This walk had been a year in the making, since I did the last of my tors/hill on my 500 list of my Round 2. I remember saying at the start of 2025 that I had 7 to do, and 6 were ticked off that year. Well Fishlake Rocks took a bit longer, being as it is in the middle of nowhere on the south moor, in ground that is best described as damp even in a drought. This summer was long and hot, the ground drier than a Mccoys ready salted crisp that’s been baked again (no advertisement meant!). So I figured that Fishlake Rocks was on the cards, only how to approach was in question. Coming from the south can be boggy and definitely long, north seemed to be shorter but Nakers Hill is normally pathless, full of horrid tufty grass and if it was boggy then Linda would not speak to me for weeks. I looked at the Sandy Way path, seeing how far it would go, Google satellite view confirmed it went near to Nakers Hill, and then across it and beyond. Maybe this was a path to get us way into the middle of the south moor. We started out from the parking by Combestone Tor, briefly visiting before heading up to Sandy Way, we headed along the path, quickly passing Avon Head on a clear dry path, promising. We crossed Nakers Hill with no issues, splitting off from the path to Ter Hill, which we would return to later. The path petered out but the grass was very short, so we easily made Fishlake Rocks and the end of my Round 2 journey of my own list. We returned the same way to the split, and headed to Ter Hill, then Skir Hill and dropped to The Henroost and on to Hooten Wheels. I’ve not been to these parts for quite a while and clearly the path off Hooten Wheels, back to Combestone Tor, has become overgrown. Either that or I just couldn’t see it, so instead we crossed the O Brook and walked the clearer path to the south, passing Horse Ford Cross and down to the road. Here we passed blackberries, all in fruit and ripe, I guess again, the summer was the culprit of the early crop. We filled our sandwiches boxes and headed back to the car happy with our haul. So Round 2 for me is finished, Linda had around 15-20 to do on her first round at this point, so the question is will I do Round 3. I’m not sure, I’m not one for starting from zero, so if I look at the numbers I’ll probably find that I need somewhere around 200 I reckon to do that. But if I’m honest I’m at the stage that I want to pick a walk on the moor that is interesting, maybe a new way in and at times a little easier. However I reckon if we get another dry summer then this route to Fishlake is a cracker and deserves another look.
Start – Combestone Tor parking
Route – Combestone Tor – Sandy Way – Aune (Avon) Head – Nakers Hill – Fishlake Rocks – Nakers Hill – Ter Hill – Terrill Posts – Skir Hill – The Henroost – Hooten Wheels – Horse Ford Cross – Saddle Bridge – Combestone Tor
Distance 10 miles Start time – 11.15am Time taken – 5 1/2hrs Highest Point – Boundary Rock on Sandy Way 494 metres
Weather – Part of the long hot summer of 2026
