ABOUT SUZY

Moorland View Cottage is owned and run by Suzy Bennett, a travel journalist currently based in North London.

Suzy is The Telegraph’s Devon travel expert and has written several guides to the county, so is the perfect person to help guests with travel arrangements.

Suzy bought Moorland View in 2007 as a run-down cottage in dire need of TLC. An old farm labourer’s cottage dating from 1705, it had a paper-thin thatched roof, infestation of woodworm and a severe damp problem. Suzy commissioned a raft of local traditional artisans including blacksmiths and thatchers to restore the 300-year heritage of the Grade II-listed building, before launching it as a luxury holiday cottage in 2009. 

It was while commissioning for the renovation that Suzy realised some of the UK’s most talented artisans live on her doorstep, a discovery which prompted her to spend a year photographing them at work. Her portraits formed two solo summer exhibitions in Devon and inspired her to launch the Dartmoor Artisan Trail, an art, craft and food trail linking Dartmoor’s finest craftspeople and producers.

You’ll find many Dartmoor artisan products in Moorland View, including hand-whittled wooden spoons, decorative ironwork forged by the village blacksmith, baskets, rugs, pottery, chopping boards and textiles. There are several quirky pieces on display too, which Suzy gathered from local farming friends, including a pair of sheep-shearer’s moccasins, bee-keeper’s smoker, milking stool, and a fruit picker’s ladder that serves as a characterful towel rail. There’s also an interesting display of historical postcards written from North Bovey, along with intriguing finds that were discovered under the floorboards and between walls during the cottage’s refurbishment.

SUZY’S DARTMOOR ARTISAN TRAIL, FEATURED IN COUNTRY LIVING MAGAZINE