Taking in five tors this walk gives stunning views of the area and has some steep ascents and descents.
DISTANCE: 5.6 miles (difficult with steep hills, but a shorter walk of 3.6 miles missing out Rippon Tor would be moderate)
NEAREST REFRESHMENTS: Bovey Tracey or Widecombe-in-the-Moor
CAR PARKING: The car park above the Haytor visitor information point at (SX763770).
Haytor dominates the landscape and you can see why this area was a favourite of crime writer Agatha Christie. She wrote her first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, at a nearby hotel in 1916.
The tor is the final stop on the walk, so for now head straight on with the car park behind you, keeping Haytor on your left. You’ll soon spot the path which cuts across a couple of tracks before merging with the track to Haytor Quarries (SX 760775). You should also see the large mounds of rocks of the quarries.
There were many quarries on Dartmoor and the boom time was in the early 19th century. Granite from Haytor Quarries was transported to Stover Canal via a tramway and then on to Teignmouth. Some of the stone was used in London Bridge.
The track will take you to a gate which is the entry point. Go through and the path takes you around the pool and to a stile at the other end. It’s a pretty spot and good for wildlife spotting when it’s quiet.
After the stile, follow the path which takes you to the old tramway. In front of you are Smallacombe Rocks (SX 755783), so cross the tramway and head to the rocks. The views from here take in the distinctive Hound Tor and Greator Rocks.
Head left to the edge of the rocks and you can’t miss Holwell Tor (SX 751776) with more disused quarries at its base. You’ll be able to see small path running in a roughly diagonal direction to the base of this tor. Take this path, cross the tramway and ascend the tor.
When you reach the top you’ll go left, but first take in those lovely views to the north from this 402m high tor.
Walk down the tor and aim for a tree in front of a large mound of rocks. The tramway is here, so head right and path forks almost immediately. Take the left fork, then short while later, left again, then head on until you reach an expanse of gorse, where the path goes left.
The path skirts the gorse and you’re walking towards what looks like another tor, but is another disused quarry. You’re aiming for SX754768, towards the edge of the rocks where the path goes right and up.
You should be able to see Saddle Tor (SX 751763), so continue on to it, passing a boundary stone marked I for Ilsington. From Saddle Tor you can enjoy the view of Rippon Tor and also be able to see the path which you’ll be walking down in a little while.
[If you’re doing the shorter walk then head back towards Haytor on the lower path which goes by the small car park, and skirt around the base of Haytor, back to the car.]
From Saddle Tor, walk past the car park and you’ll see a small path next to the granite wall. Follow this along and where it splits, keep to the one next to the road. The area on your right is Emsworthy, which is another good place for wildlife spotting and also an old farming complex.
Follow the road/path until you reach the cattle grid. You need to follow the wall to the right so cross the road to use the gate, then cross back. Follow the boundary wall a short distance to the Seven Lords Lands cairn (SX 743762). This is an old boundary point where seven manors met, and while the central chamber is gone the Bronze Age cairn circle still remains.
From here, retrace your step back to the road, cross it and go back through the gate. Rippon Tor (SX 746756) is beckoning, so go through the gate in the granite wall and follow the path to the top of the tor, at an impressive 473 metres. There is also a trig point at the top, hidden among some rock piles.
I love the view from here. You can survey the land, looking back over the area you’ve walked today. There is also a cross (which I missed!), north of the summit cairn, which is on the ground, carved from granite. There are two further large cairns here.
Pick up the path to the east of the tor which goes to the right to a gate in the boundary wall. Go through the gate and then down towards Saddle Tor. The path goes to the right of the car park, so cross the road and when you’re about halfway up, take the path to the right, which will skirt beneath the rocks of the tor.
From here aim for the car park at SX754763 but you need the next path up, so go left, then right and the path in front of you stretches on to Haytor (SX 757771).
When you reach Haytor (457m), there is a short, but steep ascent and you’re finally on the tor! To get back to the car, keep going straight on and down the other side of the tor, but take some time to explore, as it’s one the more popular Dartmoor Tors for a reason.
© Gillian Adams 2016
For information on where to stay, eat and visit on Dartmoor, please see www.visitdartmoor.co.uk
To view my Dartmoor walks ebook click here, and my Dartmoor colouring book click here