Back to Dartmoor for me. And a walk were I saw no one, not a soul all day apart from in the car park which was very strange but then again I don’t mind it that way. This walk takes in a lovely tor with some amazing views, some of the best from what isn’t one of the tor names that leap to mind when thinking about Dartmoor. Now was the time to do this one as well as the bracken is growing and the horrible stuff will soon be too high requiring visits to places that don’t have it! I also had a walk through Neadon Cleave which is a good spot for the bird watchers, a heard a Wood Warbler in there but never saw it! And the tors in there aren’t to bad either. But the highlight of this walk will always be Easdon Tor and Figgie Daniel such a lovely stretch of moorland. I was glad that I chose to stay mainly in woodland for the rest however as it was stiflingly hot in parts, with hardly any breeze, the River Bovey got a paddle from me at the Manaton Clapper bridges and it was much needed.
| Start – Manaton parking |
| Route – Easdon Tor – Whooping Rock – Figgie Daniel – Barracott Tor – Langstone – Manaton Clapper Bridge – Foxworthy Bridge – Neadon Cleave North Tor – Neadon Cleave Summit Tor – Neadon Cleave South Tor – Water Cleave Tor – Water – Latchell Tor – Manaton |
| Distance – 7 miles Start time – 10.15am Time taken – 5hr 30mins Highest Point – Easdon Tor 439metres |
| Weather – Blue skies and hardly any clouds, sweat dripping from my nose at times! |
© Crown copyright 2020 Ordnance Survey FL 2020 SF
Manaton church in glorious sunshine and blue skies
Hayne Down as I walk the roads around and towards Easdon Tor. Bowermans Nose is on the right hand side of the Down
The tors to the south start to open up. Hound Tor is to the right of Hayne Down
I love the views up here, Easdon Tor summit with Cosdon Hill just right of the trig point
Haytor is furthest left at the back with Rippon Tor just right of that and further right is Honeybag and Chinkwell Tors. Furthest right is the start of Hameldown. That’s also Whooping Rock down there, the outcrop about 40 metres away
Along the Easdon Tor ridge towards Figgie Daniel
And there he is, Figgie Daniel, with Lustleigh Cleave behind it
Figgie Daniel with Haytor in the distance, it was hot across here, the good news for me is I’m heading into more wooded areas soon
A great view across the rhododendrons to the high tors
Brilliant views here as I head to Barracott Tor
A here it is with a hat of greenery
Into the woodland behind Barracott Tor and heading downhill to join the road
On the road from Langstone to Manaton Clapper I reach Neadon, from here there are views up to Hunters Tor and the Lustleigh ridge
Two bridges here, neither are a clapper bridge, I can only assume they once were. The first heads over the River Bovey and this smaller one is over a tributary stream
A pastoral scene
This was a rocky outcrop I could see from the road after the Manaton “clapper” bridges, there was an open gate so I had a quick peek in the woodland, plenty of unnamed outcrops at the top of a small hill in woodlands
Fantastic walking along here, the views were very good as the air clarity was pretty clear despite the heat
That’s Lustleigh Cleave down there with the River Bovey cutting its way through the valley
A squirrel, just got this shot on it on the branch before it jumped out of sight
Now this is a lovely place, Foxworthy Bridge, its a shame that either side of the road is private so you can’t get to the river, the private driveway stops you at this point and sends you into the woods before bringing you out further up. You feel like a trespasser here a bit!!
I headed into Neadon Cleave to look for some tors within. This one has the northern name due to it being furthest north which makes sense
There are some pretty huge boulders and outcrops here as befits some of the woodland tors on the eastern side of Dartmoor. Neadon Cleave North Tor
I’d joined the top path through Neadon Cleave which gives the best access to the north tor and then to this one. Neadon Cleave Summit Tor, this is a big old boulder with some littler ones behind it. It sits right by the path as it splits to head towards Manaton one way and the houses around Horsham the other.
