How the story came about
Dartmoor is rich in folklore, and stories of ghosts and witches abound. I grew up hearing the tales of Kitty Jay, Childe the Hunter and the Hairy Hands. It was whilst reading Ruth St. Leger-Gordon's book, "Witchcraft and Folklore of Dartmoor" (Bell Publishing Company, 1965) that I came across a description of the atmospheric crossing of the Lychway through Wistman's Wood that set my imagination alight, and I started to work on a story.
I realised that if someone had lived where I lived prior to the late 1800's when Postbridge Parish Church was built, when you suffered a bereavement in your family you would have to carry your loved one to be buried at the Parish Church in Lydford. Since the more modern turnpike roads did not exist then, this involved walking across the open moors and following the route known as the Lychway. A local saying says that the Lychway covered a distance of "eight miles in fine weather, and fifteen miles in foul" and the route covers some of the most exposed and lonely parts of the open moor. If the weather was bad, you would have been at risk of losing your own life.
As part of my research my parents and I completed the walk in two parts, firstly from Bellever down through to Wistman's Wood, and secondly from Lydford back up to Wistman's Wood. However, we did it over two days and we weren't carrying a corpse! Even so, by the end I was completely exhausted and dehydrated. Pity my poor parents who got dragged into it all - I will be eternally grateful for their love and support. My Dad helped to plot all of the route across the moor, and checked my historical data and my Mum read and edited each part of the first draft as I produced it. I should say at this point, that although I did my historical research, the Lychway is a work of fiction, and I have taken poetic license with some of the details in order to make the story flow in the way I wanted it to. Historian's beware!
I would also like to thank my sister for her continued support, and my business partner Rebecca Wood who also gave the novel her time and patience and superb editing skills.