Dartmoor Way: Trendlebere Down to Cranbrook Down

Monday 1st April 2024

The night before this walk I was camped on the edge of Trendlebere Down and woke to a cold morning with clear skies overhead and stunning views across the Bovey Valley, but with a saturated tent from the rain earlier in the night and condensation from the cold. After breakfast I made my way back down the hill and soon I was back on the Dartmoor Way and walking on a road, which seems to be normal. When I came off the road I entered the National Trust’s Parke Estate, initially beside a lovely bit of woodland, but all too soon I was dumped into a very muddy field. Eventually the ground hardened and I was able to make my way across the estate and into the town of Bovey Tracey, which is technically outside of the Dartmoor National Park. When Abbie Barnes of Spend More Time In The Wild did this walk in 2021, as shown on YouTube, the town was bypassed, which can all be done too easily, but instead of following my inspiration I decided to stick rigidly to the route. While in Bovey Tracey I bought something for lunch and filled my water bottles before setting off along the path through Mill Marsh Park and beside the River Bovey while ahead of me I could see dark clouds looming ahead that soon covered the skies, removing the sunshine that I had woken to and when I joined the route of a disused railway line it started to rain.

The rain was intermittent at first and I was reluctant, as always, to put on my waterproof trousers until eventually I relented which ultimately proved to be necessary, though not immediately. After a pleasant walk on the course of the old railway line largely through woodland lined with celandines and primroses, the Dartmoor Way veered off the railway onto a road and across the valley, and as the rain began to fall in earnest I turned into Pullbrook Wood following a forestry track past many log stacks. With the rain pouring down I ploughed on along the byway until I reached Becka Brook where the track crossed the stream by a ford, but the stream was now a raging torrent and could not be easily crossed. There must be a bridge at this point, but I didn’t see it though I didn’t really look for it and it may have been a short distance downstream. Instead I could see a slender path beside the stream so I took that, but it soon became obvious that this was not the Dartmoor Way as the path became increasingly sketchy and difficult to follow. As I made slow progress through the dense vegetation the rain stopped and astonishingly the clouds broke to reveal blue skies. When I finally lost all trace of the path I climbed up the bank to get out of the valley and when I reached an opening I was afforded me with views in the sunshine across the valley.

Eventually I reached a road and followed this through a meandering course past the tourist attraction of Becky Falls to a footpath that goes around the falls without providing me with a view, since you have to pay for that privilege, and instead I passed many signs that kept me away from the paying areas until eventually, beyond the falls, I finally returned to the Dartmoor Way after my long diversion around Becky Falls. A short spell of road walking brought me to the hamlet of Water where I turned into woodland, which initially I thought was a welcome change from the road walking that I had so often encountered on the Dartmoor Way, but soon I longed to be back on roads as the path through the wood was horrendously muddy, which made walking extremely difficult and left my feet and legs covered in mud. When the path entered Neadon Cleave it seemed to be descending all the way down to the River Bovey but eventually I turned left to pass through woodland that looked promising for flowers, but frustratingly at this early date in the season all I could see was green plants. If the path had been firmer underfoot and I was there a month later, then I’m sure this would have been a fabulous walk through gorgeous woodland, but instead I was relieved when I finally reached the end which heralded the start of a prolonged spell of road walking.

That ended on the approach to Dickford Bridge when the road became an exceptionally muddy track that got my boots covered in mud and then soon after I had to wade through deep water which washed all the mud off my boots and soaked my feet. Eventually I came into the pretty little village of North Bovey and beyond I crossed many fields, including one that was heavily ploughed and difficult to cross, until the final challenge on the path up into Moretonhampstead, which was stupendously muddy. The walking on this day was extremely difficult with many very muddy paths that were very quickly wearing me out. After passing through Moretonhampstead the path took me through pleasant woodland to reach the edge of Butterdon Down until eventually, and with low energy levels, I finally reached Cranbrook Down and climbed up into the remains of an Iron Age hillfort where I put up my tent. Several showers had passed through during the afternoon interspersed with some lovely sunshine and occasionally views towards moors in the west, but I was not in the mood to appreciate it. It started to rain soon after I reached Cranbrook Down, which did not help my mood as I tried to put up my tent and moaned that it was poorly designed and eventually I came to the realisation that I don’t actually like camping. I camp under sufferance. It was necessary during Covid and to get me to places I wouldn’t otherwise be able to get to, but I don’t actually enjoy it. With this realisation I began to change my plans for the year which had involved a lot of camping.

Dartmoor Way: Water Oak Corner to Trendlebere Down

Sunday 31st April 2024

After a cold and wet night I woke on the edge of Dean Moor in Dartmoor to overcast skies with the strong winds that had accompanied the rain earlier in the night now easing. Finally, I set off from Water Oak Corner onto grassy fields that reminded me of Easter Sunday last year when I had been in the Yorkshire Dales and the skies were similarly overcast, but I felt upbeat. The fatigue that I had felt the day before was now gone after a good night that saw me going to sleep when it got dark and waking up when it got light. It was great to be untroubled by alarm clocks and able to sleep for as many hours as my body needed while the clocks changing overnight passed by without me noticing, though my phone soon reminded me that it was an hour later than my watch indicated. The route of the Dartmoor Way took me across Lambs Down to the crossing of Dean Burn set in delightful woodland before a short climb brought me onto a road whose banks were lined with wildflowers, most notably primroses that were very encouraging for me as I walked along the road. When I finally turned off I passed through some fields and into Bilberryhill Copse, which was initially covered in wild garlic and then bluebells, though tragically it was too early in the year for me to see them in flower.

Beyond, an abominably muddy path took me past a farm and onto a road that led me into the market town of Buckfastleigh where I stopped at the Singing Kettle for a late breakfast. On this Sunday morning everywhere else was shut so this tearoom was a welcome place for me to rest and recharge. Onward, I crossed the River Mardle and turned up a long flight of steps lined with beautiful wildflowers to reach the ruins of Holy Trinity Church before a steep descent brought me back to the road after what seems like a complete waste of effort. With blue skies briefly appearing and the sun briefly breaking through I crossed the River Dart and headed towards the town of Ashburton, largely on roads, though not direct as I made several unnecessary diversions before finally descending into Ashburton where I stopped for lunch. When I resumed my walk along the Dartmoor Way I crossed a grassy bank above the waters of the River Ashburn, which I followed into the woodland of Whiddon Scrubbs where, beyond a fence, a brilliant display of woodland plants could be seen, all poised to come out in flower, just not at this time.

Once the path became drier underfoot, then it was a pleasure to walk through this wood beside the slender river, despite overcast skies and a lack of woodland flowers. Eventually the path moved away from the river and climbed on a wet, muddy track to reach Lower and Higher Whiddon which heralded the start of a prolonged section of road walking. From Owlacombe Cross a relatively busy road brought me to Halshanger Cross where I turned right for a quieter stretch of road walking that undulated along the foot of the moors until finally I reached Birchanger Cross. I had not been on the moors so far this day and instead there had been a lot of frustrating road walking, which was only enlivened by the primroses that lined the banks but this last stretch even lacked that so I was relieved when I finally reached Birchanger Cross, turned left and descended to cross the River Lemon. Another muddy path brought me up out of the valley and onto the open moor where I was overjoyed to be finally unfettered and able to see the widespread, though misty, views behind me and ahead past the gorse bushes onto the moor.

When Haytor Rocks came into view I was blown away by the enormity of them, so it was a shame it was so misty and windy and that a road passes just below so they were covered in people. The Dartmoor Way passes to the right, east, of these two granite outcrops, but I elected to pass between them before descending the slopes beyond to reach the Templer Way and the tracks of an old tramway, which is unusually formed of granite rails, shaped to guide the wheels of horse-driven wagons. At this point I was thinking it was too early to stop where I had intended, but it took me so long to follow the trail off the moor and around the edge of Yarner Wood, where the granite tramway continued, that by the time I reached Reddaford Water at the foot of Trendlebere Down it was about five o’clock, so I climbed up onto the moor and found a spot to camp with views looking over the Bovey Valley. Apart from a fleeting bit of sunshine, this day was very misty and overcast with a lot of tedious road walking, but there were many highlights including some great woodland and Haytor Rocks, which I’d never seen before, and overall this felt like a good day.

Dartmoor Way: Ivybridge to Water Oak Corner

Saturday 30th March 2024

After spending a few days walking through Dartmoor in 2020 I was keen to return and when I saw that Abbie Barnes of Spend More Time In The Wild had walked the Dartmoor Way in spring 2021 I thought that looked a good idea, which was strengthened when I saw the video on YouTube of Abbie’s walk. I actually planned to do the Dartmoor Way a year ago but then a High Court judge removed the right to wild camp on Dartmoor so I decided not to go. With that decision overruled on appeal I decided that this Easter I would do the Dartmoor Way, so I caught a train to Ivybridge on the southern edge of the National Park, where I had previously been in 2008 after traversing Dartmoor from north to south. With the sun shining I made my way beside the railway line to a road junction where I realised the Dartmoor Way passes, but the actual start was at the bottom of the hill. I considered ignoring the official starting point and proceeding along the Dartmoor Way from this point, but I wanted to do this properly so I headed done the steep road until I reached the medieval Ivy Bridge that lends its name to the town. Spring flowers greeted me and excited me for the prospect of my walk to come as I turned around and headed back up the same road that I’d just walked down. Soon I was hot in my fleece under the sunny skies as I climbed past the railway line, into Dartmoor National Park and eventually onto the open moor.

The ascent continued until I reached the trackbed of an old tramway where I turned right to follow it around the southern slopes of Western Beacon. I had planned to climb all the way up to the top of Butterdon Hill, but I was too tired so I kept to the Dartmoor Way gradually descending until I reached a small car park on the edge of the moor. A steep descent down a road brought me frustratingly back to the railway line and onto a busy road which I followed into the village of Bittaford where I turned left under an impressive viaduct and climbed back up the hill. Already, I was finding that the Dartmoor Way has a lot of seemingly futile and tiring ups and downs, but the good weather compensated with wild flowers, particularly celandines and primroses, decorating the banks. The agonising climb continued up the hill until I reached Wrangaton Golf Course on the edge of the moor where the walk continued beside the wall. The golf club was actually closed so no golf was taking place, which made me happy, though the boggy path was not so pleasing and I was glad when I reached the club house to start a prolonged spell of road walking. I knew there would be a lot of this on the Dartmoor Way so I was wearing my lightweight boots which I had worn on the Southern Upland Way last year. Celandines and primroses accompanied me beside the road, before crossing a number of wet fields to reach Lydia Bridge on the edge of South Brent.

The Dartmoor Way doesn’t go into the village so I diverted off to head into South Brent beside the delightful River Avon which was lined with wild garlic whose sweet fragrance filled the air. After buying some food I returned to Lydia Bridge to continue along the trail climbing steeply up the hill. Judging by the video, I’m sure Abbie missed out this next section by keeping to the road at the bottom of the valley, but I found it to the highlight of the day. A relentless climb eventually brought me onto Aish Ridge where I had views ahead of the high moorland while my track crossed a saddle and climbed over rocky ground to pass between the monumental stone gateposts of Corringdon Ball Gate. This led me into open moorland with little trace of a path so after a careful check of the directions I turned right to head across the moor, which provided me with some enjoyable, proper hill walking while the late afternoon sunshine illuminated the scenery around me across the Avon valley. The contrast between this stretch of moorland walking with the confines of road walking earlier was marked and added to the enjoyment of the former. Eventually I descended a steep, rocky path to the road at the bottom of the valley and soon I was at the popular car park beside Shipley Bridge where a tarmacked track up the valley passes spectacular rapids and small waterfalls.

This is a justifiably popular area and many people were coming down the valley as I made my way up until eventually I reached Avon Dam Reservoir, surrounded by open moorland that was very wet and with sketchy paths. Beyond the reservoir, at the crossing of the ancient Abbot’s Way I turned right to head over Dean Moor and as the light began to diminish I found a place to pitch up my tent. This walk was marred by being tired due to poor sleep, but I had been looking forward to this holiday for a long time. After the long wait through autumn and winter my walking season had finally begun and with great plans for the year I was eager to start. This walk was tedious while on roads, but great when I was on the open moorland and frustrating when I soon came back down, however I was thankful that the weather was good.