Our hottest walk on Dartmoor?

Phew - what a scorcher! And hot it certainly was for this month's walk with our regular group. It makes sense, doesn't it? One of the hottest days of the year and we head for the open moor where there's no shade. It wasn't that bad in reality and the clear conditions gave us some long-reaching views over the moorland and down to the sea at Plymouth Sound.

As for last month, we started at Norsworthy Bridge at the top of Burrator Reservoir but this time we headed south east up the Deanscombe Valley. Once there we followed the stream through the old tin workings to the mine at Eylsebarrow. From there our route took us over the hill to Nun's Cross and then it was cross country to Down Tor and back to our starting point. My GPS clocked just under 6.5 miles which, under such conditions, was probably far enough for one day.

Lots of clouds at the start but these soon disappeared, leaving mostly clear blue skies.

For a few hundred yards we had some shade but it didn't last as we moved onto.......



...the open moor. Here we are looking back towards our starting point with Peek Hill, Leather Tor and Sharpitor in the distance.




What's this? A double line of stones going up a hill? Actually, these mark the position of the flat rods that used to take the power from the large water wheel down the hill to the tin-ore processing machinery at the top. The stones themselves were the guides between which the flat rods went back and forth. Not very mechanically efficient but effective given the terrain and resources available at the time (circa 1830).

A vista looking north east over Fox Tor Mire, reputedly the setting for Grimpen Mire in Conan Doyle's 'Hound of the Baskervilles'. The view stretches for some 25 miles.

"Cotton grass grows where you shouldn't go" or so the saying goes. Not a problem for this patch but a warning that should be generally heeded.

Ah, that's what this Bronze Age stone was originally placed for.

Stone row dating from 2000-3000 BC. This one is not far off a kilometre in length and has a stone cairn at one end, which is just about visible in the distance.

And a stone circle with standing stone at the other. No-one really knows the purpose of such structures, of which there are many on Dartmoor. The consensus seems to be settled on something ceremonial or religious.

However, this cow obviously has an alternative theory - they were originally scratching posts for Bronze Age cattle. It works for me!

The view from the top of Down Tor looking west to Burrator Reservoir.

And at the end of the walk, a welcome ice-cream by the reservoir. I think we'd all earned one by this stage.