Nearing the end of my stay in the Lakes and the weather has turned a little, meaning just two more short walks before I leave. Ling Fell is a very simple walk from any direction and is perfect for a day when cloud covers the higher fells, or you need a quick walk to keep…
Whilst in the Lakes I really wanted to do a wintry walk. Something with snow, cold conditions and maybe a need for some microspikes. Nothing that difficult that requires an ice axe and crampons but enough to give me a flavour and some experience in these conditions. Dartmoor can be bleak however lots of snow…
If there’s a better simpler low level walk in the UK than this one then feel free to let me know. A few miles, a bit of woodland, cascading streams, a large lake, a tunnel and a cracking village with a couple of pubs and a couple of coffee shops. It is a fabulous place to…
More time up in the Lake District this week and a chance for some winter walking. This first one however wasn’t full on snow, just a bit of frost and ice on the paths and a fresh wind. These three fells make an excellent round and the views from Crag Fell along Ennerdale are some…
Finally the weather turned, after a horrible Saturday with high winds and heavy rain, Sunday broke with blue skies. Another storm was heading in from the Atlantic bringing more horrible stuff so a quick walk was needed this morning. I headed to Two Bridges and took advantage of the easy walk up to Crockern Tor…
First big walk of 2016, the weather was set fair for the majority of the day (more of that later), so I decided to head east to new territory around Fernworthy Forest and Scorhill. I planned to do the loop in reverse from my actual walk but I wanted to see the ruin at Teignhead…
Well there was a bit of snow on Dartmoor, however with things to do on a Saturday morning it was mid afternoon before we got up to it. A lot had melted, some made into snowmen and enough thrown at me by my boys!!! It was a bit of fun, a short walk and a…
The weather said it should be decent with rain coming in after lunch, so a quick walk was devised from Bel Tor corner over to Mel Tor and then along the Two Moors Way, returning back along the road through Poundsgate. It was lovely to be out and the bonus was the weather was even…
I didn’t have much time and the weather had been dry if a little blustery, however I managed to get a quick walk in around the Mountbatten area of Plymouth which gives good views across Plymouth Sound to Cornwall. Its a simple walk of very little difficulty and distance but it was good to be…
Since early November sunny days in this part of the world have been extremely rare. Rain and strong winds from the south west have arrived day after day. Finally though we had one good day which meant one final walk in 2015. The original plan was start near Bonehill Rocks walk through Widecombe and up…
This is a walk I try to do every year at least once. It’s a fabulous area and an easy walk, giving a taster to everything that is good about walking on Dartmoor. You get a nice moorland area across Wigford Down, fantastic views from the Dewerstone and Devil’s Rocks, history and victorian industry with…
Yet again the weather has been against me and the chances to get out have been fleeting, after a calm Sunday morning I looked out the window and noticed that it hadn’t rained!! Time for a walk. Nothing too far, a couple of miles, but enough to remove the cobwebs. Trowlesworthy Warren used to be…
Considering the amount of rain that has fallen in November it would have been foolish to at least not have attempted a walk to one of the waterfalls on Dartmoor. I considered Lydford Gorge or perhaps Becky Falls but plumped for an old favourite in East Dart Waterfall. The only question would be could I…
Let’s face it, it has been miserable in November. However finally the weather broke and I had chance for two quick walks, the first was up Cox Tor and the second a cracking little walk with my two boys around Peek Hill. My eldest tried out my old camera that I have given to them and…
It had been over a fortnight since my last walk in The Lake District on Souther Fell and I needed to get out. The problem was in that time the rain had pounded down for 2 weeks solid and there was no sign of a halt. Enough was enough though and a simple walk around some…
The last walk of an autumn week in The Lakes and being the last day I always try to pick something easy and as easterly as possible to get on the M6 quickly. The 6 plus hour drive to Plymouth necessitates leaving late afternoon, so you miss the worst of the traffic around Manchester and…
