A Dartmoor Walk: Wistman's Wood, West Dart River, Beardown Tors and Devonport Leat

A walk we did a few months ago and I've only just realised that I never posted it. It's a good reminder of a very pleasant day.

A dry day in prospect and, after a relatively dry spell (by dry, I mean not that much rain), a walk that could have involved a river crossing was a possibility. Thus, we went off to Dartmoor with a Plan A and a Plan B, which did or did not involve water respectively. In the end, Plan A prevailed and it was a good choice. Haven't walked this way for many years and it hadn't lost its charm.

We started and ended in the car park opposite the Two Bridges Hotel. From there we walked up the track to Wistman's Wood and, just north of that, dropped down to the West Dart River - just where the right hand red line bears left. This was the decision point for where we went next. We could gone up Longaford Tor to the right but, as the river crossing was OK, we headed left up to Beardown Tors and then dropped down to the Devonport Leat and followed this back to the car park. About 5.5 miles and, because of the nature of the terrain, I'd give it a 'moderate' in terms of difficulty.

Looking up the West Dart Valley, pretty much showing the entirety of our route. Higher White Tor is to the right in the distance and the mass of Beardown Hill is to the left. Wistman's Wood can be made out at the top of the valley

Wistman's Wood is a fragile protected area, as all these signs indicate. Despite all these, there are still too many people who insist on going into the woods to get close-up photographs for posting on social media. I know, I know, this is a social media post but I did not go anywhere near entering the 'forbidden zone'. I used a long lens to get close-up shots.

Wistman's Wood is an amazing group of trees growing among granite boulders. It is famous for its twisted and weathered dwarf trees, covered in mosses and lichens. The trees are mainly oak, but you'll also find mountain ash, hollies, and ground plants such as bilberry and woodrush, plus lichens, mosses, ferns and grasses. It is a rare relict of the ancient high-level woodlands of Dartmoor and is classed as a temperate rain-forest ecosystem. 

The downside to it being too popular is that measures have had to be taken to reduce the footfall of this delicate ecosystem. We can blame the Covid lockdown for this!

You can still walk around the top and bottom edges of the woods and there are places to peer in and carefully take photos.  And it is very photogenic because of its mystical looks and the opportunity for uniquely atmospheric images. Add misty mornings, shafts of sunlight and tales of it being haunted and you've got the stuff of mystery - and a magnet for tourists. 

The West Dart River, not that far from where it originates in the peaty marshlands, quite close to Fur Tor

Negotiating the river crossing at the Devonport Leat Weir Head. A modicum of paddling was involved, followed by balancing along a narrow wall. Luckily, the water levels were surprisingly low considering all of the rain we've had

The Devonport Leat was constructed in the 1790s to carry fresh drinking water from the high ground of Dartmoor to the expanding dockyards at Plymouth Dock (which was renamed as Devonport, Devon on 1st January 1824). This is where water is taken from the river into the leat. There are another two such take-offs at other points on the moor.

The leat runs parallel with the river for a while before...........

......contouring around Beardown Tor. And this is what happens when some are braver at leaping across leats than others.

Every now and again we'll come across a ‘sheep leap’ which consists of two projecting slabs of granite, each one set adjacent into the opposing banks and protruding about a foot over the leat. Their purpose is to assist a sheep when it jumps the leat by providing a launch and landing pad thus reducing the risk of it falling into the water and becoming trapped or, worse still, drowning. It might look like a collapsed granite 'clapper' but it's something quite distinct

The leat continues through Beardown Woods, which weren't there when the leat was built.

Green, green.......

..........and even more green. Isn't the eye wonderful that it can distinguish so many different shades, without even batting an eyelid?

Rough waters of the Cowsic River, which runs into the West Dart at Two Bridges. This is a relatively short river, only about four and a half miles in length. It rises near Devil's Tor and flows due south to the west of the Beardown Tors in a steep valley.