Time for a short walk around the southerly tip of Dartmoor in another area that doesn’t take too long for me to get there. That said its not one of my favourite spots due to the scar on the landscape that is the Lee Moor clay works. Still the sun shone a fair bit and it was nice to be out for my first walk of the New Year. The walk from Lee Moor trig point down to Yealm Rocks was a bit off piste, but a few sheep tracks here and there got me there, all that was left was to follow the drunken wall back to Rook Gate. This is a pretty easy walk, with very little that can go wrong regarding navigation, especially once you have a bearing off Lee Moor trig. I hear the weather is starting to get a little colder, and I saw remnants of ice around Lee Moor which hopefully means winter might finally be showing up.
| Start – Harford parking |
| Route – Rook Tor – Penn Beacon – Shell Top – Lee Moor – Yealm Rocks – Yealm Waterfall – Broadall Gulf – High House Waste – Rook Gate |
| Distance – 4.5 miles Start time – 11.30am Time taken – 3hrs Highest Point – Lee Moor 493metres |
| Weather – Some sunny spells with cloud |
© Crown copyright 2019 Ordnance Survey FL 2019 SF
As you pop out from Rook Gate and turn around you get this view south towards South Hams and Western Beacon
Rook Tor which to be honest is a scattering of broken rocks and clitter, looking to the scar of Lee Moor clay pits
Much better views to the south and east from Rook Tor
My next target which is Penn Beacon
Sunburst over Plympton
Penn Beacon and more of that lovely clay workings
The obvious path up to Shell Top is next
Once up on Shell Top the views north open a little, in the distance Leather Tor and Sheeps Tor are in view, along with Great Mis Tor and North Hessary Tor at the back
Looking back to Penn Beacon
Nearly at Lee Moor and a bit of zoom on the high tors of south Dartmoor, with the mast at Princetown clearly in view
Three Barrows is directly above the trig point on Lee Moor
As I walk south east ish, the dark area of Redlake stands out against the yellowy background of the Dartmoor grasses at this time of year. I was there a week or so ago (here)
Sunburst lights up Hanger Down clump
Yealm Rocks looking back up towards Yealm Head
Yealm Rocks looking down to the area which holds the Yealm waterfall
Standing at the top of the waterfall looking down along the River Yealm
The wonky drunken wall which I now follow is running up on the right hand side and the sun continues to burst through ahead
Looking back to Stalldown Barrow, Three Barrows is back left and Western Beacon furthest to the right
The wall is down there to the left, handrail it about 50 metres away from it as there are boggy sections and streams which follow the wall. I’m heading for the clump of tree in the mid distance, just right of centre
Through Rook Gate now and down the lane to the car
treksandtors 
Always good to get that first walk of the year in.
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