Divine Dartmoor Walks

WEST DARTMOOR: Tavy Cleave and Hare Tor

Walk deep through the heart of a magical cleave and then take in far reaching views from Hare Tor and Ger Tor.

 DISTANCE: 4.5 miles moderate/difficult walking (9 miles difficult)
NEAREST REFRESHMENTS: Tavistock
CAR PARKING: At Lanehead (SX 537824) 

Some of this walk is within the Dartmoor Firing Range so check times before heading out.

Just when I think I’ve seen all of what the moors can offer, it throws up something else. The hidden valley of Tavy Cleave showed me a more rugged and moodier side with plenty of breathtaking views. The only thing missing was a bit of sunshine!

After a windy drive along lanes from Mary Tavy you’ll emerge at a car park - Lanehead (SX537 824). From here head to the right (south east) down a track and then around to left where you will find a leat.

This leat dates from the early nineteenth century and was part of the old copper mining industry. It’s known as Wheal Friendship Leat or Reddaford Leat and in present day runs about four and a half miles.

Keep on the right hand side of the leat as you follow it along and around to the left under Nat Tor. You will start to get tantalising glimpses of the cleave ahead. A cleave is a steep-sided valley and this one rises up from the river Tavy forming a breathtaking landscape.

Once you get to the head of the leat, you’ll see a grey building. Keep left and follow the river. It’s not much of a path from here. Sometimes you’ll be walking along the riverbank on a little track, other times you’ll be scrambling over boulders. This is not for the faint hearted, however the views are worth it!

The large tor you’ve been seeing for a while is Ger Tor, which you will eventually pass by.  It really feels like you’re in the wilds of nature here, and you can enjoy the rapids, wildlife and flora and fauna of the cleave.

There are, of course, some legends associated with such a magical place and you can find them here. 

Follow the river all the way up to where it meets with Rattle Brook and then turn left, leaving the river Tavy behind.

[For a longer walk cross Rattle Brook and follow the river up to Sandy Ford (SX572 8835) then visit Fur Tor (SX 588 831), before retracing your steps back to Sandy Ford.]

The path next to Rattle Brook is more of a narrow animal path, and there are a couple of them, but if you keep the river in sight you’ll be heading the right direction for a boundary stone, which marks the river crossing point at Deadlake Foot (SX561 841).

The boundary stone is marked with WD 21 and is one of 26 erected by the war department to mark out the Willsworthy firing range. They date from about 1900 and mostly follow the boundary of the old Willsworthy Manor.

From here you’ll see a stream and the path out of this valley (in a north west direction). Follow alongside this until you reach a sort of crossroads. The path and stream split off in different directions. It may be worth taking a compass bearing here as the path to Hare Tor was to the right which didn’t seem like the correct direction, but the compass confirmed it and not too long after walking up this gradual incline, Hare Tor (SX 551843) appeared on the horizon.

Hare Tor sits in the middle of the firing range and is 531m/1742ft high with far reaching views which makes for a stark contrast to the rugged cleave below. Besides the range marker pole, you can spot Widgery Cross on Brat Tor to the north west and Ger Tor to the south west. 

From here it’s an easy walk to Ger Tor (SX 547831), about 0.8 of a mile from Hare Tor.  At Ger Tor you have the opportunity to stand on it proudly and survey the length of the cleave that you walked up earlier. There are great photo opportunities to be had from here.

Once you’ve had your fill of views, follow the path in a south westerly direction down and across Nattor Down, cross the leat and then you’ll be back at the car park.

A return trip on a sunnier day is planned!

View a map of the walk here

 

WEST DARTMOOR: Cox Tor and Stephen’s Grave

A handful of tors, an ancient grave and a standing stone are highlights of this walk which has stunning views over the moors and west Devon

DISTANCE: 7 miles moderate walking (or 2.3 miles easy, about 10 miles difficult)
NEAREST REFRESHMENTS: Tavistock or Princetown
CAR PARKING: Large car park on Pork Hill at SX 531751. 
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Bus Services 98 and 272, between Merrivale and Tavistock.

Some of this walk is within the Dartmoor Firing Range so check times before heading out.

