First walk back after a week in the Lake District and almost got caught out by the earlier nightfall. Had to get a bit of a wiggle on whilst crossing Hameldown and not too much of a stop at Grimspound in order to make it back with 20 minutes to spare before dark. I also found a rugby ball on Hookney Tor which is one of the strangest things I’ve found on Dartmoor so far. A few new places for me on this walk, Challacombe Down and Blacka Tor and also a visit to Stoneslade Tor which I had been over before but didn’t realise it!! More of this weather please for November!!
Nice blue skies as I look up to Birch Tor, Challacombe Down just to the rightViews to Cosdon Beacon as I start the walkThe last working mine on Dartmoor was here, the Vitifer Tin Mines closed in 1925. The white building in the distance is the Warren House InnOn Birch Tor with Challacombe Down to the left and Soussons Down the valley to the rightHookney Tor left and Hameldown Tor right from the same spotChallacombe Stone Row with Chaw Gully below and Birch Tor beyond thatThis is the end stone of the stone row in the dip across there is Grimspound (the circle), which could have had links to this stone rowThis wall marks the top of Challacombe Down, here looking over to Fernworthy Forest (back right)Blacka Tor looking back to Challacombe Down on the leftHeading up onto Hameldown now and the views across to Haytor and surrounding tors open upIn the far distance in the mast on North Hessary Tor beyond Devon’s green fieldsHere looking back along the Two Moors Way path from Stoneslade TorThe sun nips behind a cloud meaning I can get a picture to the south west, the dark tors, centre left, are Yar Tor and Corndon Tor. This is from Kingshead TorHameldown Beacon, I realised at this point I’d need to get a move on as the sun had about 30 minutes before settingFrom Two Barrows into a setting sunLooking east this timeBack along the ridge to Hameldown BeaconHound Tor picked out by the zoom this timeI could see this rock/tor sticking out in the sun to the east. After a bit of work with the map I managed to identify it as Blackingstone Rock. Its on my list of to do’s!!Hameldown Tor and trig pointHookney Tor above the trig point. Cosdon Beacon is the dark hill in the far distanceGrimspound, with Birch Tor across the valley and Hookney Tor up to the rightSun begins to set over Challacombe DownFrom Hookney Tor with Grimspound below and Hameldown Tor aboveNope not Twickenham, found on Hookney Tor!!Between Birch Tor and Hookney Tor now as the moon rises above, all that was left was a 15 minute walk back to to the car in almost darkness. Need to remember the hour has been dropped now!!
treksandtors 