Another trip to one of my favourite places, again for two nights and this time with Nelson, Everest, Joan and Temp. Travelled down on Friday morning and went for lunch at the Warren House Inn to fuel up for the days ahead 🙂
The Warren House Inn enjoys breathtaking extensive views over the ever changing face of Dartmoor and you will be assured of a very warm welcome, not least from the fire which is said to have been burning continuously since 1845. The present Inn was built in 1845 and the builder’s slate plaque is set into the eastern gable wall, the date is curiously specific and reads “I Wills-Sept 18 1845” this marks the completion of the new building. This replaced the original building which stood on the opposite side of the road where the peat fire was said to be “always in” and according to folklore, the then landlord transferred smouldering peat (vags) from the original building, to the hearth in the new one. This tradition lives on, however today we do not burn peat (vags) but wood from neighbouring farms.
We then did the short drive to Postbridge where we parked up at the visitor centre for a very reasonable £2 per day! From there we worked our way up onto the moor to Bellever Tor and across country to Dunstone Down for our first night. Although a nice part of Dartmoor this area has far fewer places to camp and you need to check the Parks interactive map to be sure you are somewhere permitted.
https://www.dartmoor.gov.uk/about-us/about-us-maps/camping-map
Day one route and map.
https://explore.osmaps.com/route/12298255/activity8699791038
There were strong easterly winds which were gusty and quite cold but we managed to find a bit of shelter, set up camp and settled down for the evening. Having had lunch we just had snacks, booze and cheese and just may have got a bit carried away on the booze front…..
After a good nights sleep (for night 1 at any rate) we kicked off the day with a cooked breakfast of sausage, bacon, black pudding and scrambled eggs, which was tasty but unfortunately it started to rain and so we ended up packing everything away wet. One tip is to have an extra dry bag to put your wet fly sheet in to help prevent everything else getting wet.
We set off to walk along the top of the ridge to go look at the Grimspound Bronze Age Settlement just the other side of Hameldown Tor.
Grimspound is one of the best known prehistoric settlements on Dartmoor, probably dating from the Late Bronze Age (about 1450–700 BC). The remains of 24 houses enclosed within a stone wall, and further houses outside the enclosure, lie in a fold in the hills about 450 metres (1,500 feet) above sea level, between Hookney and Hameldown tors.
The earlier Neolithic period, from about 4500 BC, witnessed a transition from a hunting and gathering lifestyle towards a growing reliance on farming. By 2500 BC the early farmers were moving into upland areas like Dartmoor, and settled farms and field systems were becoming commonplace.
The remains of the characteristic round houses (also known as hut circles) in which people lived can still be seen – sometimes standing on their own, like isolated cottages today; sometimes, as here, grouped together in sizeable villages. Such settlements are a defining feature of the Dartmoor landscape.
We do not know precisely how long Grimspound was in use, but by about 1200 BC the settlement pattern was changing. The thin moorland soils appear to have deteriorated very quickly and it also seems that there was a change in the climate. Heavy rainfall reduced the fertility of the Dartmoor soil, so that it could not sustain the same level of occupation.
Then we worked our way back towards the Warren House Inn for a pint (rude not to when we were so close :)) from there through the forest and across to Hangingstone Tor, which proved to be a rubbish place to camp and so we trudged our way (way too far today and very tired!) across to Wild Tor where we knew there would be some good shelter.
https://explore.osmaps.com/route/12301489/activity8699806620
A beautiful but cold evening with the pesky easterly still blowing and a relatively early to bed at about 9:30pm. I Slept well despite the wind and although everything had dried out in the evening we woke to the gentle pitter patter of rain which wasn’t at all helpful. The decision was made to just have a brew and get going and stop for breakfast when the weather improved. After a couple of hours it was much better and we found some shelter behind a wall down in a valley and cooked breakfast.
Managed to stop the watch instead of pausing it at the breakfast stop so map and route in two parts 🙂
https://explore.osmaps.com/route/12302213/activity8699812204
After a lovely breakfast stop we walked the last leg down through a valley, along the East Dart and back into Postbridge where thankfully the Jeep was still parked for the four hour drive home although we just may have stopped for a cream tea first 🙂 Thank you to Temp, Everest, Nelson and Joan for an excellent weekend with some great walking and banter.
https://explore.osmaps.com/route/12302345/activity8699817814
Hiking & Wild Camping 