Four walks in a row on Dartmoor now, although the next walk will be back to the coast. This is a lovely area, with some nice quiet lanes, villages and a gorgeous woodland valley with a river running along the bottom. The river in question is the Teign as it winds on its way east and then south towards Teignmouth through this stunning landscape. This walk, number 35, takes in a few Dartmoor 365 squares on my second round, including C16, C17, D16 and D17. The walk is from the National Trust’s Castle Drogo out to a nearby quarry, through Drewsteignton, then down to Fingle Bridge and then back by the river path, usually the one to the south of the river. In this case the river path to the south was closed for tree-felling, although we’d walked a few hundred metres that way before we saw the fences blocking the path. This meant a return back to Fingle Bridge and a walk along the undulating Fisherman’s Path on the northern side of the Teign. The weather was dry throughout, mainly cloudy but the odd bit of sunshine towards the end made for a nice finish. The only downside of the walk was seeing the pub in Drewsteignton closed. It seems it went out of business during this last year and there is currently a crowdfunding event going on to buy the pub for the community (https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/drewearms) and give shares in the pub, it last another 2 weeks. Hopefully by the time I walk from Drewsteignton again this 300 year old pub will be back open as its a great village heritage pub.

Start – Castle Drogo Parking

Route – Blackaller Quarry – Drewsteignton – Two Moors Way – Sharp Tor – Dartmoor Way – Fingle Bridge – Fishermans Path – Iron Bridge – Coombe – Hunters Tor – Castle Drogo

Distance – 7 miles    Start time – 11.20am   Time taken – 4hrs 45mins  Highest Point – Piddledown Common 260 metres

Weather – Mainly cloudy but some blue skies and sunshine in parts.