I fancied a nearby walk, but a long walk to go with it. This one fitted the bill nicely as I could lengthen and shorten this walk to fit the changeable weather, as it was the weather got better as I neared the end. By the time I was driving home the sun was cracking the flags!! I’ve always said that Down Tor is my favourite tor and it still is, I love the area around the stone row as it’s a microcosm of all that Dartmoor has. Historic sites, leats, tors, bogs, hills, a river, a tin mine, old farms, woodland and crosses. A lovely place and once you go beyond Down Tor itself, there is peace and quiet and hardly a soul. Perfect.
| Start – Burrator parking |
| Route – Middleworth Tor – Snappers Tor – Little Down Tor – Down Tor – Down Tor Stone Row – Devonport Leat Cross – Siwards Cross – Eylesbarrow – Combshead Tor – Cuckoo Rock – Deancombe Farm – Click Tor – Sheeps Tor – Maiden Tor – Burra Tor – Burrator Dam – Claig Tor – Devonport Leat – Cross Gate cross – Norsworthy Bridge – Burrator parking |
| Distance – 9 miles Start time – 10.30am Time taken – 5hrs 30mins Highest Point – Eylesbarrow 454 metres |
| Weather – Cloudy to start, some breaks in the middle, then the cloud dropped before clearing completely at the end |
© Crown copyright 2017 Ordnance Survey FL 2017 SF
A prominent Leather Tor behind the car park near Norsworthy Bridge
Middleworth Tor, tricky in the summer with all the bracken, but easier now it is dying off
Between the two hawthorn bushes to Burrator reservoir, this walk is a long loop around the reservoir in reality. However I didn’t spend too long beside the water itself as I chose higher paths
The classic view to Burrator from Down Tor, Sheeps Tor on the left
Looking to a murky looking Combshead Tor, the weather would brighten for a while after this point
Solitude at the back of Down Tor
A bit of zoom through the gloom to Gutter Tor, from here you can see how it gets its name
The brilliant Down Tor stone row
A settlement at the far end of the stone row. Here looking back to Combshead Tor left, Sheeps Tor centre and Down Tor right.
The cairn at the far end. The stone row can be seen running up the centre of picture
Brighter skies and the Devonport leat cross, aka Hutchinson’s Cross
I’d seen a fair few bikes as I drove over here. This was the reason. The Tour de Moor. Here they are cycling past Siwards Cross, with Nun’s Cross farm behind
On the way to Princetown
Looking north over Fox Tor Mires
Sheeps Tor on the left always looks higher than the rest of the tors around Burrator. When in truth it isn’t
I walked past plenty of these between Eylesbarrow and Siwards Cross. They are the boundary for the Burrator reservoir watershed. All farms within it were evacuated when the dam was built around 1917
Eylesbarrow trig point and summit and its distinctive cobra head metal spike, one of the Dartmoor perambulation points
Walking down to Combshead Tor, with the brown bracken running up it, Sheeps Tor is far left and Peek Hill back right
Burrator now in view from Combshead Tor
Cuckoo Rock in the foreground and the Sheeps Tor bulk behind
Down from Cuckoo Rock is a part of Deancombe Farm
Click Tor looking back across the valley to Combshead Tor
Peek Hill through the trees from Click Tor
Walking up the slope to Sheeps Tor and looking across to a very dark Leather Tor and Sharpitor, both looking very pointy from here
Climbing on Sheeps Tor
Burrator Reservoir from Sheeps Tor
The cloud had dropped around 200 metres at this point and was covering hills like Eylesbarrow and was almost down to Down Tor in the distance
All calm at Burrator Reservoir
Autumnal as I walk alongside the reservoir
Burrator Dam
Burra Tor, after which the reservoir was named
Peek Hill and Leather Tor from the dam
As the reservoir was full there was plenty of water heading over the dam
A short walk from the dam to Claig Tor, still with a view to the reservoir
The old railway track from Claig Tor above the reservoir gives a fantastic view back down and across to Sheeps Tor. Even in this weather
Not Much room here!!
Bright skies to the south as I near the end, I’d followed the Devonport Leat to Cross Gate cross, now to head to Norsworthy Bridge
Sun pouring through the trees at Norsworthy Bridge
This was 20 minutes later as I drove home. Sheeps Tor on the right. You’d not believe that it was the same day!
treksandtors 
That last photo is amazing, had you not said I’d have sworn that was a different day. I have a chance for a walk in Dartmoor at the end of November so I’ll bookmark this one
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Blimey, what a contrast in the weather. Looks like a great round.
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Its a good walk. In fact there’s plenty of other options of tors to include around Burrator, for future walks to keep it interesting. As for the weather it was bizarre
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