GREG ABEL

BLACKSMITH
Moretonhampstead, Dartmoor, Devon

One of just a handful of blacksmiths left on Dartmoor, Greg works in a 150-year-old stone forge, where vintage farm and farriers’ tools, made by previous smithies, still hang from the rafters.

Greg prefers to use traditional coal in the hearth rather than gas, which is now more commonly used, with hammer and anvil still his main tools.

Greg’s products include gates, railings, fireside sets, weather vanes, rose arches, knives and shoe-scrapers.

He says: “It's magical knowing that the forge has had so many smiths before me using the same skills and methods. I often wonder if they are they watching me, making sure that I am doing it right.”

To find out more about Sharif, please visit: www.sharifadams.co.uk

WHILE YOU'RE IN THE AREA:

• Visit the pretty thatched village of North Bovey
• Have a cream tea at Bovey Castle
• Stroke a pony at The Miniature Pony Centre
• Take a hike up Easdon Tor
• Stroll along the River Bovey