We were nearing the end of the road across Dartmoor and it was definitely time for refreshments. This was handy, as I wanted to stop anyway… and we could not leave Devon without at least one cream tea, even if we were only passing through and it was only mid-afternoon. Luckily, I knew just the place. Not only would there be scones with jam, cream and a nice pot of tea, but there just happened to be a couple of things I wanted to photograph.

Postbridge is situated where the road across Dartmoor crosses the East Dart River. The water flows dark and golden from the moor where it rises near Whitehorse Hill, tumbling over boulders or smooth as silk in quiet pools. Not all is as tranquil as it seems, though, for it is here that you are most likely to encounter the ghostly Hairy Hands grabbing your wheel as you drive across the moor.

Image: Fiona Avis, Geograph.org

Not far away too, there is the tragic grave of Kitty Jay, a pregnant mother rejected by her lover around three hundred years ago. In despair, she took her own life and was buried at the crossroads. This was the custom for suicides, so that their ghost would be confused, unable to find their way home and thus unable to trouble the living. Every morning there are fresh flowers to be found on her grave, though no-one knows who puts them there. Locals say it is the piskies…

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