So this was the weekend before our trip to the Brecon Beacons and the good weather of March is still with us. Its been a superb month for blue skies, with barely any rain, no doubt the water companies will have hosepipe bans in force by the end of April. But I’m happy, as it means that the boggy parts of Dartmoor are very much in play, infact I read about an adder being seen in mid March! We headed for the south eastern corner of the moor, not far to drive, but a place that can be very boggy around the Snowdon area (no not that Snowdon!). We had recently bought a new car (and sold the two we had to reduce our on going spend) and need somewhere easy to get to and easy to park, Cross Furzes is not really either of these, but it is rarely full and the pull in place had spaces when we got there. We drove past two Dartmoor 365 space on the way, so we stopped to take photos and bag these two in Wallaford Cross and then Wallaford Down. The walk started from Cross Furzes (another square) and headed out along the long lane to Lud Gate, and then the climb to Pupers Hill. I always say that I won’t come up this way again to Pupers Hill, but keep doing it. Its a long plod, so we stopped for a coffee halfway up to make it bearable! Once on Pupers Hill the views were expansive and we headed off to Snowdon in the sunshine. Its not too far to Snowdon and the views are similar to Pupers, and here we decided not to carry on to Ryders Hill, instead cutting the corner to head for Huntingdon Warren. Once there we had lunch, before dropping to the farm and then Keble Martin’s Chapel, which is a fascinating place. Next we cut across Hickaton Hill to reach Water Oak Corner, and then a lovely walk across Lambs Down to the Dean Burn. All that is left is a short climb to Cross Furzes and the car, another superb walk and picking off lots of squares (8 in total) plus 3 hills/tors. After this walk we headed home to keep improving the garden ready for summer, lots to do in our new house!

Start – Cross Furzes

Route – Cross Furzes – Lud Gate – Pupers Hill – Snowdon – Huntingdon Warren – Huntingdon Warren Farm – Keble Martin Chapel – Hickaton Hill – Water Oak Corner – Lambs Down – Dean Burn Clapper – Cross Furzes

Distance – 8 miles  Start time – 10.15am  Time taken – 4hrs 15mins Highest Point – Snowdon 495 metres

Weather – Lots of blue sky to start clouding over from half way round