Another walk on Dartmoor here, this one was near to home and the plan was that there wasn’t really a plan. Other than the starting point the only real plan was to be around Burrator, with a hope to get across to Sheeps Tor. As it was we decided to head out a little further than just following the Devonport Leat picking off 3 tors on Walkhampton Common, alongside a small waterfall and a stone row, by the time we reached Down Tor it was 2.30pm and with the evenings drawing in and forecast rain at 4pm ish we decided to head back towards the car from Down Tor. Luckily this also meant we could pick up 3 more tors on the way. The rain also came in a little earlier than forecast and we got a soaking on the road past Cross Gate Cross, but overall the weather was superb for this walk, which is jam packed full of things to see. You have 2 crosses, old farms, 2 bridges, waterfall, two stone rows and 7 tors plus a huge round rock. It makes for a brilliant walk and plenty of photos. Plus we get to come back and do the rest of it another time!
There was a sponsored walk/run at Burrator today and lots of the arrows were pointing along paths and roads we would be on, so the plan was altered slightly to take us out on to the moor, more towards Princetown to miss all those completing the course. At this point I could hear the megaphone and the woman bellowing out warm up instructionsThe Devonport Leat, lots of the first half mile were alongside this featureSheeps Tor, there is Burrator Reservoir between us and thereCross Gate Cross and a glimpse of Burrator ReservoirThe remains of Leathertor Farm, there has been a farm here since 1317 and it ran until 1924 when the need for water meant the farm was abandonedLeather Tor Bridge, a classic old pack horse bridgeWe had left the paths which would soon be covered in runners/walkers etc and headed out to see some tors. Black Tor (Walkhampton) on the hill in the distance is our first one, we cross here and head up to the Devonport Leat again and follow the path alongsideFrom beside the leat we get good views back to SharpitorDevonport Leat as it tumbles down Raddick Hill and across the aqueduct. The River Meavy runs under the aqueduct, the pipe at the bottom of the photo is water being taken from the Meavy to join the leat (which eventually ends up in Burrator ReservoirLinda at Black Tor, some lovely shapes of rock here, balancing. We were both in t shirts which for mid October was unusual, the weather throughout October was very warm really, rarely going below 15/16 degreesAfter the tor we dropped briefly down to see Black Tor waterfall, a nice little spot for lunch, but not today. Cramber Tor on the hill at the backHart Tor stone row and a cairn circle. That’s Black Tor on the right and Sharpitor back leftHart Tor now with South Hessary Tor away in the distanceLovely view from Hart Tor (Walkhampton), a lovely backdrop of Leather Tor, Sharpitor and Leeden Tor (left to right)Down from Hart Tor is Giants Marble, with a hat of grass. The path going up the hill behind will take us to Cramber TorHere is Cramber Tor, in the view this time, along with Leather Tor and Sharpitor on the right, is Sheeps Tor on the left. Burrator Reservoir between themCrazywell Pool allowed to picked up another Dartmoor 365 square, alongside the Black Tor falls one and another coming up on Hingston HillCrazywell Cross is barely 50 metres from the pool, so its an easy one to pickupWe took a direct route between Crazywell Pool and Down Tor, meaning we crossed Newleycombe Lake, we had lunch down here out of the breeze. Again Leather Tor and Sharpitor in the backgroundThe brilliant Down Tor Stone RowNow on Hingston Hill, not too many outcrops on this one but its on my listAlong with this one, this is Down Tor, my first ever tor and my favourite one on the moorThe view from Down Tor to Burrator Reservoir, Sheeps Tor to the leftAbout 200 metres below Down Tor is its little brother, Little Down Tor and the view to those two tors againThe tors come thick and fast here, this is Snappers Tor, you can see the next one down there, which is Middleworth Tor. Burrator Reservoir at the backMiddleworth TorAnd only a short distance to Norsworthy Bridge, that’s the River Meavy under itA few spots of rain now and a view back towards Norsworthy Bridge and Down Tor We hit our outwards route at this point and see Cross Gate Cross again
The rain was falling heavily and Linda was making a beeline for the car as we again follow the Devonport Leat. A fine walk, loads to see and a place we can keep coming back to as there is more
4 thoughts on “Down Tor, Cramber Tor and Crazywell Pool”
They used to say that Crazywell was bottomless, and that all the bell ropes of Walkhampton Church tied together couldn’t plummet its depths. Sadly the `1976 drought year demolished the legend – but don’t tell anyone!
See what you mean – packed with interesting stuff. Something I’ve really come to enjoy on a walk. There is loads of that sort of stuff on the hills to the South of Abergavenny, around Blorenge, old industrial workings and the like.
I love walking along those leats, not quite sure why!
It always nice to walk alongside water, but the leats seem less threatening than a river and there is likely to be a little clapper that will span them which is always good
treksandtors 
They used to say that Crazywell was bottomless, and that all the bell ropes of Walkhampton Church tied together couldn’t plummet its depths. Sadly the `1976 drought year demolished the legend – but don’t tell anyone!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah I’ve heard that legend, brilliant that the drought showed that not to be true
LikeLike
See what you mean – packed with interesting stuff. Something I’ve really come to enjoy on a walk. There is loads of that sort of stuff on the hills to the South of Abergavenny, around Blorenge, old industrial workings and the like.
I love walking along those leats, not quite sure why!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It always nice to walk alongside water, but the leats seem less threatening than a river and there is likely to be a little clapper that will span them which is always good
LikeLiked by 1 person