Discover Top Posts Tagged with #devonengland

Drink, Wild Elderflower Bubbly, by Luscombe, Devon England. #elderberry #drink #selzer #england #devonengland https://www.instagram.com/p/CMYeiOlLe2I/?igshid=klu8ge9idg6q

#elderberry #drink #selzer #england #devonengland

Thanks for the kind words! ★★★★★ "This print is absolutely stunning - the postage was so quick and it will look amazing once I frame it!" Amalia #etsy #devonengland #devonmap #devonshire #vintagedevon #olddevon #plymouth #exmoor #tavistock #torq https://etsy.me/3kppuWA https://www.instagram.com/p/CLuGdUxJWp7/?igshid=m663uqy76w8n

#etsy #devonengland #devonmap #devonshire #vintagedevon #olddevon #plymouth #exmoor #tavistock #torq

Landram Bay Holiday Park by the sea in Devon, England is a great family-friendly vacation that you'll never forget. You can stay at the lodge but you should really consider renting a caravan or holiday home.

#devonengland #landrambayholidaypark #england #familyvacation #getaway #placestosee #wherewillyougo #seetheworld #vacation #travel #youdeserveavacation

‘The Essence of Dartmoor’. I’m doing a 3 day workshop 15th/16th/17th May with Juliette Mills @juliettemills2014 on Dartmoor National Park, a vast moorland in the county of Devon, in southwest England. Steven Spielberg after he completed his weeks of filming said “I have never before in my long and eclectic career been gifted with such an abundance of natural beauty as I experienced filming War Horse on Dartmoor.” The workshop will be based at Ford Park, Juliett’s beautiful Home on the edge of Dartmoor. For more details please see JulietteMills on Facebook and on Instagram. #dartmoor #dartmoornationalpark #devonengland #dartmoorponies #dartmoorphotos

#dartmoor #devonengland #dartmoorphotos #dartmoornationalpark #dartmoorponies

The Devil Went Down to...Devon?

On the morning of February 9th 1855 the residents of Devon, England were baffled . An overnight storm coated the town with a layer of snow, but this was nothing out of the ordinary for them, it was what was pressed into the snow that was cause for concern. Horse-like tracks were found all over the county but upon inspection it became very clear that it was impossible for horses to have been the cause. For one, the tracks were found not just in Devon but also in the surrounding villages covering hundreds of miles in roughly six overnight hours. The prints were made by a biped walking on two legs and each print measured four inches long, three inches wide, had space in between them measuring eight and a half inches, and lay on the ground in a straight line, a gait that definitely did not match that of a horse. Even more confusing is where the mysterious walker went and how they were able to get to some of the places where tracks were found. The long distance was nearly impossible enough but the prints did not follow a typical path by any means. They were found on rooftops, walking up to a wall over 10 feet in height and then continuing on the opposite side without disturbing the snow laying on top, and on riverbanks on both sides of a river. The path would stop abruptly and continue again 14 feet ahead with nothing in between, and more hooves indicated travel through narrow drains and pipes that would have been impossible for any man or animal to accomplish.

The discovery of The Devil's Footprints

As word escaped the towns of their unusual phenomena newspapers began to circulate the story with one report simply stating:

“It appears on Thursday night last, there was a very heavy snowfall in the neighbourhood of Exeter and the South of Devon. On the following morning the inhabitants of the above towns were surprised at discovering the footmarks of some strange and mysterious animal endowed with the power of ubiquity, as the footprints were to be seen in all kinds of unaccountable places – on the tops of houses and narrow walls, in gardens and court-yards, enclosed by high walls and pailings, as well in open fields”

Newspaper article illustrations of the footprints found in Devon

Along with the reports came the theories and people rushed forward looking to explain what strode through Devon and it surrounding areas unnoticed. Naturalist Sir Richard Owen attributed the marks to badgers who he claimed could leave footprints resembling a two-legged creature and explained the unusual shape was due to a “freeze-thaw” action from the snow. All manner of animal became the culprit with people blaming raccoons, rats, swans, and otters. One theory from a Reverend Musgrave that made it into the papers was that the prints were left by a pair of kangaroos that escaped a private zoo some distance away. Another idea was that an experimental balloon had somehow traveled through the storm and left the strange marking in the snow before finally deflating or disappearing into the sky.

Article appearing in The Illustrated London News on February 24th 1855 discussing the mysterious tracks

While much of the blame was being placed on animals, the clergy thought that it was obvious what happened in Devon that night: Satan himself had come to town looking to sweep up sinners. Some of the townspeople turned the tables on the church, saying that because of their recently changed prayer book they had essentially invited the Devil in themselves. The idea of a demonic visitor prancing over their roofs and in their streets sent a wave apprehension through the townspeople who nervously looked out their windows on subsequent nights waiting for the tracks to return, but they never showed again.

Although the story of “The Devil’s Footprints” reached far beyond the county of Devon and was covered and theorized over in newspapers such as the Illustrated London News and The Times no theory could explain the phenomena. Repeat performances of the tracks have been reported as recently as 2009, again in Devon, with the official verdict being that it was a prank. However, no explanation has ever been given to the original Devon footprints that appeared overnight and kicked up a legendary commotion on that cold February morning.