The first walk of the New Year and unlike last year, where we’d walked 3 times by this point, this was our first one. A mix of bad weather and Linda picking up a bad pain in her neck, had meant we’d stayed away from walking. We also chose a short route with very little in the way of difficult ground, so we didn’t worsen any injuries or neck pain. The area around Corndon and Yar Tor is a good area for this, plenty of high ground, or what appears to be high with long distance views, without too much need for steep climbs and descents. This would be walk number 43 of my second round of Dartmoor 365 squares, picking up M13 and N14 and finally the good sunny weather, so prolific in every part of the country since the start of December, had finally reached the soggy South West. I’d become a bit annoyed by lots of pictures showing cold crisp days in Yorkshire, Scotland and the Lakes and then lots of blue skies and snow as the New Year came around. Finally we had a bit of sunshine on the moor so we headed out, it was probably the first clear and decent day we’d seen in a long while, so we wanted to enjoy it. I’d checked and double checked the weather, with the best of the weather on the eastern side, and any cloud on the west. As it was it turned out to be the opposite of that, with clear weather on the west and cloud above us. However on this route, eventually the cloud disappeared and the sun shone for us. A lovely little walk taking in some lovely tors and Dartmoor 365 squares, and when the sun shines it is lovely around here, with valleys plunging below and views all the way to the high hills and tors to the north. Originally I had planned on a slightly longer walk, taking in Sharp Tor as well, but that one can wait for another day as this little 3 miler suited us just fine.

Start – Bel Tor parking

Route – Yar Tor – Sherwell – Cathanger Rock – Corndon North Tor – Corndon Tor – Cave Penney Memorial – Money Pit – Bel Tor parking

Distance – 3 miles    Start time – 11.45am   Time taken – 2hrs 15mins  Highest Point – Corndon Tor 432 metres

Weather – Cloudy start with sunshine to finish