In Brief
Armed with a backpack (borrowed), a sleeping bag (borrowed), a pair of
boots (borrowed), a compass (borrowed) and an Ordnance Survey Map (mine!) I braved the
rugged hills, marshes and B&B's of Dartmoor for four days.
Sunday, 21 June 1998
Day 1 - Chagford to Runnage Farm
By the time Dad dropped me off at Chagford it was 2pm! I wasted no
more time, but headed out of the village to find the Two Moors Way that I would
spend so much time on, over the next few days. Dartmoor has many marked public paths, and
the Two Moors Way is, I believe, the longest of them. Most of my trip was
on this "path" (which is at various places a dirt track, a tarred road and open
moorland), but I left the way when it suited me (and a couple of times when it didn't).
Much of the afternoon was spent walking past various farms on the way,
until, late in the afternoon, I arrived at a large expanse of moorland, where I got
lost. Having never had to follow a map and compass before, I had made the mistake of
just following the path, and had ended up following a sheep path off the track. :-P
Since I was unaware of my mistake I spent quite a bit of time jumping between clumps of
grass in my first marsh. Soon a farmer came along to stop me walking through his
paddock of bulls ("'Scuse me! Wahr d'y think yr gown?") and very kindly sent me
even further away from the path.
However, I soon figured out where I was, and even though the detour added
a couple of miles to my trip I had learned some valuable lessons.
After dinner at a local pub (the Warren House Inn), I made my way to
Runnage Farm, where there was a camping barn where I was to spend the night. A Dutch
couple had settled into one end of the barn, so I moved into the other end. My end
of the barn was two storeys tall. The top floor was the sleeping area, and was
carpeted, and the bottom floor had a rudimentary kitchen, which I didn't use. It was
already 10pm, and I was quite tired after my day's adventure, and I fell asleep pretty
much straight away. (There was still some light outside - it was the day of the Summer
Solstice.)
Monday, 22 June 1998
Day 2 - Runnage Farm to Poundsgate
My legs were a bit sore when I woke up, but after a HOT shower I felt
much better. I headed off through the pine forest next to Runnage Farm, and very
soon I was met by the Dutch couple who had decided to come the same way that day.
They had no particular destination in mind, so when I told them I was heading for some
archaeological ruins they asked if they could come along too. I was glad for the company,
even if they did walk a bit faster than I was comfortable with.
We walked through the "Medieval Village of Challacombe" which
to my untrained eyes didn't seem to be much more than some ruins a couple of feet high,
but were pretty anyway. Some of the trees there looked ancient, and yet must have
been planted!
I thought I had seen our destination
(called Grimspound) at the top of the hill, but when we got there we discovered it was a
tor, rock exposed from erosion. I was angry at myself for making the same mistake as
yesterday (believing my eyes rather than the map and my brain) but we had a great view
down to the prehistoric village from the tor. |
Looking Down on Grimspound |
Grimspound |
Grimspound is a group of stone hut
circles surrounded by a protecting wall (or "pound"). The Dutch couple
said goodbye to me there, so I sat in one of the stone hut circles and ate a small lunch
of dried fruit. It was very peaceful, and I was happy to have finally seen something
of the prehistoric sites that are all over Dartmoor. I found out later that the area
was probably founded in the Bronze Age, about 1700BC. |
Most of the afternoon was spent back on the high moor, with the wild
ponies and the sheep. I headed South (back on Two Moors Way again), past
some burial mounds. My feet and legs were getting sore, and when a farmer in one of
the villages offered me a lift to the B&B (Bed and Breakfast) next door to his farm, I
accepted gratefully.
It was bizarre going from the solitary walk to a hot shower, double bed
and a big farm-cooked dinner.
Tuesday, 23 June 1998
Day 3 - Poundsgsate to South Brent
The breakfast was even better than the dinner! I was amazed that I
was ready to walk again - the previous night I had been worried that I'd have to stop.
I walked through some lovely countryside by the river near Newbridge - I
think I'd like to take Kas and the Kids there when they get here in a week or so.
I missed a short downpour of rain at Holne by sitting in the doorway of a
pub and then left Two Moors Way by climbing a complete mongrel of a hill to get
to another path, called Abbot's Way (which I think was originally a path between
two Abbeys). A heavy mist had descended on the moor by now, and I was getting
increasingly worried that I should turn back. At one point I got to a gate, and the
only path I could see went off to the North, but I was sure I had to go West. The
mist was so heavy now that I couldn't see more than 50 yards, but since I was sure that I
could get back to the gate if I was making a mistake, I headed up the hill. I spent
an hour taking compass readings, looking for a spot within eyesight, walking there and
repeating. I was absolutely elated when I found the Avon Dam which proved me to be
spot on course.
I followed the river below the dam to a town called Didworthy, where I
thought I could find a room because the town looked largish on the map, but most of what
appears on the map is a disused hospital, so I had to hobble even further to South Brent,
where I found a room at one of the pubs.
I was in the pub (after cleaning up a bit) when the room was suddenly
filled with Morris Dancers. There was some kind of Summer Festival on that week, but
they were worried that nobody would see them dancing because the evening had been washed
out. They went out into the lane next to the pub and started dancing, smacking
their sticks together, waving their hankies in the air. At one point I was their
only audience, and I was hooting with laughter because the whole scene was so surreal
after the silence of the misty moor.
Wednesday, 24 June 1998
Day 4 - South Brent to Ivybridge
It was raining heavily when I woke up, but since I was so close to
Ivybridge I was absolutely determined to get home under my own power, rain or not. I
bought some more provisions - garbage bags to further protect my borrowed belongings and a
waterproof map holder (of sorts).
It stopped raining as soon as I got out of South Brent - one of the
locals had told me it rains there especially - as I headed west. When I got to the
Owley Moor path a cat started following me, and since he looked so bedraggled I promised
him a home if he could follow me all the way back to Ivybridge. We walked together
for a kilometre or so, until I got to the open moor where he howled for a bit and then
turned back.
It was a hard slog up the hill to get back to Two Moors Way, but
then there was a rock path most of the way back, South to Ivybridge. At one point I
walked past a really long row of standing stones - it looks like they go for miles on the
map. Most of the other things I was supposed to be walking past (hut circles,
cairns etc) I couldn't pick at all - they just looked like jumbles of rocks to me.
I hobbled into Ivybridge in the afternoon, tired but happy.
After the Fact
I went out onto the moors to give me something to think about other than
waiting to see my wife and kids again, but what I ended up with was long days out by
myself with plenty of time to think about just that!
I calculate that I travelled about 14kms per day (about 2/3 of that on
the last day) which was 52kms in total. It felt longer, honest!
Next time I'll leave the sleeping bag (and the bloody frying pan) behind,
and I'll make sure the boots I wear fit REAL WELL.
One other thing - I seem to have lost the feeling in my right big toe - a
pinched nerve or something I guess. My warning though, to those that venture out on
the moor - the Ghost of Kirk's Toe is afoot! (I was going to say at large, but I can't
resist a bad pun.)