This is a very scenic walk with lots of high views and if you want to put your head down and walk up some speed then there are nice even-ish stretches of moorland to do this on. 

 From the car park you will see Cox Tor towering in front of you across the road, so head straight up the slope to the top.  This tor differs slightly from most other tors on the moor as it’s composed from greenstone rather than granite. 

[For the easy walk take a path to right about a third of the way up and head to Beckamoor Dip, then circle back over the Staple Tors to the car park.]

Once at the top go around to the right and to the next granite outcrop where you will find a triangulation point (SX 531763) and a hut circle as there are many ancient settlements on the slopes of the tor. 

There are also amazing views of the moorland and West Devon which made me feel like some sort of benevolent being surveying the land. However my powers didn’t extend to the wind as it was a very blustery day and I was nearly blown off the top!

From here you should be able to spot Beckamoor Dip (SX 532752) which looks like a large pond lying between Cox Tor and Great Staple Tor. Follow animal tracks down to it and once there you can see White Tor in the distance which is roughly north of you.

Follow the stream down and the path will eventually disappear but your destination is clear so head in that general direction - just left and down from White Tor you will see some buildings which are Wedlake. To the right of this is a field and a path through it clearly defined (it was during summer anyway!) As you get closer to this path you’ll see a gate in the wall which is marked Wedlake (SX 538772).

Walk across this field to the far end and another gate and then you can cross over Colly Brook. Follow the wall up and around to the left until you hit the track. Then head straight up to find a path which will take you to Stephen’s Grave (SX 536781).

People who commented suicide were buried at crossroads to prevent their souls from wandering. The legend goes that over 300 years ago a local man called either John or George Stephens fell in love with a girl who did not return his advances so he took poison and killed himself. It is rumoured his ghost can be seen on dark nights haunting this site. Luckily I was there in bright sunshine!

From here you are on the main track with easy walking to the next point which is the Langstone standing stone at SX 550787. [For a more difficult route go via the top of White Tor.] Both tracks take in an ancient landscape with remains of old tin workings, stone rows and on top the tor itself, a fort.

The standing stone lies within the firing range and leading up to it you will see the distinctive red and white poles across the moorland. If the flags are flying you won’t be able to see the standing stone.

The Langstone is the third highest menhir on the moor at 434 metres and if you look closely you can see bullet marks on the stone where Americans used it as target practice during WW2.  It stands at the end of a stone row which is barely visible today.

[For the difficult route circle around to Great Mis Tor, Roos Tor and the Staple Tors.] 

From the Langstone you’ll need to retrace your steps for a short time, before the path splits and heads down to the left to the end of the field system at SX 547781. Here you will cross Colly Brook again and also spot a boundary stone marked PT. I have yet to discover what this means so please email me if you do! There are a few boundary stones in this area so this stone could mark the parish of Peter Tavy.

From here it’s a mainly straight walk, if a little marshy at times, uphill to Roos Tor. Just before you reach the tor you will come across a boundary stone marked B, which indicated the former Duke of Bedford’s land.  There is a circle of these around the tor believed to have been erected to protect it from granite workers in the late 1800s.  There are also other boundary marks on stones around tor, that of a circle with a line through it which also indicates that the stone should be left 
alone.

Once you reach Roos Tor you have lovely views back across to Cox Tor and around to Great Staple Tor and Great Mis Tor.  There is also a flagpole on top of the tor and if the red flag is flying to indicate the firing range is active you are still able to visit this tor. 

I walked over the top of the tor and a little to the left and then back around to the right to hook up with the path to Great Staple Tor. There is also another boundary stone on the way, this time with a P on one side and W on the other, marking the boundary between Peter Tavy and Whitchurch parishes.

After the boundary stone is Great Staple Tor - one of the three ‘Staple’ tors. It’s a nice looking tor spread out over the hill top with lots of granite stacks and a gateway-like gap enticing you in.

Head on to the next tor in the row which is Middle Staple Tor, a bit smaller than the last one. Walking on Dartmoor is way of de-stresing from the week for me and on this occasion I’d brought along my iPod. So facing the lovely views of the south east towards Merrivale I ate the last of my lunch and listened to Miserere Mei which is a very dramatic piece of music.

