A walk around the lanes on the south eastern edge of Dartmoor, starting out from Ashburton, with a return route which included a section alongside the A38! The main reason for this walk was to mop up a clump of Dartmoor 365 squares that were left together, leaving me with just 5 now which are spread out across the moor and will require separate walks for each one. The walk is a simple one with quiet lanes mixed with walking paths threading you from hamlet to hamlet with very little ascent to worry about. At the end is the town of Ashburton and a few pubs/cafes should you need them, alongside a good parking spot which is only a pound on a Sunday. The weather was cloudy all day so its a perfect walk for those days when sunshine is at a premium.
Hanging up the bunting in Ashburton, the bikes weren’t stopping on there way through the town. Ashburton is the first of the Dartmoor 365 squares on today’s walkThe main church in AshburtonThe first of the lanes, high hedges Views down to the A38 away in the distance is the pointy Brent HillThe start of Summerhill Lane, D365 square number 2, I decided to have a bit of a wander along the lane a bitSummerhill Lane, it heads down to the River Dart and then stops, so its a dead end lane
It was a bit damp along the section north of Knowle as I followed this path towards Rew
Rew Cross, I’m heading right towards SigfordA lovely quiet lane which heads towards Belford Mill, Boro Wood on the left
Belford Mill
A short climb which gave immediate views across fieldsWhiddon Farm, the bench on the right has a green box on top which a walkers book in it, signed by those walking the areaThe lower edges of Dartmoor around Haytor Vale, the road heading up to the left goes towards Cold East CrossOwlacombe Cross, D365 squareA lovely long land between Owlacombe Cross and Sigford, this section had the bonus of a bit of sunshine through the tree canopyThink this is a female large whiteSigford, a small hamlet of a few houses and a farm or twoYe olde ploughing at Little Sigford FarmSpeckled Wood butterflyHook’s Cross, I’ve come from the lane straight ahead and I’m heading behind myself, down a lane towards Caton and the A38Cow Parsley leads me down to CatonNow I’ve joined the A38 and I’m walking a pavement alongside the busy road, it doesn’t feel the safest with the speeding cars plus there’s an AT-ST pointing at me, hopefully the empire doesn’t see me as a threat! Now the north east has its Angel of the North, Devon has a Star Wars AT-ST, brilliantly built by a local farmer70 mph vehicles and my pavement!The section alongside the A38 went by pretty quickly and before long I was passing the entrance to the Linhay Hill quarry at AshburtonBunting is all up as I find myself back in the townThis is the River Ashburn which wriggles through the town. This picture is in the Dartmoor 365 book drawn by the author. The car park is just to the right here and is the end of a nice little walk which takes no time at all.
4 thoughts on “Ashburton, Sigford and Belford Mill”
Takes me back 50 years when I used to walk back that way after a moorland walk to catch the bus back to Teignmouth from Ashburton. No dual carriageway in those days!
Walking along the lanes at home is all I can do at the moment. All the paths are completely overgrown with grass, nettles and brambles up to 8 feet high. Like that Star Wars sculpture, must watch out for that next time I drive down the A38!
It’s been there a few years now, as always the council wanted it taking down on a planning law, but the farmer hoisted it on to a trailer to get around it
treksandtors 
Takes me back 50 years when I used to walk back that way after a moorland walk to catch the bus back to Teignmouth from Ashburton. No dual carriageway in those days!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Walking along the lanes at home is all I can do at the moment. All the paths are completely overgrown with grass, nettles and brambles up to 8 feet high. Like that Star Wars sculpture, must watch out for that next time I drive down the A38!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s been there a few years now, as always the council wanted it taking down on a planning law, but the farmer hoisted it on to a trailer to get around it
LikeLike
It was a bit damp along the section north of Knowle as I followed this path towards Rew, This kind of cozy trail is actually my favorite one.
LikeLiked by 1 person