Paul Rendell - Guide, Historian, Author & Storyteller
Above Taw Marsh, by The Irishman’s Wall
Paul Rendell (Dartmoor Paul), Guide, Author and Chronicler of all things Dartmoor
Paul Rendell, affectionately known to those who know him well as “Dartmoor Paul” is the most familiar face in the world of Dartmoor exploration.
Born in Plymouth (or Plymuff as it’s correctly pronounced), his life long love affair with Dartmoor began as a youngster when family outings took him to the ubiquitous Janner hangouts of Burrator and Sheepstor.
From an early age he was fascinated by the wildlife and industrial history of Dartmoor, a passion that blossomed into a career that has spanned decades.
Despite having a somewhat challenging school life marked by dyslexia, Paul trained as a chef, became Head Gardener at Devonport Dockyard, and then managed to turn his lifelong passion into his profession as a full-time Moorland Guide.
As a guide, Paul has led walks across every inch of Dartmoor and beyond, tailoring his routes to interests ranging from tor bagging to myths and legends, industrial archaeology and natural history.
He’s quite rightly described as one of the go-to people for information about the moor, with an unparalleled knowledge of Dartmoor’s landscape, customs and stories, both past and present.
From Typewritten Newsletter to Fully Fledged Magazine
The Dartmoor News (as we know it today) originally started life as “The Dartmoor Wally News”. Paul hand typed the newsletter from 1986 to 1989.
The Dartmoor Wally Club
The original Dartmoor Wally News ran for 12 issues and in 1991 Paul founded The Dartmoor News, a bi-monthly magazine devoted to all things Dartmoor related. From local events and conservation news to more in depth historical articles. The magazine has become an essential read for all Dartmoor enthusiasts, clocking up over 200 issues😍
First Photoshoot with Paul Rendell
I first met up with Paul In Real Life in May 2022.
I’d been in conversation with him for some time as I’d hoped to shoot his portrait for a planned (now, long abandoned) exhibition of portraits of people who work on Dartmoor.
In the interim he had kindly published some of my landscape photographs of Dartmoor in the wonderful and informative Dartmoor News (more on that later).
Softly spoken and obviously very much at home on the moor, Paul was the perfect host, both ‘modelling’ for portraits and filling in the numerous gaps in my knowledge of the local area as we negotiated granite, grass and gorse to find appropriate backdrops.
He was polite enough to ignore my ramblings, my relative ignorance on subjects moor related and in between me huffing and puffing up the steeper hills, I think we managed to capture a few images which manage to show us “Dartmoor Paul” in his element.
Sharing not only our first name, but also our formative years in Plymouth, family trips to the moor and our love for Dartmoor, it wasn’t unexpected that we’d have a lot to talk about whilst I attempted to snap a few images.
Unlike Paul, my knowledge of Dartmoor can be a little patchy and indeed, whilst discussing several cases of misinformation I excitedly told Paul I had heard somewhere (on a YouTube video, if memory had served me) that, contrary to popular belief, there wasn’t a village under Burrator Reservoir.
… Smiling, Paul politely mentioned that the video might have been of him 😂
He wasn’t wrong!
When I’d first discussed with Paul using some of my images in The Dartmoor News, he had explained that he wasn’t overly enthusiastic with my somewhat moody style of photography (which, I’ve absolutely no qualms with. If my time studying has taught me anything, it is that all work of any artistic ilk is always subjective - in fact in the era of social media schmoozing, honesty is truly a virtue which is often very sadly overlooked).
That being said, I was properly pleased that Paul surprised himself by actually liking (at least some of) the moody portraits I had taken of him 😂
So much so, that in June 2022 he invited me to take some photographs on one of his “Moon Walks” where he guides a group across various parts of Dartmoor as the sun fades and the moon makes an appearance, telling stories of the history of the area as well as relating local myths and legends.
If you have the chance, it’s quite the experience to walk in the dark in the wilderness 😁
On top of Gutter Tor as the sun set
Discovering Dartmoor - A Fresh Perspective
Fast forward to 2026 and Paul and I are now working on hosting joint Photography Walks, where we share our combined knowledge of the moor and the various ways to enjoy the outdoors, be it through photography or just being in the fresh air.
If you’re interested in any of these walks, or would like to be informed of any future ones, feel free to contact Paul Rendell directly, or message me on my Contact Page 😍
Author, Historian, and Storyteller
Paul’s love for Dartmoor is not just about his guided walks and The Dartmoor Newsletter he has also authored several books including:
Exploring the Lower Walkham Valley
He’s currently working on “Ghostly Dartmoor”, a book on the moor’s legends, myths and strange happenings. 👻
A pensive Paul at Meldon on the edge of Dartmoor