We walked in to the south east moors from Reddacleave Kiln area and headed north to go around the back of the Avon dam reservoir.  It was cold but sunny and the moors had that wintry feel which I love.  everything seems somewhat muted and we didn’t see another person all the time we were out.

We headed up the Western Wella brook towards Huntingdon Warren.  This smallholding provided food for the local tin mine and the warrens would have provided a good supply of meat in the form of rabbits.  The enclosed ground seen above is the main part of the farm – the remains of the buildings are just out of sight to the right of the tree.  Some remain of the workings can be seen down the valley with the tip of the reservoir in the distance on the right.

We headed up to the top of the hill behind Huntingdon Warren to the wonderfully named “Heap of sinners” which is a fairly large cairn and decided to stop for an early lunch break.  The above image was our view.  It captures the winter bleakness of the moors quite well for me.  As I am enjoying a little more image manipulation these days I’ve taken quite a bit of the colour out of this really only leaving reduced levels of blue and orange/yellow.  To me that has enhanced that wintry feel a little.

Getting to our feet after eating it must have been just about midday…  This was the view in the direction we were heading.  A brief conversation suggested a change of plan was wise but by the time we had put on a layer or two more the rain was with us, it became very cold and we got quite wet in the following half hour.

Hitting the main track running down the ridge in the direction of the car we looked back.  Rainbows are seen quite frequently however this one was nicely placed on the top of Pupers and all too often the weather is not the best for using the camera.  The weather bot north and west of us suggested that heading on back to the car would be wise.

A few minutes later there was a full rainbow the right hand end of which can be seen here.  Despite the wide angled nature of my lens I couldn’t get the whole rainbow in sadly.  This was the last shot of the day as the next batch of weather hit us immediately after this.  We agreed that the hail that came then was a little painful when it hit!  Overall a good winter walk however also a reminder that even the nice looking days can change quite quickly on Dartmoor.

Out for a walk a couple of weeks back now we decided to wander up the Redlake tramway on southern Dartmoor.  This was originally used by a small railway line which served the china clay works at Redlake however work stopped there in 1933 and there has been no rails there in my lifetime.  It is actually not the best walking surface however it is usually less wet than the surrounding moorland.

The “watery” sunlight in the top image shows that we got some sun however it was weak and the weather was more than variable.  The two images above were both taken just after we set off from the car near Ivybridge.  The left hand image shows that weak winter sun on the South Hams while the right hand image, which looks a little left of the left hand one, shows the interface between the good weather and the rain more.

Walking up the tramway we left it to head a little right handed at the base of Three Barrows (so named as it has three barrows at the summit).  It is one of the highest points of the moor in that area so gives – on a clear day – great views over the surrounding area.  The above image is taken part way up to the top and looking back south the way we had come.  The tramway can be seen lower down the hill heading off to the left.

Taken from the top of Three Barrows this looks roughly west over the valley of the river Erme.  The low winter light creates good contrast in the shadows here.  The small broken up granite in the foreground is known as “clitter” and is a regular facet of Dartmoor tors formed be erosion.

Dropping off Three Barrows north towards the tramway as the moorland was both rough and very wet around here, we reached the old china clay works at Leftlake which is roughly halfway to Redlake.  The remains are quite significant here and the pool seen above is where the granite was washed out to get the china clay.  An old bridge allows the tramway to cross the water course that flows out from the pool to the river Erme.  I have seen otters here but there was no signs of wildlife today.

We walked further north but at one point the actual tramway turned into something of a river which does happen in wet conditions so we decided to turn west and head down to the valley of the river Erme.  The image above epitomises this part of the moors in winter for me.  The ground is very rough with large tussocks of the straw coloured grass and rare patches of green.  As can be seen it is fairly featureless other then the obvious valley of the river and I guess it is not a very hospitable place for a fair weather walker.  However both my companion and I have been roaming the moors for many years enjoying both better and worse conditions than this and we agreed more than once on this walk that we preferred winter conditions frequently even if it can be very wet.  This was almost the last real sun we saw!

It did start raining from time to time after this and the camera was in and out of its case quite a bit.  In the winter the days are quite short so we started heading south down the valley of the Erme intending to strike up left lower down and get back to the tramway around Leftlake again.  The above image capture the valley of the lower part of the Erme on Dartmoor quite well and the clouds in the distance that looked like rain were just that.

We got back on the tramway as planned and headed south on it for a while forking left near Hangershell Rock to go down the spine of the ridge.  Stopping for a drink in relatively benign condition at Butterdon, one of the high points on the way back, we sat enjoying the views.  There was sunlight on the sea (the English Channel) with lines of cloud and rain moving from west to east across the South Hams.  I could have filled this blog with the image I took from there – the light, colour and drama of the weather was something very special and we probably stayed longer then we intended.  It certainly was a very good winter walk.