Friday broke and the weather wasn’t overly kind, the cloud was down again however it said brighter things would be with the Western Lakes by midday. I headed out after lunch for something easy, something new and preferably something not boggy (after all the rain we’d had!). I decided on a little North Western fell…
The title Lord’s Seat sounds far greater than it actually is, the fact is that the area around Whinlatter and Lord’s Seat is a grassy, lumpy and sometimes boggy area of land in the North Western Fells. Now as a walker of The Wainwrights we know that at times he takes us to parts that…
A look at the weather for The Lake District for the rest of the week I was here, suggested Tuesday would be the best day that was left. With heavy rain on Wednesday and some rain each of the rest of the days. I decided therefore to hit a bigger fell whilst the views would…
This was arguably the one walk I did want to do whilst staying on this side of the Lake District. Yes there are higher walks and better paths, but few better views of the Scafells and surrounding mountains than from WastWater and also from Middle Fell. I’d seen plenty of pictures of the panorama from…
Day 2 of a week in the Lakes and being on the Western side for the first time it would have been remiss of me not to walk in this area. So today I decided to head for Loweswater for a trip around Gavel Fell, Blake Fell and finishing off with Burnbank Fell and a…
Another fantastic week in the Lake District last week and it started here in the Northern Lakes on Binsey. I’d driven up from an overnight stop in Wigan and into rain, it was forecast to brighten in the afternoon so I took time to stop in Keswick, grab some lunch before heading across to Binsey.…
This wasn’t the walk that was planned for this weekend, originally I had ear marked Cosdon Hill to Hangingstone Hill as the walk for today. However when I joined the A30 at Okehampton, having driven through some sunshine around Lydford, I hit low cloud and grey skies. I turned around and headed back to Lake…
This is a second go at a walk I tried a few weeks ago, it was the end of a good week of weather and Saturday was forecast as the last decent day. In the end it turned out to be very hazy and the cloud came over towards the end. However it was finally…
It has been a while since I’ve taken a walk along the ridge to one of my favourite tors, Longaford Tor. I decided to lengthen the walk a bit and add in Higher and Lower White Tors before heading to Rough Tor. I still wanted to return along the Devonport Leat which meant a visit to…
Yep that’s right there’s a Snowdon on Dartmoor!! Unfortunately it’s not as exciting as its Welsh namesake but you can’t have everything. I set out from the very pretty Venford Reservoir and headed up to Horn’s Cross before setting off for Ryder’s Hill. The walk was going well until I started out for Snowdon where…
The plan today was to head for Great Links Tor and possibly Bleak House and beyond if the weather was ok. However the forecast to clear up after midday did not materilise on the western side of Dartmoor. In fact some water must have been put down last night as it was running like rivers…
A couple of days off work and a chance to head out for a walk in an area that I don’t visit enough. In fact I haven’t been to Fernworthy Reservoir before. I parked a bit nearer to the Warren House pub than I planned, I meant to park by the bridge over the Walla…
The weather was set to change in the afternoon and I decided I didn’t wish to be out in it when it started raining. A short walk was needed and the Yar Tor area gives you 3 summits with very little effort. The views from each are brilliant and I can imagine the sunsets from…
The weather was set to be good (and it was absolutely superb) and I fancied somewhere new and ticking off a place that I’d looked at before from above but never been through. I also thought that I could bag a couple of higher tors that I had yet to visit. I’d had good recent…
First big walk back in Devon for a while and wanted to go somewhere new and somewhere I knew! Sittaford Tor looked good plus a walk across to Kit Steps and then back along the East Dart via the waterfall. The weather didn’t really play ball for the first half of the walk, especially on…
Back on Dartmoor and probably the last evening walk of the year, but what a fantastic surprise at the end. I planned on walking to Sharp Tor on Ugborough Moor and decided on a nice easy starting point of Harford. I intended on only heading first to Piles Hill and then Sharp Tor, but Hangershell…
My last walk of a fantastic week in the Lake District and I guess eventually it had to rain, forecast said it would stop just before lunch, so I figured a bit of shopping and a bite to eat in Keswick and a quick walk before the long drive to Plymouth. Great Mell Fell was…
