Boxing Day can be a tricky one to judge, depending on indulgences on the day before, will decide your start time. Also the fact that it will normally be very busy as 26th can be a popular day for getting out and walking and finally the weather, which can be fickle at this time of year. I’ve looked back and only once did I manage to walk on Boxing Day, back in 2015 and it was this exact walk. I’ve walked this route 3 times previously between Christmas and New Year (2015, 2017 and 2018), plus another two in the week before Christmas (2013 and 2014). It rightly sits as probably my favourite ‘go to’ walk. The weather this year was almost perfect, and a 11.30am start had me worried that it could be busy, especially as some shops had decided to stay closed on Boxing Day (which is a good thing in my book). We needn’t have worried, parking easily gained and we were quickly off, there were a few people out, but not too bad, those that didn’t walk today, missed out on a lovely day. I’d even argue we saw more deer on the walk than people, having disturbed one group on West Down and then had another group of 5 almost walk through our lunch on a rock at the top of the Dewerstone. A fabulous day and one that I’m grateful that my partner, Linda, wanted us to head out on. Roll on 2023 and happy walking everyone.
We started out from the Cadover Bridge car parking spots, there are more places to park at this end, so if you ever head out for this walk and want to start from Shaugh Bridge just keep in mind the extra parking at this end. The walk heads straight into North Wood alongside the River PlymThis is known as the clay pipe path as a this pipe was used to pump clay to the settling tanks at the Shaugh Bridge endLooking back after walking through North Wood. We would head up hill to the right here, alongside the wall, picking up an improving path towards Shaugh BeaconBefore heading up hill I took this photo of the Dewerstone, this is probably the best angle to see it properlyAt Shaugh Beacon now, with views to Plymouth SoundThe village of Shaugh Prior is below, there is a path down from here to the village, but not for us todayHigher tors around Sheeps Tor and Cox Tor in the distance, from Shaugh BeaconThink these are called West Down Rocks, they aren’t far from Shaugh Beacon and not on my list, however both times I’ve walked to this outcrop I disturbed a herd of deer, so they obviously like these partsSome of the settling tanks as we approach Shaugh BridgeAnd more of the settling tanks in the Shaugh Bridge car parkThe River Plym as we cross the wooden bridge by the car parkAnd Shaugh Bridge where we stopped for a coffee and a bite to eat, the River Meavy is coming in from the right to join the Plym on the left and head under Shaugh Bridge, the pillars are from the 17th century but the main top part of the bridge was washed away in a huge thaw in 1824 and rebuilt the following year.Heading up from Shaugh Bridge you walk up tracks which would have been used to take granite down from the Dewerstone area, some of these paths can clearly be seen to be once a railway, which in this case were blasted through the tor (Dewerstone West)More of the trackbed path as it rises to the summit rocksThis would have been the brake house used to stop the carts and the granite from ending up in the River Meavy below, they would have used the weight of the granite and cart to haul up the empty cartsLeft over block, all roughly carved but not usedLovely views out along the Meavy valleyThe top of the outcrop, or Devils Rocks as I’ve heard it called a few timesLooking back towards Cadover Bridge along the Plym Valley, Cadworthy Tor is far left and our next target, but first we head right out of photo for some lunch and a view from the top of the DewerstoneI have taken the photo of the Dewerstone, near the top of this post, from over there just above the trees in that clearing. The views along the Plym Valley from here are superb, and its a fair drop down to my rightNow at Cadworthy Tor and I like the way the two walkers are silhouetted on the top with Plymouth Sound behind themNow at Wigford Down summit, the dark clouds are over Burrator Reservoir with Sheeps Tor still in the sun to the right. We’d been lucky with the weather todayMainly blue skies for us on this walk and a lovely view from the summit pondNo walk on Dartmoor would be complete without some Dartmoor 365 squares, this is the China Clay pools, we’d also done Shaugh Bridge and Dewerstone today which are another twoAlmost back and just time to see Cadover Cross which is from the 1200’s and a waymarker on the monks route between Plympton Priory and Tavistock. The word Cadover is from Caed-a-ford or Cadaford, meaning battle over the ford, suggesting a battle took place here. Being as no bridge was here at that time, the ford would have been a key crossing point of the Plym river.And here is today’s bridge, now used by brave kids to jump into the waters of the River Plym. So a short but stunning walk in some fantastic weather, perfect for Boxing Day
treksandtors 
Nice pictures – used to climb on the Dewerstone many years ago. Glad we saved much of this area from clay dumping.
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Wigford Down is a lovely area, near to the mess of Lee Moor but luckily away from the worst of the land scars
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Had we not won the battle 20 years ago, Shaugh Moor and the Blackabrook Valley would have been completely lost.
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One battle won but it seems after today another bigger battle has started
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Lots of aggro online I see.
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River Plym is such a wonderful river. Love the landscape and all the greenery 🤗😎
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Its a lovely spot, not the longest of rivers on Dartmoor by any means, but what there is of it, is beautiful
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This is a lovely walk. We went walking as well on boxing day but weather wasn’t that great.
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We were lucky for Boxing Day, although it would be the 2nd Jan before we got another similar day
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A damn fine way to spend Boxing Day!
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The weather made it to be honest, its a great walk in itself but the weather was superb for the time of year
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