what will happen to Princetown now that the prison has closed. As far as I could make out that was the only source of employment actually in the village. I have an excellent video of the railway that used to run across from Yelverton. I can't help it would've made an excellent tourist attraction, although the conditions in the winter would probably have made it far too costly to run.

Great photos.

Perry1968 · M

@FreddieUK Wow. Cool story about the railway. I cant remember it but its a walk/cycle track now. Its a shame it would have made an attraction for sure. But i guess the 50s and 60s when people started jet setting off abroad it gave less reason to have one. Although im sure they still do well. Im glad you like the photos. I just find it tranquil in most parts of it. And as for the Jail id guess most if all but a very few residents of Princetown work elsewhere now.

SunshineGirl · 36-40, F

@FreddieUK Dartmoor is/was run as part the prison estate in Devon with a young offenders institute near Newton Abbot and a regular prison in Exeter. It is not a nice place, even before the closure for radon gas. They've always had difficulty retaining prison officers there. My dad often used to run into work parties of prisoners when he was training on MOD land.

FreddieUK · 70-79, M

@SunshineGirl I wouldn’t have wanted to be inside or working there. It was just nice for a day out. I was always disappointed to have been visiting a serial recidivist. 🙁 Sadly, no one else did.