After a tough walk around the Fairfield Horseshoe yesterday I felt like a much easier walk and a visit to Buttermere, which is a lovely part of the world. Unfortunately walking the Wainwrights rarely means an easy walk, the torture on my legs, straight up the Knott Rigg ascent from the Newlands Pass, wasn’t much…
There’s something about bagging a large amount of Wainwright’s in one go that gives great satisfaction at the end of a day. The horseshoe walks in the Lakes do just that, 5, 6, 7 or more fells can be climbed in a day, putting you so much closer to that magical 214. The classic Fairfield…
Fourth walk in the Lakes and a chance to catch a glimpse of the highest points in England, The Scafells, as well as look at the fantastic Eskdale. It also meant a trip across one of the toughest driving roads in the land, with first the Wrynose Pass and then the Hardknott Pass to be…
After two days of fantastic sunshine the inevitable happened with rain most of the day on the Sunday and some again Monday morning, thankfully it brightened nicely in the afternoon allowing a nice walk from the house up to Holme Fell. I have to say our route up wasn’t conventional and we certainly lost the…
Second day in The Lakes and a second walk already! This time straight from the rented house in Little Langdale up to Lingmoor Fell with its fantastic views of Bowfell and the Langdale Pikes. My dad joined me and to make a circular of it we headed down to Blea Tarn before walking back along…
As always a week in the Lake District is much anticipated and goes with plenty of planning, this year the house was in Little Langdale. However, this walk was not really on the agenda, but after 6 or so hours in a car from Plymouth and an hour or so before being allowed in the…
Like Ducks Pool on the south moor, Cranmere Pool is one of those places that if you like walking you will need to visit. To say you’ve been!! It’s the site of the oldest letterbox on Dartmoor dating from 1854 and the tough trudge is worth it for the peace and quiet. The boggy hike…
The weather looked promising this evening so I decided on a quick walk over Leeden Tor taking in Fur Tor (Walkhampton) and then Ingra Tor for the sunset. I wasn’t disappointed.
A walk to prepare for a week in the Lake District which is coming up at the start of August. Starting from a new place for me, beside Okehampton Camp, I made for Yes Tor taking in a couple of other tors on the way. Once at High Willhays I extended the walk down to…
I’d originally set off and gone to Wembury for a walk but I knew a better sunset would be had on Dartmoor, this walk didn’t disappoint in that respect. Good views and an orange sunset glow around Brentor in the west lifted the spirits at the end of a hard day. I knew this would…
This was just one of those times when only a walk would do. I had to get out, the weather wasn’t great but I managed to visit some new spots and tors. Plus I finally visited the other side of the Plym from Ditsworthy Warren House! The walk back following the leat which runs parallel…
Another lovely evening and a quick decision to walk around Burrator, once halfway round i noticed that the cloud was clearing a bit and the possibility of seeing a sunset became more likely. By the time I reached Down Tor, at just after 9pm, the setting was perfect to see a sunset in a dip…
Another lovely evening and a chance for an evening walk around the southernmost points of Dartmoor, whilst I’ve been to Western Beacon before the other 3 were new to me. It was a lovely evening for a short walk with some fantastic views across South Hams and a bit of a sunset at the end.
It’s June and time to lengthen the mileage walked, I headed first over tors I have visited before in the Staple Tors and Roos Tor. However this time I carried on out the back of Roos Tor to Cocks Hill (not worth the effort!) and Lynch Tor (more than made up for Cocks Hill), before…
Not so much a walk this one but more of an opportunity to watch an evening sunset, not bad for the first one of the year though. I headed above Burrator reservoir to Peek Hill which gives a good view west to the descending sun alongside some lovely views down to Burrator reservoir.
My first proper evening walk of the year and a great one it was. Haytor in the sun is a very popular place however in the evening you get great sunsets from this area with far less people about. The path to Bag Tor is a permitted path at this time of year which climbs…
Another week and my second bus journey to Burrator, getting a habit this!! Not the weather I wanted but this is a great route, with tors, historic monuments and old farms to keep you interested. The only hard climb is to Eylesbarrow otherwise it’s all fairly simple going.
