Lynch Tor and round to Standon Hill

/ 04/05/2025

So the good weather continues, dry, sunny and warm seems to be the order of the day and no doubt these words will be added to, soon, with mentions of drought, hosepipe bans and leaky pipes! Whilst the weather is good, we look to head off into areas which can be pretty wet in normal circumstances, but now these are easily attained dry shod. We started off by picking off a tor that I needed on my second round, Brousentor isn’t much of an outcrop, sitting in a farm field as it does, however up the hill a little is Bagga Tor, a much more substantial outcrop. Next was Lynch Tor and it is a favourite spot of mine, I love the valley in front of it and the views across the Tamar Valley and beyond to Cornwall. Next we headed off into the wilds, looking for a unique place on the moor. The 3 way range pole is the only one joining all three of the firing ranges, it is fatter than all the others and can be reached if all 3 ranges are live firing! Next we wandered over to Standon Hill for more of those views to Cornwall, before dropping down to Standon Steps and the River Tavy. We followed the river for a short distance to Cataloo Steps and then climbed steeply uphill back to the car. A superb walk in these conditions, and we will be back as the Dartmoor 365 squares of Tavy Hole and the Walkham Peat Pass are needed!

Start – Bagga Tor parking

Route – Brousentor – Bagga Tor – Lynch Tor – Limsboro Cairn – 3 Way Range Pole – Standon Hill – Standon Steps Bridge – Cataloo Steps – Brousentor Farm

Distance – 6 miles  Start time – 10.20am  Time taken – 4hrs 20mins  Highest Point – Lynch Tor 517metres

Weather – Lots of warm sunshine

© Crown copyright 2025 Ordnance Survey FL 2025 SF
So after a drive along a long lane from Peter Tavy, you arrive here, at the gate and just below Bagga Tor. There are spaces for 4 well parked cars and we were number 2 at 10.15am. There isn’t really an alternative unless you head back down the road for 1/2 a mile, so its always good to get a space here.
Tavy Cleave is across the valley and Ger Tor sits like a sentinel into that area. We will first be heading over to that large green tree and our first tor, once we have our boots on.
Bagga Tor is a short hop away, Standon Hill is at the back left, which will be our last one today.
In front of us is Brousentor, not too much of it to be honest, but some lovely views over to the entrance to Tavy Cleave, with Ger Tor and Hare Tor behind
Lots of little lambs around today
Up on Bagga Tor and looking along the valley to where Lynch Tor sits, Standon Hill on the left
Looking out from Bagga Tor towards Tavistock
Our first stop for a brew, Standon Hill up to the right, Bagga Tor is just left of centre and Cornwall is in the distance
One of my favourites, Lynch Tor and the distance holds the western tors of Hare Tor, Sharp Tor, Great Links Tor among others
Looking out from Lynch Tor
Limsboro Cairn, the military have stuck a flagpole up here alongside the outcrop, some mark this as separate from Lynch Tor, which I’m not sure about with it sitting 30 metres away. Whether it is separate seems to depends on the author. Great Mis Tor is the large lump beyond this one
Wilderness behind Lynch Tor. Fur Tor is the pile right of centre. High Willhays and the roof of Devon back left
Round further left is the group on the western front of the moor with Hare Tor the pointy one at this end
Big skies and normally boggy ground, today though it was crispy underfoot, stunning walking through here
in a slight depression is the 3 way range pole in Western Red Lake, the stream on our right here flows down into the River Tavy and Tavy Cleave
3 way range pole, to my left is the Willsworthy range, to the right is Merrivale and ahead is Okehampton. Behind me is a small thin wedge of land outside of all of the ranges
Looking to Fur Tor, some fairly soggy ground between me and the Queen of the Moor. This photo was taken around midday, and a few hours after this a large fire was raging behind and to the right of Fur Tor as we look here, result of the dry weather. The Molinia grass is becoming very prevalent across the centre of the moor, either due to it drying out after all the years of tinning, or due to lack of grazing. Either way these fires will continue unless it can be sorted.
Up on Standon Hill now
Our lunch spot and fine views to Tavistock, on the far left is Great Mis Tor and White Tor with a shadow over the top
Cornwall from Standon Hill
We dropped off the front of Standon Hill towards Standon Steps, a better view into Tavy Cleave from here with Ger Tor to the left of it
As we neared the River Tavy we saw a few clumps of bluebells (we have a future walk to Holwell planned in to see some better ones)
Standon Steps Bridge, a double bridge using the island in the middle of the river to get across
Cataloo Steps, a tricky set of stepping stones over the Tavy
After walking up the hill a little we came across this lamb which appeared very lost and away from the other sheep, we lead it back in with the others, but we weren’t confident it had a mother as it seemed pretty weak
Back at the start again
Lovely day for walking, good temperature, great skies and a super route around

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16 thoughts on “Lynch Tor and round to Standon Hill”

  1. Standon Steps Bridge looks a lovely retreat from the open spaces. Unfortunately, the lamb’s Mum innately knew something was wrong with its offspring and has now rejected it. Years ago, I spent days trying to reunite a lamb with it’s Mum I didn’t succeed. Natures way of eliminating the weak.

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  3. It’s been a lovely couple of weeks for making the most of the outdoors, and perfect for hitting those usually boggy areas! Another beautiful walk, especially with those bluebells !

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    • A better bluebell walk was done on Thursday, in my opinion its the best bluebell place in the country and this year it was average, but still really good to walk there

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    • We sat at Cataloo for a quick brew stop and watched a group of 4 cross there, I’ve been over in the past and its not the easiest of crossings, there are far easier sets of these stone steps on the moor in other places, but this one does seem to be a tricky version of the kind

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