Another walk from Venford Reservoir

Although not permitted in certain parts of the country, we can still get out and about in the West Country so it was off to Dartmoor with one of our walking groups. I think it was either the 3rd or 4th time we've done this one but repetition certainly does not detract from the enjoyment. Nature provides the novelty as we seem to walk it in different seasons. The last time we were here it was in November as the leaves were falling from the trees: this time it was just before the leaves had really turned to give their best Autumn colour. Maybe we'll time it right next year. And the weather was very much in our favour - not too cold with clear skies, which gave good visibility and distant views.

A very straightforward route to follow. From the reservoir car park, head east for a short spell and then go over the moor to drop down into the Dart valley and pick up the pipeline track. Follow this to just below the car park, pick up the track to Combestone Farm and then follow the Hamlyn leat around Combestone Tor back to our starting point. My GPS clocked the distance at 6.2 miles so it was a reasonable stretch of the legs.

Onto the moor and this is the type of view that accompanied us for most of our walk. The brown of the decaying bracken is really striking.

No prizes for guessing the direction of the prevailing wind. It's coming from the west.

The group dropping down into the Dart Valley. This bit can be quite slippery but it wasn't too bad today.

Once on the track, we were in deciduous woods. The height of the trees in this part signifies the quest for light in this steep sided valley.

The track we followed was built over the line of the pipes taking water from Venford Reservoir down to the Torquay and Torbay area - a distance of some 30 miles.

This beautiful fungus is the Amethyst Deceiver (Laccaria amethystina) which can be found in all types of woodland. Their colour strength changes depending on the weather conditions. For example, when wet or damp, it’s quite possible you may walk past many of them as their violet colour deepens and merges into the undergrowth background. We must have walked by quite a few as they’re extremely common in autumn. As they age, the colour fades to a pale buff.
Unfortunately I fiddled with the settings on my camera to see what they looked like in the 'Art Bold' setting and then deleted the original. I don't think this readjustment of colour does the subject any favours - far too garish.

A clapper bridge on the track to Combestone Farm. How old is it? No idea but it does suggest that the track had sufficient significance to warrant an all-weather crossing at this point rather than a slosh through the ford.

Lots of Old Man's Beard on mainly hawthorn trees. A sign of atmospheric purity.

This was a walk when the landscape took over. Views, views, views all the way around.

This is something that we hadn't noticed before - a stone circle. But I don't think this one is particularly old. Perhaps it's a sheep or cattle pound.

A restored stretch of Hamlyn's Leat. The leat was was cut in the early part of the 19th century to supply water for textile mills in Buckfastleigh and it water is still flowing in it. In some places, parallel to this leat, the remains of a dry leat that served Wheal Emma, a local copper mine, can be seen. 

Hamlyn's Leat was cut through a few Iron Age settlements. Unfortunately, this is not the time of year for looking at hut circles and settlement boundary walls - too much bracken as this photograph shows. You'll have to take my word that there is fairly intact hut circle in view. In the distance, our walking group is winding its way along the leat as it crosses Holne Moor in the lee of  Combestone Tor.