They say bad things come in threes, well I can vouch for that on this walk. Before I get to that however I’ll talk about the great thaw after the storm. The snow has started to melt and with it, it has been replaced by rivers of water running everywhere, on top of that the streams and rivers are running as high as I’ve seen them. This walk was supposed to involved two crossings of the River Plym, I didn’t get far enough today to attempt one. However crossing the river would not have been easy and may not have been possible at all today. My first misdemeanour came when leaping a stream on the way to Drizzlecombe, I fell in up to my knee and was soaked. I managed to sort my sock out and carried on, however within 10 minutes I knew I needed to go back to the car. I was getting cold. My thoughts were confirmed when I went to text back home and noticed my phone had decided to factory reset itself. Now I walk on Dartmoor alone most of the time, and have no issues looking after myself, however those at home expect a text or two to say all is well. This was now not possible, so I headed to the car. On the way back down I slipped and fell to make it a nice three bad things in one walk. I’ll be back in this area soon enough but for now I needed to get warm, and dry.
| Start – Gutter Tor parking |
| Route – Eastern Tor – Ditsworthy Warren House – Drizzlecombe – Higher Hartor Tor – Eylesbarrow Tin Mine – Gutter Tor parking |
| Distance – 4.5 miles Start time – 11.15am Time taken – 2hrs 15mins Highest Point – Higher Hartor Tor 418metres |
| Weather – Sunny, still some snow left, lots of water running off the hills |
© Crown copyright 2017 Ordnance Survey FL 2017 SF
Starting out and looking over to Sheeps Tor. I’ll follow the road round to the right and along to Nattor
Some snow is still piled against the walls as I look up to Eylesbarrow on the right with Combeshead Tor in the centre
I’m on the lane to Ditsworthy Warren here, turning around to see Sheeps Tor again
Further along the path I look back to Gutter Tor with the scout hut in the trees to the right
It was at this point that I realised that crossing the Plym might be tricky today. water was everywhere. Clearly the snow melt was making the river run at full spate and flood the ground either side. The Plym can be seen in the centre here from Eastern Tor
Hen Tor behind Ditsworthy Warren House
The Plym is on my right, with Higher Hartor Tor catching the sun ahead
Drizzlecombe bronze age site, one of the best and oldest sites on Dartmoor. By this point I’d fallen into a stream and had rung out a sock full of water
This stone is also the tallest one on Dartmoor, around 4.5m tall
The tors around Cox Tor in the distance. It was now I noticed my phone had decided that a factory reset was a good idea. I decided that I would make for Higher Hartor and then bail out to Eylesbarrow and back to the car
Glorious view from Higher Hartor Tor. The Plym valley is left
Sheeps Tor is dead centre, with Peek Hill to the right
Lower Hartor Tor is down on the left with the stream that leads up to Langcombe running away from me. I was originally heading that way but not now.
Part of Eylesbarrow Tin Mine. Lee Moor in the distance
The track back to the car
I believe this was the wheel house of the tin mine. Sheeps Tor left and Peek Hill right
Peek Hill left, Sharpitor behind a shadowy Leather Tor
The scout hut is in the trees ahead as I get back to near my starting point
This was the road to Nattor, not too bad considering the amount of snow. But by this point it was nearly 6 degrees so the snow was melting fast and rivers of water running along the road. I’ll be back soon, hopefully with a working phone and less water in my boots!
treksandtors 
Nothing worse than a boot-full of cold water. Starting to recognize the names of the rivers and tors from your blog reports now!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was cold and I got cold pretty quick because of it. Couldn’t believe the amount of running water in the streams and the Plym was very high, the thaw had clearly taken to the rivers!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wet legs on a cold day can soon be very energy sapping. Heading home seems like a very sensible option.
LikeLiked by 1 person