Apologies for the break in service! Being 'volunteered' to paint Sister-in-Law's bungalow in Cornwall hasn't helped, nor the wet weather, nor the necessary gardening!
This walk: 2007-9-4 Dartmoor Inn, Lydford - Ford/Stepping Stones/Bridge - Bray Tor - Doe Tor - tin works - Hare Tor - Sharp Tor - Great Links Tor - Arms Tor.
Walk details below - Information about the route etc.
The walk was from the car park up the lane by the Dartmoor Inn at Lydford, towards Doe Tor, around to Great Links Tor and back. Perhaps the most interesting area was the old tin works - see below!
The bridge, stepping stones and ford across the River Lyd at SX 53187 85723. Great Nodden in the background.
Looking southwards, down on the footbridge at SX 52557 85146 over Doetor Brook
Looking upstream, Doetor Brook, a short distance from the footbridge in previous photo
Boundary post at SX 53962 85204 (±7m) with TRDC on its west face (Tavistock Rural District Council?). This part of an enclosure shown on the map which is not obvious on the ground!
Looking down the "cut" by the "enclosure" between Doetor Brook and the post in the next photo
Another post, at SX 54112 85779 (± 6 m) at the east end of the "enclosure", bearing "TRDC"
View from post in previous photo across to Dow Tor, note red firing flag
Zoomed view of the red flag warning of military firing, which could be heard
Ruined mine building at Wheal Frederick, at SX 54584 85381, marked but not labelled on the map, looking north-west. Note the ramp of the raised leat in the background, to feed the overhead launder to an overshot waterwheel (check HERE for notes about how this site would have operated).
View across the front of the works towards Great Links Tor, across the two "buddle" pits that are overgrown (check HERE again), towards the stream that, further upsteam, fed the leat
General view of the main building
View down on the wheel pit and tailrace which would take the water back to the stream
Side view of the ramp/raised leat that carried the water to the launder and the water wheel
A view of the interior looking south, showing Hare Tor
A view of the interior looking north
Another view, showing Sharp Tor (nearest) and Hare Tor
View southwards, showing the wheel pit and associated building, not visible in other photos
As previous photo but aligned so that all the building structures are included
View east from approx SX 54512 85908 along an old "cut" for tin, across a much-turned-over valley
Roger - This must be one of those thick contours we heard about at Compassworks! Actually, wrong place, so it must be the bridle path (SX 54390 86058)
View to Great Links Tor from SX 54722 86136
View from SX 54722 86136 looking south towards the tin works of a very-much dug-over valley. Detail is lost in the cloud shadow .....
Again, near SX 54722 86136, looking east along the sunken bridle path
Boundary stone at SX 55152 86121 (±4m), bearing "L" (= Lydford)
Rear face of the stone, bearing letters that were difficult to see, the map shows "Lands common to the parishes of Bridestowe and Sourton" in the opposite direction so it may bear "B S" ?
Great Links Tor at SX 55237 86751 from the direction of the boundary stone in the previous photo
Great Links Tor, close up
Great Links Tor trig point and a standing stone
View past the standing stone with Sharp and Hare tors (right of the stone, 2.5 km/ 1.5 miles) and possibly Great Mis Tor in the distance (left of the stone, 7.3 km/4.5 miles)
Looking north from Great Links Tor, towards Corn Ridge and Sourton Tors
Looking north-east from Great Links Tor, towards Bridestowe
Looking back at Great Links from the direction of Arms Tor
Approaching Arms Tor from Great Links Tor
Part of Arms Tor, against the sun
Great Links Tor, looking back from near Arms Tor
Dartmoor ponies, between Great Links and Arms tors
View from Arms Tor towards Sharp Tor and Hare Tor
Daisy-May, one of the famous climbing cows on Dartmoor at Arms Tor
Another view of Daisy-May
View of Bray Tor, side-on to the cross (Widgery Cross), at SX 53957 85593
View down to the starting point of the walk. The car park is at the top end of the track in the middle of the photo, not to be confused with the plume of smoke
Looking back at Arms Tor
Some heather and gorse near the end of the walk
- these two flower photos did not work in stereo
Heather and gorse
Another view of the stepping stones at the start/end of the walk
Looking downstream, cows crossing the River Lyd
Another shot
Lookinmg up at Widgery Cross, on Bray Tor
Sharp Tor (SX 55010 84860) from the track back to the car park
Reproduced from Dartmoor OS Explorer map 1:25 000 scale by
permission of Ordnance Survey
on behalf of The Controller of Her Majesty's
Stationery Office.
© Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Licence number 100047373.
Also, Copyright © 2005, Memory-Map Europe, with permission
MAP: Blue = planned route, Red = GPS track of the actual walk
The road to this walk is very easy - take the A386 from Tavistock to Okehampton to the Lydford turn-off and go up the lane on the other side of the road, just to the left of the Dartmoor Inn (as you look at it). This is at SX 52295 85260. The lane leads to a moor gate that must be closed behind you, there is quite a spacious car park.
The walk starts fairly level and easy to the bridge/stepping stones/ford and to the footbridge. After that, the ground tends to be a little harder going but it is not strenuous. Some of it is very pleasant, and the climbing is not hard although it is almost constantly uphill to Great Links Tor .....
The climb is 265 meters/870 feet.
Statistics: distance 9.55 km/5.9 miles; moving average 3.8 kph/2.4 mph; overall average 2.1 kph/1.3 mph; time 4 h 27 mins.
All photographs on this web site are copyright ©2007-2016 Keith Ryan.
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