NEWLY refurbished and proving a huge hit with residents and visitors alike is the historic National Park Visitor Centre in Princetown. Housed within the original Duchy Hotel constructed in the early 1800s, the centre takes people on a journey through the many changing factors of Dartmoor. As you step through the main entrance, on what is the building's original flooring from the Edwardian era, is inscribed 'Welcome the coming — speed the parting guest'. You are greeted by a welcoming reception area to your right, and a gift shop to your left, full of local produce and items with a Dartmoor theme. The front receptionists are knowledgeable in all aspects of Dartmoor from historical points of interests to activities, but within the building there are many leaflets from walks to cycling trails to keep everyone occupied. With new and improved exhibitions, it is easy to stay for many hours with displays and discovery zones, plus a beautiful and mesmerising photography timelapse exhibition entitled 'Dartmoor Timelapse' by Alex Nail and Guy Richardson, where visitors can sit for a few minutes and see the ever changing backdrop of Dartmoor. Even children will be entertained for hours with interactive play in most rooms of the building — they would especially love the many dressing up sections! Last year a team was tasked with giving the visitor centre a new look within its structure of exhibitions. These were developed over six months using in-house experience and knowledge. With input from the Dartmoor National Park Authority's conservation works team, the new modern centre opened its doors on Thursday, July 10. The centre is the main hub of Dartmoor's National Park Authority's three sites — all with different remits: Postbridge focuses on cultural heritage, archaeology and the history of Dartmoor; and Haytor is the stepping stone to experience wildlife — all together they draw in 170,000 visitors a year. At the Princetown centre, visitors are guided through to the left to a display area, explaining the history of Dartmoor, starting with the formation of granite hundreds of millions of years ago. Following the room around you are taken through the periods — Mesolithic (hunter gatherers) approximately 12,000 to 6,000 BC, which saw them mainly hunt for animals on Dartmoor using flint, which is found on the coast and not native to the moor. Neolithic, from 6,000 to 4,500, and Bronze Age, from 4,5000 to 2,700, after the discovery of how to make bronze (using tin and copper) both predominantly found on Dartmoor at the time, before it became exhausted. The bronze age was a huge leap in technology, and bronze would probably have been used by the wealthy. This was followed by the Saxon period and the Iron Age. After the Norman invasion in 1066, land was divided to the wealthy barons, and this is how the land is still divided to this day. Dartmoor's wealth of rock and minerals is the basis for its history. Romans came to Britain for its minerals, including tin, and this metal remained important on Dartmoor through the middle ages, but by the time of the Victorians, workers had to dig deep mine shafts to get to it. From 1800 granite quarrying became very important to the area, until the 20th century when the final granite quarry was closed at Merrivale. As you move around the room, visitors are able to listen to people talking about what it was like to live on Dartmoor, and choose from stories about the local shops, water and toilets, freedom, and the Princetown Fair. Moving through to the next room, people will find themselves in part of the centre from 1990, which will be refurbished in the next phase of the upgrade. Within this section visitors can learn about farming the moor, the Forestry Commission, the military, and Merrivale Quay. As you walk through the original doors to the original ballroom of the Duchy Hotel, you will see the new exhibition by Alex and Guy, and can sit for a minute and enjoy the timelapse film, which took 18 months to make — but visitors will only have until September 24 as a new exhibition on Ancient Dartmoor will commence. Plus within the room, and in a prime setting of the building's original bandstand, visitors can interact and learn about Conan Doyle and how he came to create his famous Sherlock Holmes story — the Hound of the Baskervilles. Then it's on to the Discovery Area where young and old can operate a time machine and discover Dartmoor through the ages, and play interactive games, have their picture taken in the junior ranger's DNPA Landrover, before they head through to the theatre room to watch an inventive and fascinating film on the hairy hands bridge, made by animation student Anna Hepworthy. Mike Nendick from the Dartmoor National Park Authority said: 'We have 170,000 visitors for all three centres, and 70,000 to Princetown — we have coach parties come here, teachers bring the children in and local people bring their guests here. Locals come in for the changing exhibitions. 'We are busy seven days a week throughout the year, apart from a couple of days at Christmas and one week in March. 'People come from all over the world to visit Princetown and to see Dartmoor as they are fascinated by the stories of Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles, and they stay here. 'This is an important visitor destination as it enables people to come and find out an awful lot and we have people here to tell them what they can do and see around Dartmoor. We show them that they can visit Dartmoor and it doesn't cost anything. It then has a positive knock on effect to the local community cafés and shops.' The centre is open daily from 10am to 5pm until September 24, and 10am to 4pm from September 29 to November 2. From November 6 to March 1, the centre will be open Thursdays to Sundays from 10.30am to 3.30pm. For more information call 01822 890414 or visit http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk">www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk