After two walks where the sun shone at Mawgan Porth (here) and Willsworthy (here), we’d had two dull walks at Princetown (here) and Shipley Bridge (here). So what would we get this time, well a bit of a mix to be honest. It started very nicely with some warm sun, before clouding over a bit with gathering dark clouds and threats of rain. This isn’t an area that many will walk in, you’ll need to be a Dartmoor 365 square bagger to come here, as this south eastern corner of Dartmoor has a number of squares marked as villages, crossroads and farms. We started out from the pretty village of Ilsington, with a village shop and hall, school, church and pub. Its a box ticker for people looking to escape the towns, and the lanes around are reasonably quiet and decent for walking along. There are also plenty of paths and tracks to take you through fields and woodlands to vary the walk as well. We started off by heading to Sigford, another hamlet which is a 365 square, this was via Five Lanes, so alongside Ilsington we’d bagged 3 squares in the first hour. Looking back now I should have gone to Bagtor Mill first, as I’ve left this as an awkward outlier now on my second round. After Sigford we headed for Goodstone Woods and a boggy trudge along some horribly muddy paths, however we did see some butterflies around the woods, our first of the year, spotting a number of Brimstone’s and a few Peacocks. I only managed to photo a Peacock though. Next we climbed up to Ramshorn Down, and the best view of the day from our high point of the walk. Next we walked through the village of Liverton to the farm of Look and Weep, the ornate metal sign has gone however from the gate, which was a shame. Next, I should have headed for Bovey Tracey and onto a final village 365 square in Brimley, but I forgot and headed a more direct route to Ilsington. Not to worry though as this one can be tagged on with the square at Parke (the National Trust office). All in all it was nice to have a simple walk along some lanes, and apart from the muddy gloopy section through Goodstone Woods it was easy walking. Not long now until our Lake District adventure, and here’s hoping the weather keeps warming up and most importantly staying drier.

Start – Ilsington

Route – Ilsington Church – Five Lanes – Sigford – Goodstone Woods – Ramshord Down – Rora Wood – Liverton – Look and Weep – Ilsington

Distance – 7.5 miles  Start time – 1.15pm  Time taken – 4hrs 30mins  Highest Point – Ramshorn Down 200 metres

Weather – Nice sunshine to start, clouded over at the end