A new one on me, a bus journey to the start of the walk and then a bus back home at the end. As I was a little early getting back I was able to walk the length of Burrator and get an ice cream whilst waiting for the bus!! The walk took some of…
Another lovely start to the day weather wise, which gave me some fantastic coastal views, however the high point of today’s walk was definitely walking through the golden yellow rape seed fields, absolutely stunning. There were also a few bluebells out overlooking Plymouth Sound which makes for some lovely colour in the photos.
If your after a simple walk, nothing too tough but still with views and maybe some history thrown is as well, this walk is perfect. Perfect for families, old and young. The old railway track bed leaves Princetown running parallel with the Plymouth road and loops around the back of Swell Tor and Kings Tor.…
Time for a quick walk up to Down Tor and then across to Combeshead Tor before descending to Cuckoo Rock. It was all in the name as I heard the first cuckoo of spring whilst walking back to Norsworthy Bridge!!
Another coastal walk and this time somewhere I’ve never been to before, Start Point. Its an easy walk from the nearby car park however walking from Beesands, and passing the lost village of Hallsands, makes more of a day of it and means the ice cream at the end has been earned!! The views across…
Today was a walk into the wilderness and typical terrain that is Dartmoor, away from any roads although the military presence can be seen all over this area. It’s a stunning area however the part across Black Dunghill and the last part by the Cowsic Bridge can get pretty boggy but that is more than…
A new area for us this time, the Willsworthy range has been on the radar but travelling north on the road from Tavistock we’ve headed for Lydford Gorge or Yes Tor instead. This time however we parked at Lane End and tackled the area around Hare Tor. In hindsight we should have headed for the…
It was the day of the half solar eclipse but to be honest, on Dartmoor, it kind of barely happened. It went a bit darker I guess and a bit cooler, but nothing like a full solar eclipse!! I grabbed a quick photo as it emerged behind a cloud which obscured the glare from the…
As mentioned before this is one of the best places to visit on Dartmoor. Again starting from Postbridge this time we took the west side of the East Dart first and headed over Broad Down. The views were hampered by the haze in fact at times good photos were difficult to get. The area above…
Fowey (pronounced Foy by them locals!), is a pretty harbour town where we had the intentions of a quick walk followed by fish and chips. Well the walk was fine however not a fish and chip shop in sight! So Mevagissey was visited to sort that part out!!
Today was time for something a bit different, this walk gives you a bit of moorland, woodland tracks and quiet lanes. It is perfect when perhaps the weather isn’t quite as good as you would like! You could park at either end of this walk, at South Brent (where I did) or Shipley Bridge where…
Another nice day and time for a walk on new ground, on a circular walk of Royal Hill. I have to say I didn’t expect too much from the walk but the views to the north are very good. However the walk back from Tor Royal to Peat Cot was fairly boggy at this time…
I hadn’t been out on Dartmoor for around a month and was getting itchy feet for some new granite!! I decided to visit a tor I have been to before in Cox Tor and add on a visit to Roos Tor and the Staple Tors. It was a very pleasant way to spend a few…
Time for me to take a walk to a nearby beach and return via the fantastic South West coastal path with great views to Plymouth and over the Sound to Cornwall.
We had a bit of time for a quick walk and Leather Tor seemed like a good option. The weather was amazing, still a bit of snow on the ground, a cold nip in the air and lots of blue sky.
Another place on Dartmoor that I wanted to visit. I had been a few times to Avon Dam and seen the dimple in the distance that is the Redlake spoil heap and planned a walk that would get the best out of this area. The weather was absolutely stunning, crisp snow in places, sun and…
Duck’s Pool was one of those places that I wanted to visit but didn’t know what it looked like or what to expect. I knew it would be boggy getting there, even with some ice on the ground. I would class this a bog rating 4 out of 5 especially the part from Great Gnats…
Bitterly cold day on Dartmoor and only a shortish walk to South Hessary Tor and back. Starting from the Princetown car park and heading along the path behind the Plume of Feathers pub (used at the end!!). It’s a walk that requires little effort and no special navigation as the tor is right next to…