Suitably refreshed I was ready for the final tor of this walk - Little Staple Tor, which lives up to its name. It does, however, look very nice with Dartmoor ponies grazing in front of it.

I went over the tor and down to the right where you can see the path head back to the car park with a little gully on the way once you get onto level ground.

 

View a map of the walk here

 

Watch a slideshow of walk highlights here

Listen to Miserere Mei:

 

 

 

NORTH DARTMOOR: Nine Maidens and Belstone Tor

An interesting village, an ancient legend and some of the best views on the moor. This is a moderate walk but can be extended for a longer and harder route.

 DISTANCE: 4.2 miles (moderate walking due to the amount of clitter on the plateau)
NEAREST REFRESHMENTS: Belstone village or Okehampton
CAR PARKING: At the road side at SX616934

Some of this walk is in the Dartmoor Firing Range so check firing times before heading out.

Belstone is a pretty village in north Dartmoor. Park at SX616934 on the western side of the village and then walk up the road and through the gate.

With Watchet Hill on your left, follow the track along until you come to a fork. This first bit of track forms part of the Tarka Trail.

For now take the left fork onto Belstone Common, but keep reasonably parallel to the track. There are a few paths here so it’s a good idea to take a map bearing or keep your eyes peeled to spot the Nine Maidens stone circle (SX612928).

Nine Maidens, or Nine Stones as it’s marked on some maps, is a circle of 16 stones around an old Bronze Age burial chamber. It’s in a dramatic location for photos with  Belstone Tor one way and East Mill Tor in the distance the other. 

The legend behind the Nine Maidens is that a group of maidens danced on a Sunday and were turned to stone. As punishment they must dance every day at noon for the rest of eternity. Another version is that it was seventeen brothers who were turned to stone.

Once you have taken your fill then head up to Ladybrook Tor which is the first of the three tors that sits above Belstone Common. I went around it on the left hand side. There are lots of tracks here so take your pick of going around or over them!  The views from here and all along the plateau are stunning. 

From there you can see a path wend away to the horizon by East Mill Tor, plus Belstone village and cleave, and also onwards into a wilder Dartmoor past Oke Tor and Wild Tor. 

Keep going towards Belstone Tor.  It’s like once big chain of granite outcrops so there’s lots of clitter about - keep one eye on your feet and the other on those glorious views!

After Belstone Tor you will see Irishman’s Wall just before you reach Higher Tor. The remains of the wall run for about 0.8 miles from the flank of the tor to Cullever Steps. 

There are different theories behind how the wall came to be there and the most favoured one seems to be that it was part of a newtake meant to enclose Belstone Common. A newtake was a piece of land enclosed by early Dartmoor farmers. Two Irishmen were building the wall to enclose this vast area of land and the locals of Belstone and Okehampton disapproved so knocked it down and drove them away.

Just the other side of the wall is a large logan stone (SX614919). This is formed when a joint is eroded away by the weather until one stone ‘balances’ on top of another.

Higher Tor (SX612917) is an impressive set of granite stacks. The other side of it the path starts to descend and you will also spot some stones on the left hand side of the path which are old boundary stones.

If you wish to extend the walk then keep going to Oke Tor (add two miles); or Steeperton Tor and back via Taw Marsh (add five miles) then head back up the valley and link onto the path next to the river.

Go down a little further and you’ll come to a path going from right to left, cross this one as there is another just past this and go left along this. It will take you down into the valley. This is the place where the descent is the least steep.

Once you're down on the valley floor admire the views towards Oke Tor and Taw Marsh, then go left towards Belstone. The river Taw will be on your right and you’ll pass the Irishman’s Wall once again on this wide track.

Even though you are by the river you don’t really see it so I hopped onto a path by the weir to take a look. You can continue on the original track which will lead to a road, coming out a little further on from the path I took.

After a brief respite by the river I followed a small path and walked alongside it - very pretty - until I came to some houses. The path goes past these through a gate and eventually brings you to a road. Well, more like a country lane and a pretty walk along (keep right at the turning) which brings you out to the southern part of Belstone before you enter the village centre.

