Over 80 people braved the rain one wet Saturday before Christmas (8th December) to take part in the Yarner Wood Christmas Pantomime Walk, to discover that there really is “more than meets the eye” to Dartmoor’s woodlands, even in the winter. They were treated to performances from colourful pantomime characters, who all looked strangely familiar, as they entered the world of Yarnia through an old upcycled wardrobe. Once in the land of Yarnia everyone had to work together collecting natural treasure to defeat the wicked Ice Queen and her evil henchman the Wolfman. Mr Tumnus the faun was joined by Prince Caspian and a washed up old lion, Asulam (a pun for the those who dislike bracken) and together with the audience they journeyed around the wood to stop her from banning Christmas. Good won out in the end with the help of Rainbow Kittens decorated with colours from nature. No not just brown!

Andy Bailey, Community Officer for Moor than meets the eye said, “We wanted to find a fun way to help families get closer to nature even in the winter. We had a great turn out despite the rain showers and everyone has had a wonderful festive time. It was wonderful that so many friends and colleagues volunteered their time to help out. There were colleagues from Natural England, Woodland Trust, Moor than meets the eye, EcoSkills and our fabulous outreach volunteers- you might just recognise them if you look hard enough.”

The walk was organised as part of the #ThanksToYou campaign which has been thanking people who play the National Lottery which supports good causes such as the Moor than meets the eye scheme.

Feedback form the event was great- everyone said that they enjoyed it a lot. Over half the people came from nearby Bovey, Ilsington and Manaton. Most people responding to our survey said they had been on an event on Dartmoor before but  there were still some people who had not come out before.

Watch the slide show on our Facebook page