With a run of walks by the coast (5 in a row) we were ready for another adventure on Dartmoor. It had been over a month since our last outing, a sunset walk around the Staple Tors, so we looked far afield for a place to see some tors and pick off lots of Dartmoor squares, this corner of Dartmoor seems to have its fair share of 365 places, lots of villages and hamlets on the list (see here for the full list). We hit 8 places on this walk, number 30 of my second round, including C11, C12, C13, C14, D11, D12, D13 and D14. I always enjoy these walks with a mix of hills, tors and a bit of road walking through a village. The proper part of Dartmoor on this walk, was underneath Cosdon Hill and across to the Little Hound Tor area, before heading up to Kennon Hill and then back to Shilstone Tor. There is a clear distinction here between the lanes and moor parts, with almost a 50/50 split on each part. As we hit the moor we headed first to Shilley Pool, one of the most popular swimming spots on the moor, it was a pretty warm day and I was looking forward to a cool off with a hat dunk or a paddle, only to find 2 naked swimmers enjoying the pool. We took a photo (without them in it) and headed off to climb to Cosdon Stone Row! Apart from that it was a lovely walk, and despite some heavy, dark looking clouds the rain held off apart from a few spots on Kennon Hill. The main attraction of the walk however was the butterflies, lots and lots of them were out and many differing kinds, we’ll be naming this one the butterfly walk this year for sure.

Start – Shilstone Tor parking

Route – Higher Shilstone – Throwleigh – Throwleigh Cross – Wonson – Providence Place – East Ash Manor – Gooseford – East Week – Cosdon Stone Row – Whit Moor Stone Circle – Kennon Hill – Throwleigh Common – Shilstone Tor

Distance – 11 miles    Start time – 10.50am   Time taken – 7hrs  Highest Point – 478 metres Kennon Hill

Weather – Humid, some sun, lots of cloud and butterflies