A “footnote”

When my friend spotted this I said that this image would make a good footnote and we both laughed – maybe others will enjoy the humour too.  This single boot was some 3 miles up the the tramway and there was no sign of anything else left abandoned nearby.  We saw no one with a missing boot and still had both of ours when we got back – there is a back story to this .

Looking back quite a few posts recently have related to the coast so I thought it was time to return to the moors.  These are from a walk a week or so back.  While we have walked the moors at night for many years we are less keen these days and so we try and get out in the daytime when we can.  It rained hard the day before and we set off knowing it was likely to be very wet under foot and we were proved correct!  Much of the time the tracks were more like streams.

We walked from Nun’s Cross area south along the track to Eylesbarrow and then headed east over the Plym and then towards Erme Pits which is a very old tin mine working near the centre of the southern moor.  The mine workings there are both extensive and in places quite deep.  What was achieved by men working solely with their hands and basic tools in a very remote part of Dartmoor never ceases to amaze me.

From here we walked along one of the old workings towards Ducks Pool stream and stopped to look back down the valley of the Erme.  This part of Dartmoor sees very few people particularly in the winter and it always feels fairly remote here which is something I love about the area.  Equally, in winter, the low and often “watery” light, adds to the beauty of the moors for me.

Heading north through a peat cut – any ancient trans moor track through (very) bad ground brought us out at Fox Tor and it seemed a good time to stop for a late lunch.  The view across the centre of the moors looking northwards from there was great.

We were not the only ones at Fox Tor!  It was quite a windy day with the temperature down towards zero with the wind chill and even the sheep were staying in the lee of Fox Tor (which is really quite a small tor).

Dropping down from the tor brought us into Fox Tor mire which is quite well known for being the setting for the Hound of the Baskerville’s story by Conan Doyle (as Grimpen Mire).  The area has a lot of historical interest.  Tin mining was prevalent in the area and there are a number of ancient (& more modern) crosses.  While the area is a peat bog it is quite possible to walk across it in reasonable conditions if you know the area well (& I would stress that – one of those “do not try this for yourself” ones).  The image above is of Childe’s Tomb – the legend is an interesting one and the Wikipedia article is quite good in this case (rather less interesting on Fox Tor though).

Heading west again now along the edge of the peat bog, we started the walk back to the car.  The relatively short walk was actually over some of the worst ground conditions we had encountered all day despite being on a “path” for most of the time.  We seemed to be wading as much as we were walking.  The conditions are not unique to the winter either – I have crossed the bog in winter when it has been dry and failed to do so in a wet summer.  The above shot looks back towards Fox Tor and again catches a feel of the remoteness.  Hopefully there will be a few more winter walks over the next few weeks.

It has been a few weeks since I’ve been out on the moors in the evening but last night made up for it.  The south western tip of the moors around Shell Top and Penn Beacon is lovely for an evening walk and holds some fond memories for me.  I always set off thinking it is a relatively short walk and always come back remembering that at least half of it is uphill.  Approaching from the east and heading first to Shell Top meant we passed the hut circle above.  The remains are quite clear and the eastern side of the hill has quite a few bronze age remains on it.

Stopping to take a breath a little further up towards Shell Top gave this wonderful view looking east.  This is looking towards the ridge which runs south and ends at Western Beacon.  The combination of the sunlight on the landscape and the very dark clouds did seem quite special – certainly some areas were not enjoying the late sun which we were.

Reaching Shell Top the view all around opened up although Shell Top itself is not that significant a point as can be seen from the above.

However sitting in the evening sunlight having a drink and looking fairly much south gave a great view.  In the foreground (& sadly) is the china clay works.  I realise industry is necessary however what idiots allowed this development right on the very edge of a National Park?  Further off is the city of Plymouth and Plymouth Sound (and the English Channel).

I guess this is my favourite shot of the night.  Taken looking somewhat west from Shell Top it looks down on the Trowelsworthy Tors and across the misty ridges into Cornwall.  The light over a number of ridges really is an effect I love.  I previously blogged the tors here.  Because it is taken looking into the sunlight these shots can be quite difficult but when they work it looks good to me.

Heading off we started to walk down to Penn Beacon which can be seen here at the end of the line on the hillside.  This is an old reave which runs down the hillside towards it.  The china clay works can be seen to the right rather clearly.

Reaching Penn Beacon we looked back up the hill as the last light was going behind a large cloud bank coming in from Cornwall.  The tip of Shell Top can be seen on the upper part of the ridge on the right hand side.  Over the years I’ve seen some great “Last light” scenes on the moors and this was one of them.  A good walk and hopefully we will get out again soon.

