Two walks on Dartmoor

Although this is a place we have both past through several times before, we have never actually got out to walk, so it seemed a nice time and place after Exmoor and before the coast. We had wild camped the last night in Exmoor and were therefore low on water, so after the drive down we headed for a campsite where we could properly replenish. The sites we are now finding seem pretty deserted as it is the end of the season. They tend to be simple fields, with a drinking water tap and a tank to dump the waste water. It is all we need. Dora seems to generate enough electricity for our needs, what with the photovoltaic panel on the roof and travelling, which also recharges the batteries. We are tending to pay about £5 per night, a big difference from the £22 at Gower!

By the time we had sorted ourselves out, had lunch and after the exertions of the previous day a short-ish walk was in order. We headed towards Princetown and the site of the infamous Dartmoor prison, normally bleak, sinister and foreboding, but in the sun a lot less so.

 

Nearby, we parked up and headed towards Ingra Tor. Not sure of the geological processes that leave stacks of rocks on top of hills, but they are the prominent features around here and provide an excuse to scramble.

Here is Susana safely at the top, an epic climb!

Susana also discovered a feature of her phone, the ability to stitch photos together. You might see a lot more panoramic pictures in the future.

It was worth it though for the amazing sky.

The landscape here means it is very easy to go off piste, no paths are necessary, just head to where you want to go. How we love that ‘right to roam’.

Also discovered some Dartmoor ponies, very cute and quite tame, a bit dishevelled though, like us when the showers fail!

Our next target was Kings Tor. Once there Susana could not resist scaling the stones.

 

 

Dora waiting patiently in the car park for our return.

And on the way back an amazing sunset. One of the projects we had set ourselves  was to photograph sundown everyday.

We are not doing too badly, but have missed a couple of days by either driving or just being too late.

 

Distance	8.3 km
Time	2.5 hours

 

The next day we were looking for a more serious undertaken, so after a few trawls through some websites Susana found just what we were looking for. So many thanks to Jake Roberston and Walking Britain and here is a link to the walk.

(http://www.walkingbritain.co.uk/walks/walks/walk_a/3004/)

All the things we like, remoteness, and plenty of off path trekking. We headed off to Okehampton and the Meldon reservoir, putting Dora in maximum sunlight so she could replenish the batteries.

The walk did not start positively with a crane on the dam and a bunch of health and safety jobsworths that wouldn’t let us pass.

They had put up barricades that were no match for Susana, who just walked over them, but she couldn’t talk them around!

Anyway we were sure that the walk would be equally as good, if not better in the reverse direction.

We set off, now around the reservoir, but still it was not going well.

We made some slight mistakes early on that required scaling some fences, but then we could not find the route. Another couple near us were having similar problems. I think the paths had become overgrown through lack of use.

Eventually we headed down to the river and found a place to cross, and get some mud off the shoes. My shoes are bedding in well and proving to be very waterproof, so no damp feet. Today would be a real test for them.

Susana also making easy work of the river, no sign of the other couple, perhaps they got lost or thought better of it.

Isn’t that just typical, all that work to ford the river and then you find a nice an easy bridge. It did have a nice private sign the other end though, so that made us feel better.

And then a really nice, long slow trudge up the slopes to Branscombe Loaf.The weather is beautiful but while moving uphill you tend to concentrate on your feet and getting a good steady placement so do not really get a full panoramic.

It is not until you reach the summit that you full appreciate that the landscape is amazing, and worth the climb.

Now we are in the deepest parts of Dartmoor, proper paths are few and far between, only the odd sheep track to follow. This makes the going quite slow. The grass

is dense with lots of tussocks to negotiate. Often there are areas of marsh and sphagnum moss which oozes water as you tread on them. A good pair of boots really pays off here.

Enormous landscapes with big sky that seems to go on forever! After lunch at Kitty’s Tor, we are only just over a third of the way around with still a good 12 km to go and still yet to get to the highest peak, we decide to take a shortcut and cut out the summit of Black Hill. The map says there is a postbox here in this landscape which seems so unlikely. We have no idea what to expect, or even if we find it, from the Walking World description it is easy to miss and we are not on the regular route, was that shortcut such a good idea?

Very strange, but we did find it. The post box contains a visitors book to sign and comment in. We put in our web address. I wonder whether we will get any visitors from it.

It also contains a stamp to prove that you have been there, I cannot believe it has been there since 1887!

The going seems to be getting better now, we even see an Army Landrover on the horizon, maybe the SAS are doing some training. At the horizon a good quality track makes the walking even easier and before long we a once again climbing to the two final summits, first to High Wilhays and then to Yes Tor. Susana ticking off another summit.

Before she takes another panoramic showing the desolation of the Dartmoor landscape

Somehow we have caught up a lot on time and it looks as if we will be back by six.

The sky is looking particularly dramatic.

We head down the hill to see if there are still workmen on the dam. As if. They probably headed off directly we were out of site this morning.

An amazing walk, we head back to some wild camping to see yet another sunset.

Distance	20.155 km
Time	7 hours

GDR