Dartmoor 365

I had often walked past South Hessary Tor but I had never climbed to the top or noticed the iron spike sticking out of the top.  Once I had read about it I wanted to see it myself.  We parked at Princetown and walked along the stoney path.  As we approached South Hessary Tor I could see something sticking out the top.  I climbed up to see it closer, but I was not nimble enough to get right to the top to hold it. We then continued to walk along the path with the far reaching views, out to sea and down to Burrator as well as across the moor in all directions.  It is an easy walk to Nun's Cross.  In the past we have found the entrance to the Leat but today dark clouds were gathering so having reached Nun's Cross we turned around and hurried back to Princetown and tea and cake at the Fox Tor Cafe.

We parked at Bedford Bridge and walked up the path signed to Drake's Trail.  After a while we could see the viaduct to the left.  It is so large I could not photograph it in its entirety.

This was the most disappointing square to visit so far.  The Devil's elbow is just a road.  We did stop the car in the vicinity but there wasn't interesting to see.  We had difficulty finding Devil's bridge initially as we were expecting to see a bridge.  What we did find was a stream going under the road and coming out the other side at the point of the map.  We assumed this was Devil's bridge and wondered if there had been a bridge here at some point which had been removed when the road was upgraded.

I have often walked from Yelverton to Clearbrook along the Drake's Trail. Apart from being a pleasant walk it has an added advantage of a delicious lunch at The Skylark!  Yesterday we only had an afternoon free to walk so we drove to Clearbrook and then walked down to the river and walked through the meadows to Goodameavy. The old railway bridge at Clearbrook Clearbrook Bridge Goodameavy bridge We did not see or hear any skylarks on our walk, but did see horses enjoying paddling in the river and eating the weeds growing there.

I parked at Shaugh Bridge, a place I had visited many times before.  I have posted photos of this beauty spot earlier (25.6.17).  Today I walked up the River Plym to the base of the Dewerstone.  I had never done this before.  The climb up from the river was not too bad and it was cool under the trees with the sound of the river running nearby.  Unfortunately because the trees were in full leaf you could not see the Dewerstone clearly, but there were glimpses of the rocks towering overhead. On the way home I stopped in Shaugh Prior.  I saw a cross just below the Community Centre and I assumed this was the one mentioned in the book. I must read the book more carefully in future!  It was only as I was driving away from the village that I noticed the cross at the road junction, but there was nowhere to park to photograph that one.   However, because I stopped at the Community Centre I was able to see the far reaching view from this sp...

It was a showery afternoon so we did not want to walk far.  We parked at the side of the road and wandered around the area.  There were lots of rowan trees as well as hawthorn and gorse.  I had to identify them from their leaves as they had neither flowers or berries brightening them. There are beautiful views across to the other side of the Walkham valley from this Down, but unfortunately it was not very clear today so I did not see it at its best. There are usually Dartmoor ponies grazing in this area and today there were two families.

Burrator Dam looks spectacular when water is rushing over the edge.  There is also lovely views from the dam up the reservoir.  I took the following 4 photos in November. If you walk anticlockwise from the dam you soon come to Sheepstor Dam,  There are seats there and more wonderful views. Square Q5 includes Yanadon Down.  From here you gets great views of the whole of Burrator.

A couple of  times I have walked from Burrator up to Crazywell Pool and then back via Leathertor Bridge.  The first time was September 2011. After parking at Norsworthy Bridge  we took the path up at the side of the plantation.  It was a clear path, but stony  We gradually walked up hill and after some time we could look back over Burrator. It was unfortunate that it was a cloudy day and the views were not that clear.  Once we had left the plantation gorse and heather was out at the side of the path bringing colour to the moor. We turned off the path and walked up to Crazywell Pool, which also had gorse and heather growing around it. It was then a short walk across to Crazywell Cross which was the furthest point of the walk We then retraced our steps until a junction in the path which we took and headed downhill to Leathertor Bridge, which was a very pretty spot. From there we walked down to the road and back to Norsworthy Brid...

We parked the car by Stowford Bridge and saw the signs marking the start of the Dartmoor National Park and the Two Moors Way. We walked along the Two Moors Way, first up a narrow road then off on a stony path that led up to the moors.  When we reached the moors we left the Two Moors Way and headed uphill to Western Beacon, crossing the Red Lake tramway.  It was a gentle climb up, but it was good to stop occasionally to look back at the far reaching views. At the top of Western Beacon it was interesting to see the various cairns. We then followed the row of stones that led us to Black Pool.  It had been very dry lately and there was not much water in the pool. We then cut down to the Red Lake Tramway and crossed it to the Two Moors Way, which we followed back to our car.  It was interesting to see the large stones that looked like millstones had been used in making the wall that borders the Two Moors Way. ...