It had been a couple of years since we had been to Holwell at bluebell time and we were due a revisit. The display we had seen in 2023 was truly superb, and probably difficult to beat (you can see that walk here), but we thought a loop over the tors to the west before heading to Holwell Lawn would make a nice outing. We had booked a week off work (week and a half for Linda, as she headed first to her parents for a few days) and planned to enjoy time pottering in the garden, ticking off jobs and the odd walk. We started out from the car park near to Top Tor and made a beeline for Bonehill Rocks, with it being midweek there were very few people around and before long we were on Bell Tor, for our first brew stop, with stunning views down to Widecombe in the Moor. We then headed onwards, uphill, to Chinkwell Tor and on again to Honeybag Tor, enjoying the large outcrops and views north to Easdon Tor. We then dropped down through gates, passing a few small patches of bluebells, to Hedge Tor. This was our lunch spot, with not a sole to disturb us on the very quiet tor. We then crossed a farmers field to the road, I will caveat this by saying I’ve crossed here before and the farmer wasn’t worried when I spoke to him, can’t promise everyone will get the same welcome I did. From the road its a short walk over to Hound Tor, with its large stacks and huge boulders and the start of the bluebells. We headed off down, missing Greator Rocks and aiming for the gate to Holwell Lawn, passing gorse and bluebells on the way. Holwell Lawn has an equestrian course across its slopes, but from mid May to early June it is awash with purple and blue, as a little flower takes over. This year the dry weather has hampered its growing, the bracken fairs much better in this type of weather and had leapt up early, smothering what bluebells there were this year, still it was very good, just not quite 2023’s blooms. The better flowers were down the hill a bit and we headed there first, before climbing back up towards the road. Lastly we crossed Bonehill Down back to the car. But that was not all, Linda’s friend rents a stable yard at Holwell and we had time to visit and spend a couple of hours with the horses, enjoying the views and talking about the lack of rain, which is affecting the grass and hay for the winter. We drove home happy with our day’s walking, and hoping for a little bit of the wet stuff, if only to allow the horses to get some decent feed. Our 4th walk in the Haytor/Widecombe area already since the start of March, the car will know the route by itself soon!

Start – Top Tor parking

Route – Bonehill Rocks – Bell Tor – Chinkwell Tor – Honeybag Tor – Hedge Tor – Hound Tor – Holwell Lawn – Bonehill Down – Top Tor parking

Distance – 5 miles  Start time – 10.45am  Time taken – 3hrs 45mins  Highest Point – Chinkwell Tor 458 metres

Weather – Sunny and warm