Hennock and Shaptor Rock

This is an area I hadn’t been to for perhaps 5 years now, long before I started this website. I did part of this walk (in the opposite direction), heading up the lane from Five Lanes, then down towards the reservoirs before looping back through the woods and past Great Rock. I thoroughly enjoyed the area and decided to return and lengthen the walk to include a few more rocks in Shaptor Woods. This walk doesn’t give much in the way of views or wide open spaces, but in return the woodlands have a certain charm, and on a grey day make a great alternative, with some truly huge woodland tors.

Start – Hennock village
Route – Twizzle Tree TorGreat Rock Copse TorGreat Rock – Trenchford Reservoir – Poolmill Cross – Gladstone Rock – Shaptor Woods – Shaptor RockPixey Copse TorMiddle Stonelands TorJohn Canns RocksStonelands Tor – Bottor Rock – Five Lanes – Hennock
Distance – 7 miles     Start time – 11.00am     Time taken – 4hrs 20mins   Highest Point – 255m Nr Trenchford Reservoir
Weather – Grey sky with some spots of rain

© Crown copyright 2017 Ordnance Survey FL 2017 SF

At the start of the walk I walk past the lovely Hennock church

Inside the church

Even on a dull day the views are good

Heading through the woodland to Great Rock

Great Rock

Now along the lane towards Trenchford reservoir

Between the trees you can see Trenchford reservoir

Heading along Bell Lane you get this lovely view across the fields

Bell Lane, I’m turning left in a moment

Gladstone Rock

You drop down from Gladstone Rock, then head around some houses and pop out into a clearing within woodland. Heading uphill a bit you come to this stile which is the entrance to Shaptor Wood

Shaptor Rock is a lofty perch above the trees. On a clearer day you get very good views to Dartmoor and its tors

The base of Shaptor Rock, my rucksack is by the tree to give some scale

You walk past 2 or 3 more rocky areas which could also be given names, which I’ve recently found to be Pixey Copse Tor and Middle Stonelands Tor. This is the exit from Shaptor Woods onto a byway which leads down to John Canns Rocks

John Canns Rocks, I did an out and back here

Looking back down the byway

At the end of the byway I turned left then right and had a break on the bench. Behind me is the lane that leads to Bottor Rock

Bottor Rock is on the edge of the trees there

Bottor Rock

You pop out on the road at a place called Five Lanes, for obvious reasons

As you walk through Hennock village at the end of the walk you get great views down to South Hams to finish with

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