Tavy Cleave and Cut Hill

The weather was set to be good (and it was absolutely superb) and I fancied somewhere new and ticking off a place that I’d looked at before from above but never been through. I also thought that I could bag a couple of higher tors that I had yet to visit. I’d had good recent practice of boggy walking on last week’s walk around Sittaford Tor however the walking underfoot was better than I expected and only the area around Sandy Ford and Amicombe Brook was boggy. The walk up to Fur Tor was impressive and the views from there are amazing. I was pleased I chose to come back via the top of the Tavy Cleave to look down on my outward path and the great views.

Start – Lane End

Route – Nat Tor – Tavy Cleave – Watern Oke – River Tavy – Fur Tor – Cut Hill – Little Kneeset – Amicombe Brook – Rattle Brook – Tavy Cleave Tors – Sharp Tor (Tavy Cleave) – Ger Tor – Lane End

Distance – 9 miles Start time – 10.50am Time taken – 6 hrs Highest Point – Cut Hill 604m

Weather – Sun and lots of it, perfect.

© Crown copyright 2014 Ordnance Survey FL 2014 SF

Starting out from Lane End, Ger Tor up on the left, which will be my last tor of the day

Wheal Friendship leat

Green and pleasant land from Nat Tor

Looking into Tavy Cleave from Nat Tor, I had to jump the leat to get onto the path that heads into the Cleave

Following the leat into the cleave

The start of the leat as it splits from the River Tavy

The River Tavy, it was lovely and warm here

Loving it here

You feel completely away from it all, it can be rough walking through this cleave but it has a magical quality

I can recommend the pool on the right for a spot to swim, Tavy Cleave Tors above

Out of the cleave now and walking across Watern Oke, that’s Fur Tor ahead

Still following the River Tavy heading to Sandy Pass, Fur Tor dominates the view ahead

Plenty of long grass here made walking tricky, I’ve crossed at Sandy Ford and I’m taking a looping route up to Fur Tor following the brook/river coming down from South Tavy Head, here I’m looking back to Hare Tor

Fur Tor summit with High Willhays in the distance

Hare Tor left and Great Links Tor to the right from Fur Tor

You can see the River Tavy heading across the picture left to right towards the cleave

Looking south from a glorious place in Fur Tor

Between Fur Tor and Cut Hill, High Willhays in the distance again

On Cut Hill with Whitehorse Hill to the northeast

Looking back to Fur Tor

Cut Hill feels like the centre of Dartmoor as you can see pretty much all of it from here

Spent a good 20 minutes here just taking all of this in

After Cut Hill I headed to Little Kneeset, here’s looking across to Cut Hill left and Fur Tor right

High Willhays still in view to the north with Great Kneeset to the right

Now to drop down to Amicombe Brook, this bit should be boggy

It was ok walking through here, Fur Tor right, then Cut Hill and Little Kneeset

The grass was long but at least I stayed dry ish, Fur Tor left

It was just a case of finding the best sheep track to follow through this long grass

Having crossed the wilderness on Amicombe Hill I headed to cross the Rattlebrook

That’s Tavy Cleave again, I’m heading down to the right here to cross the Rattlebrook

Rattlebrook below now and that’s the north end of Tavy Cleave, Fur Tor is top left and that’s the River Tavy heading away which I followed out to Fur Tor