An adder stirs, a brawny cable charged by the sun

Dartmoor, Devon A thick cylindrical form, bent double like a trombone pipe, in a sheltered patch of grass, stops me short

Beneath the granite knuckles of this east Dartmoor tor the land spreads and softens high above the valley. Sheep-clipped grasses and scattered clumps of gorse cover the sides of the outcrop, punctuated by exposed boulders. After a lengthy spell of rain, morning sunshine makes a welcome change, and the temperature along this south-facing incline is climbing steadily.