Looking north towards Hare Tor from White Tor The far west of the moor is an area I get to fairly infrequently. It's the longest drive from Torbay and, as I'm always striving to find a balance between early starts for long days on the moor and a solid lie in and brunch, we usually … Continue reading White Tor
Dartmoor
Grey Wethers and Sittaford Tor
The last walk of 2021 was a short walk with two friends and their dogs up to Bellever Tor to see the views, a impeccable plan if it weren't for the fact that it was so foggy on the day that we couldn't even see the bottom of the tor from the top. Still, we … Continue reading Grey Wethers and Sittaford Tor
Saddle Tor
Saddle Tor, with Hay Tor peeping over its shoulder. Dwarfed by its more famous neighbour and appearing as a mere pimple from the nearby road, it’s a wonder anyone visits Saddle Tor at all. It rates poorly by comparison to its neighbours. It doesn’t look like much, from the main road to the south at … Continue reading Saddle Tor
The Lych Way
Yesterday, I finally completed a walk that I've been meaning to do for several years, but just never got round to - Dartmoor's very own 'Way of the Dead'. The Lych Way is an ancient corpse road which was used to bring the dead of Dartmoor's central basin to Lydford church for burial. Lydford itself … Continue reading The Lych Way
Scorhill and Kestor Rocks
I can't overstate just how much we have missed Dartmoor during the last lockdown. For most of 2020, we were still allowed to go to Dartmoor for our exercise and just being able to do that had such a positive effect on our collective mental state. It allowed us to break out of home and … Continue reading Scorhill and Kestor Rocks
Swincombe
It’s hard to believe it’s been over three months since our last family walk on Dartmoor. We’ve found the last lockdown to be tough. Days out on the moor have been at least a fortnightly event for the last year or so, but the January closure put an end to that as we live just … Continue reading Swincombe
Honeybag Tor
I always have mixed feelings about the clocks going back. I love the hope and optimism that spring seems to bring, summer is for camping and being outdoors, and I love the residual warmth and colours of early autumn. The clocks going back represents the end of most of those things and a desire to … Continue reading Honeybag Tor
Tormentil
Potentilla erecta (less commonly P. tormentilla) This rather dainty and ubiquitous flower is tormentil. You’ll find it creeping all over the moor, from the tops of tors and open moor to riversides and woodland. It looks like a tiny buttercup, but look more closely: it’s actually a member of the rose Rosaceae family, and one … Continue reading Tormentil
Sharp Tor and Yar Tor
Photos from Sharp Tor and Yar Tor The Sharp Tor Tree is one of my favourite trees. As long as I've been to Dartmoor it's been there, clinging on improbably to a saddle among the clitter in the middle of the tor, where the soil and roots must be just deep enough to hold it … Continue reading Sharp Tor and Yar Tor
Blaggers' Blog 