This is the continuation of the walk that started with the post here.  From the area around Crazywell Pool we headed up the valley of the Newleycombe Lake (a stream not a lake).  It is quite hard to walk most parts of Dartmoor without seeing the remains of tin workings.  In the valley, just before we turned south, we walked through an area that had quite extensive remains.  The area above interested me.  Initially it looked like a small pond in the process of becoming a bog.  However, looking at the sloping walls to the sides and the fact that water was running out from the back of the area, I think it is probably the remains of a mining adit driven into the side of the hill which is gradually silting up.

Having walked south a little way we turned south west to start walking back to Burrator reservoir walking along the Down Tor stone row.  There are a number of Bronze Age remains all quite close together here and there is no obvious way to determine the order of building.  At the eastern end of the row is a cairn and an enclosure while at the western end there is a circle and a number of cairns.  The actual row stretches away eastwards from this shot.

By the standards of many of the remains like this on Dartmoor, the Down Tor ones are quite well preserved.  The above photo shows the circle at the western end of the row and inside the circle is the remains of a kistvaen.  While not intact the stones around the burial area are quite clear to see.

The above image, showing the end stone in the row and part of the circle around the kistvaen looks south towards Combshead Tor.  The longer shadows show it was getting late in the day by now.

We walked back to Burrator via Cuckoo Rock which is quite a large outcrop of granite which could probably be termed a tor.  However, while it stands out well from some angles, it was not very prominent from here.  However the late light on the tree (a rowan I imagine) just behind Cuckoo Rock was lovely.

When we arrived back at Burrator reservoir the sunlight had effectively gone but the water looked very tranquil with delicate shades.  I’ll return to this spot again.

As we walked some way on this occasion I’ll spread this over two blogs I think.  I set off with a friend from the Norsworthy Bridge car park by Burrator reservoir on the south west edge of Dartmoor and we walked up the River Meavy which flows into Burrator reservoir. Before we started the walk it was very misty however the sun came out just before we started and stayed out until sunset.

About two kilometres up the river there is a leat flowing over an aqueduct which also feeds the reservoir but was part of the Devonport leat which ran to Plymouth originally.  The leat was constructed in the 1790s to supply water to the naval dockyard.  While leats are common on the moors aqueducts are not.

The image above is taken from halfway up Raddick Hill looking approximately south west.  The leat can be seen running from the right of the image to the centre when it goes around the corner.  The right hand tor is Sharp Tor and the left hand tor is Lether (or Leather) Tor.

The leat does not run all the way down the hill, indeed leats generally follow contour lines and lose height very slowly which allows the water to travel greater distances.  The image above shows the leat at the point where it starts its sharper descent and there is a small clapper bridge at that point.

Dartmoor is a place of many legends.  Given the fact that parts of it are fairly wild and, for England, quite remote it is not particularly surprising.  The image above is of Crazywell (or Classenwell among other spellings) Pool which, legend would have, is bottomless.  I believe it has been drained in the past however, given the surroundings, it is obviously the remains of a tinners’ working so being “bottomless” would have caused the miners a few issues…  The tor directly ahead is Down Tor.

Above are photos of two ancient crosses in this area.  The one on the left is Crazywell Cross marking one of the ancient trans moor routes which may well have been used by monks moving from one monastery to another.  The one on the right takes its name from the small stream at the bottom of the valley here which is Newleycombe Lake (although it is a stream) and so is called Newleycombe Cross.  It too is believed to have marked the ancient trackway.

The final image is taken from the same area and looks back on the light shimmering on Burrator reservoir which was both our starting point and our end point.  However this is around halfway through the walk and I will blog the other half soon.

The temperatures made walking easier than it would be sometimes as quite wet areas of ground were hard and frozen (& had probably been like it for a few days).  The frost made it easier to see features that are usually not as clear.  The above is a good example of “feather and tare” used to split granite blocks.

Water has been used and managed by man for centuries on the moor.  The above is a shot clearly showing the Holne moor leat which is still flowing.  It flows away from the camera in the centre and then runs left handed along the hillside.  There are two more leats below this one that are no longer running.  The current leat supplies farms with water.

Ore and minerals have also been extracted from the moors for centuries.  The above is the tinner’s hut in the lower part of Deep Swincombe.

This is looking up Deep Swincombe – the area has been extensively worked for tin.

In the UK true wilderness is very rare and most areas have been used/exploited by man over thousands of years. In the course of this walk I saw remains from at least 3000 years ago through to structures that are current that continue to exploit, or make use of, the area’s resources.  Every one of the above images shows the hand of man in this “wild” area, the pony above showing current agricultural use.  There will be a few more images from this walk and on the same theme in a day or so.