Welcome to Spirit of the Moor! Our idea is that this page should be a place to share thoughts, interviews and art about what Harford Moor means to local people. It may have significance of a specifically religious or spiritual kind – I know for me that being in a big, beautiful landscape reminds me that the preoccupations of our busy human minds are only a small part of the picture and I feel more open to God and to prayer when I am out in it. I am also moved by the ancient archaeology, which reminds me of hundreds of generations of people living here and expressing their sense of something ‘other’ in their standing stones, tombs and granite crosses. However, others may simply feel more at one with Nature, or calmed by the peace and quiet. Each individual will have their own personal relationship with this corner of the Moor.
We are lucky enough to live in the hamlet of Harford and can walk out of our back gate on to the Western Beacon. We can also walk to our local church, St Petroc’s, and there is no better way for me to arrive at church than to walk there there over the moor from home on a fine day. Doing this I have the double blessing of enjoying the beauty of creation on my way to church, then worshipping with friends and neighbours in our peaceful, ancient building, hallowed by the prayers of others over hundreds of years.
Here is a picture of St Petroc’s (15th century), with its Saxon granite cross in the foreground, dating back to the original church. This has been a holy place for a very long time, and people have brought their joys and sorrows before God here for centuries. Knowing this helps me put my preoccupations into perspective, especially during this difficult time of the pandemic.
Lorna Howell
Harford Moor 