Linda Hill and Chris Street don't wear long robes or pointed hats. They don't make potions with bats' wing and eye of toad. And they don't look at all sinister.

Chris is a druid and - to most people - Linda is a witch, a title she takes issue with.

"That's a derogatory term that was used in the old days for wise women and men. In the days when these things weren't really understood," she says.

Perhaps 'Pagan' is a better description, then?

"Paganism is really a word for the love of nature, the connection to the natural world," she nods.

They're in Devon for a holiday away from the 'Big Smoke' and have taken the opportunity to visit their friend and wand maker, John Vickery, at his Dartmoor home.

The pair are here to see what new artefacts the craftsman has to offer. Linda already has a staff that John made for her many years ago - and today he's proudly showing them his latest creation, an Aeolian Harp.

Linda chooses a new wand

Named after Aeolis, the Greek god of the wind, it's basically a rectangular box, three feet long, with 16 strings of differing thickness. The wind causes the strings to vibrate without any human intervention - and different winds and different locations produce different 'songs'.Click on the link (top left) to listen.

But today it's not harmonics that Linda's after, it's a new wand - and John has plenty to choose from.

"Wands tend to have different properties according to the wood they are made from," says Linda. "Each wood contains the life-force of the tree.

"Sometimes I have a specific requirement - recently I asked John to make me an apple wand which is a good one to use for fertility and harmony - other times I just look through the wands and one attracts me like this willow wand which I just thought would be a lovely one to have."

After letting the river run over the wand she hold it up to absorb the energy from the sun.

Once Linda has selected her new wand she has to 'bless' it so it's off to the woods.

She chooses a place on Dartmoor where two main rivers meet.

"This would be a very magical place for many, many people," says Linda.

"There's a very powerful land energy here so this is a fantastic place to bless the wands with the Dartmoor energy that's emanating from the two rivers."

Meanwhile Chris has been divining for energy lines. What's his thoughts on people who invariably connect wands and paganism with witchcraft, black magic and maybe even the devil?

Chris searches for energy lines

"A lot of these things get classified under the heading of the occult," he admits. "In fact the only magic involved here is the magic of nature.

"The plants grow, the sun shines, the seasons turn - I don't think there can be any evil out of that."

"The devil doesn't exist in paganism," adds Linda.

"Pagans celebrate the cycle of the seasons, the light and dark months, birth and death. The devil is really a concept that came along far, far later."

Chris and Linda enjoy their trips to Devon. They love the surroundings and the mysticism of the moors.

"The magical places down here are a lot more obvious and easy to access," says Chris.

"Dartmoor has lots of magical spots where you can feel at one with nature. But even back home in London there are similar places, you just have to look a lot harder to find them.

The magic of Dartmoor's natural world is accessible to everyone

"There's a lot of wisdom and knowledge in the land itself if you just sit still and listen to it," he adds.

And Linda agrees. "This is the sort of place our ancestors would have come to celebrate the beauty of the surroundings; the river, the sunshine, the trees; a place to express their respect of nature and to explore what nature can tell us - the symbols and the signs that many of us take for granted," she says.

"We can, all of us, tune in to all of this if we so desire."

And if you've ever had the chance to stand on Dartmoor as the sun rises, the mist lifts and the dew glistens on the cobwebs in the gorse bushes, you'd probably agree.