Dartmoor July 2020 (click to read)

In July 2020 I went to Dartmoor for the first time for a couple of nights wild camping with some of my regular camping buddies; John, Martin, Alex and Simon. Although the nights were chilly we were blessed with great weather for most of the trip. We travelled down to Belstone in multiple cars due to the pandemic restrictions and met in the car park on the edge of the village at 5.30pm on a lovely summers evening and set off onto the moor for our first nights camp.

https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/route/6990646/Day-1-Dartmoor-July-2020

Following a well trodden track we worked our way past Scarey Tor, then Rowtor and onto West Mill Tor an hour and a half later for night one camp.

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Dinner was a stir fried beef with noodles in black bean sauce followed by apple pie and custard plus of course the obligatory cheese and booze we always have on a wild camp. I go into a bit more detail on food in a separate blog but it all comes down to a bit of preparation. Day 2 broke fine and sunny although there was a bit of a cold wind so breakfast was cooked and eaten just around the side of the Tor from the camp.

https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/route/6990669/Day-2-Dartmoor-July-2020

Breaking camp we headed over to Yes Tor and then down to the West Okement River via High Willhays where we stopped for a quick break in the sunshine at a spot I will definitely use for a camp in the future.

After a short break we worked our way down the river, up over Lints Tor, across to Dinger Tor then Okement Hill before dropping down into the valley and having lunch at the Ford in the River; after lunch we took quite a direct route to Hangingstone Hill before heading North ish towards Wild Tor, Hound Tor (where I would camp on a later trip) and onto our objective of Cosdon Beacon where we planned to camp for night two.

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Dinner was Italian Pasta followed by the usual booze and cheese but for one reason or another I can’t remember what the cheese was although we did enjoy a fair amount of Makers Mark Bourbon plus one or two other tipples…..

It was a really beautiful evening with a stunning sunset although it did quickly turn cold. From memory I think we called the camp grumpy sheep tor due to a very unhappy sheep who obviously didn’t like us being there and he huffed and puffed and stamped his hooves to let us know!

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Morning broke with lovely clear blue sky’s and after a traditional fry up we broke camp and worked our way down hill to Ramsley and then across to Belstone Cleave which is a lovely woodland walk following the River Taw back to Belstone Village. An excellent weekend and a decent drive back home with a short stop to have an obligatory cream tea while we were still in Devon at the Woodleigh Coach House Cafe just off the A30. Lovely!