There is also car parking along this bit of road should you wish to return another day to walk Belstone Cleave on your right.

As you walk through the village there is a pub, The Tors, for some refreshment, and if you head right at the green you’ll see a memorial stone and past this the well-known stocks SX621936.

The memorial stone bears inscriptions for two monarchs - King George V and Queen Elizabeth II.  The stocks are a Grade II listed monument and were restored in 1953 and the granite seat, which is an upturned trough, added. More work was done in subsequent years.

Walk back up the past the green and the old telegraph office which has a stone dating it 1841.

This last bit is uphill I’m afraid, but in hardly any time at all you’ll be back at your car.

 

View a map of the walk here

Watch video highlights of the walk:

 

 

 

 

 

NORTH: Meldon Reservoir

There are a number of walks you can do from here including a three-miler around the reservoir. However I fancied something a little more challenging so did a seven-and-a-half-mile wide arc taking in Sourton Tors, Steng-a-Tor, Black Tor and Longstone Hill. Not for the faint-hearted this walk is tough going and also ventures in the territory of the beast of Dartmoor...

 

 

DISTANCE: 7.5 miles (difficult walk, steep inclines and very boggy in places)

NEAREST REFRESHMENTS: Okehampton or the interesting Highwayman’s Inn at Sourton

FACILITIES: There are toilets in the car park.

CAR PARKING: There is car park at the reservoir.

 

This is an area I hadn’t explored before and was looking forward to seeing the towering tors and dramatic landscape on the walk. From the car park at Meldon Reservoir (SX 562917) there are signposts for Sourton and the moors.

The first mile is a long pleasant uphill between granite-walled fields. I don’t get to say ‘pleasant uphill’ very often so it’s worth saying it twice!

The path spits you out with a couple of choices to go diagonally left or straight up. I went straight up towards Sourton Tors (SX 543899).

 

As I hadn’t seen this tor before I went for a closer inspection. On the main path are two stones, one either side and crossing this a track running left to right. I followed this around a little to see the front of the tors. It’s a very rocky outcrop over a wide area with a tor on top. It didn’t make for a good photo so retraced my steps back to the two stones and carried straight on towards Corn Ridge.

 

(A word of caution if it’s been raining over the past few days or the weather looks like it’s coming in, from here I recommend going towards Shelstone Tor. There’s a path to the right of it which will take you to Black Tor. This will chop a couple of miles off, but also some very difficult and boggy terrain.)

  

There seemed to be a scar on the side of Corn ridge and the path runs alongside this so I headed there, taking in the lovely view of Shelstone Tor and Black Tor on my left and Sourton Tors behind me.

It was too steep to descend to the river from here, so after a spot of lunch I decided to walk along the top of the ridge and head to Steng-a-Tor (SX 568880) where it looked like an easier descent.

 
 

There are some animals paths here but mainly not a track to follow and it gets very boggy in places. I came within a few hundred yards of Steng-a-Tor, and had to be disappointed as it was in the middle of a bog. Despite my best efforts and prodding the ground with my walking poles I couldn’t find a way across so put my sensible head on and left.

 

I have since found out that there have been sightings of the beast of Dartmoor around this tor so I’m very glad I didn’t hang around!

 
 

Going down was still steep and I followed the edge of the bog down. A tip I picked up from my walking guide days in Austria is that walking diagonally down a steep incline can make it a bit easier. I put this into practice here and also loosely followed the large red and white firing range poles down towards the river.

 

There are some nice views up and down the valley from here and also of West Okemont river and Black-a-Tor copse. It was at the copse where I head my second cuckoo of the year.

 
 

I followed the river back down the valley and past the copse to the left side of Black Tor (SX 566895). You can cross the river anywhere you find a spot! The path goes to the left of Black Tor and it’s a steep walk up. 

At the top the path is easily spottable so follow this along Longstone Hill. There a little cairn at the side of the path and after this the path starts to wend left and I spotted Meldon viaduct and then the reservoir car park.

 

It’s a pleasant path down to the reservoir and before you know it you’re back at the car park.

 

View map of Meldon reservoir route