THE re-opening of southern Dartmoor last Saturday in the wake of the foot and mouth outbreaks appears so far to have made little difference to businesses hard hit by the crisis.
Despite moorland being open south and east of a line between Tavistock, Princetown, Moretonhampstead and Whiddon Down, there has been no flood of people eager to experience the moors after a three-month absence.
Pat Hider, of Dartmoor Gift Shop at Princetown, described trade as 'ropey'.
'On Saturday we had a few people up here just looking to see where they could go, but there was no difference to the business side of things — it's still dead as a dodo. The weather's lovely but there are no people.'
Mrs Hider said they are keeping their fingers crossed in the village that business would pick up.
'I don't think it's going to happen suddenly though,' she added.
Tracy Preston, at the Plume of Feathers in Princetown, said Saturday was 'quiet' in the village.
'There's quite a few people milling around now, but I think it's going to take time,' she said.
Paul Grist, at the Dartmoor Inn, Merrivale, said there had been no noticeable increase in trade.
For Julia Selwood, at the Forest Inn, Hexworthy, business was still 'terrible'. The hotel is within the Dunnabridge exclusion zone and although fully open for business, she estimates trade is 50 to 60 per cent down on last year.
'Normally in June you'd expect three out of every ten cars to be Dutch — they're just not here, nor are the French, nor are the Belgians,' she said.
She is now pinning her hopes on a better September and October.