After a stop and a drink I walked past the last houses classed as Horsham before dropping down and I headed through some long grass and found the path back down into Neadon Cleave. This took me past Neadon Cleave South Tor, this bit was right by the path, another huge rock was up to the right here, the other side of these trees, with more behind me in the trees above. The long grass I walked through would become more important a day or two later when I found a couple of ticks on me. They were easily removed and no adverse affects so far, but they aren’t half sneaky little buggers
Re entering Neadon Cleave meant I was on the path down towards Horsham Steps, I wasn’t heading that way as I wanted to keep going South East to Water Cleave Tor. This is the view as I got there, a quick glimpse across to Ravens’ Tor on the other side of the valley
Water Cleave Tor
This one has 3 big outcrops at least, a fine tor that would have looked brilliant before all the trees grew up
Leaving Water Cleave
The lower part of Latchell Tor, right by the path, I’m heading that way back to Manaton
A fancy garden, with a pond as I look along Lustleigh Cleave
Its not no entry to me as mine are in there, I’m sure!!
Back at Manaton, a fine walk around Dartmoor and two in a row now!!
treksandtors 
Excellent route, Stephen. I’m pleased you were able to visit the three Neadon’s, the North Tor being very good. I’m a bit surprised by just how much vegetation has grown up around the Summit Tor – it’s hardly recognisable!
All the best,
Max
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The north tor was the best of those 3 for sure, the summit tor needs a hair cut but he’s not the only one during this lockdown I reckon!! The route across to Water Cleave Tor wasn’t fun I should have come from the other side and done an out and back, but I was there at the time and went for it, it was very boggy as there are many streams running down hill through this part. The south east of Water Cleave Tor is much easier underfoot and the fence line makes for an easier route to follow in
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Very picturesque walk as usual. 🙂
Is the book Lorna Doone set on Dartmoor do you know?
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Lorna Doone is Exmoor, it might be the Lyd valley possibly, but definitely Exmoor way. Dartmoor has the Hound of the Baskervilles set here. In the book Grimpen Mire is Fox Tor Mires in real life.
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Re Lorna Doone – seek out the copy of the pamphlet published by Sir Athol Oakely which describes accurately the real Exmoor locations as opposed to the tourist promoted ones. Lank Combe is the real Doone valley. There really were Doones. R D Blackmore fictionalised old local tales. You can do a grand Exmoor walk taking in the real Doone Valley.
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I think Easdon is probably the least visited Dartmoor top. Grand pics as always.
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Its a great tor and gives such good views down towards Haytor, across to Hameldown and right up that eastern side to Cosdon. One of the best views from the top of a tor I reckon
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A great all rounder for a view, Always a quiet one even on bank holidays. Used to go to the top and then down to Figgy Dan’l.
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Another enormously varied walk. I love all the names of the tors – and that they have names. Is there an ‘official’ list and do people collect them, like Wainwrights?
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There’s a list that is ever increasing and yes they collect them. There’s a website called Tors of Dartmoor, they are up to around 820 odd tors/rocks/outcrops. But the classification is a bit of a personal decision really on the part of the site owners. Some outcrops go in, others don’t. Some seem like they are pretty much part of a higher bigger tor but are separate. But its as good a list as there is, they’ve got lots on private land as well. There’s plenty who have written about the tors like William Crossing and Eric Hemery, both their books describe the moors before the trees grew up, so more outcrops were visible back then, they name a lot of these outcrops. Other names come from the old Tithe maps which are online now. But its an ever increasing list, the ones I found in this walk weren’t on their list so they will have a look and decide. At least with Alfred’s list it was 214 and no more
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I think almost all hill lists are arbitrary to a certain degree. Well not Humps, Marilyns or Corbetts I know, but the others! I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that just so long as you don’t let it upset you. 820 tors to collect sounds like 820 great excuses to get outside for a walk!
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Some of the tors they are finding are very very good, Huge great outcrops hidden in woodlands. Others involve about as much granite as you would find in a rockery. It becomes silly sometimes. I reckon they’ll end up with over 900 by the end of things
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Now if somebody were to fool them into including an actual rockery…..
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Superb walk and proof that with a little thought and planning you can put in a great walk and avoid the crowds. I’d agree that view is superb. I’m a big fan of small isolated hills as they often give the best views.
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Easdon tor is a great spot and an easy tor to get to. Its a bit isolated if you want to link it elsewhere but a bit of lane walking sorts that quickly
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