Walks 2023

Schedule of Walks during 2023

User notes for viewing the walk Photos, Research Notes and Track are shown at the foot of the page.

The details of our walks during 2023 are shown below:

Friday 8th December 2023		Distance: 7.40 Miles	Temp: 6° During the walk
Walkers	Route	Lunch Break	Weather	Wildlife	Notes
David M.	Widecombe, Church Way, Hameldon Ridge, Hameldon Cross, R.A.F. Memorial Stone, Natsworthy Gate and return along the road	Just inside the moor gate at Natsworthy, near the 'Pit' boundary stone.	A bright, dry day with occasional overcast periods and cold breeze. A brief period of light rain was experienced in the vicinity of Broad Burrow	Buzzard, Chaffinch, Crow, Golden Plover, Jackdaw, Raven and Robin.
Bob W.
Roy A. & Alison B.

Friday 17th November 2023		Distance: 7.90 Miles	Temp: Start 6°
Walkers	Route	Lunch Break	Weather	Wildlife	Notes
David M.	Shilstone Tor (Throwleigh), Raybarrow Pool, Kennon Hill, Ruelake Pit, Rival Tor, Gidleigh Common, Scorhill Stone Circle and Tor, Buttern Hill and return to Shilstone Tor.	Rival Tor and Scorhill Stone Circle.	A dull, dry and overcast day with a cold breeze and an ever present threat of rain. The ground was very wet underfoot.	Blackbirds, Crows, Mistle Thrush, Pigeons, Raven, Starlings and an unidentified Wader. (Maurice saw a White Pheasant cross the road in front of him on his journey home).	The group got split a couple of times during the walk, with everyone missing one or two key places. The Track (link above) shows the route that Maurice took).
Maurice D.
Bob W.
Paul R.
Roy A. & Alison B.

Friday 20th October 2023		Distance: 8.25 Miles	Temp: Start 10° / End 15°
Walkers	Route	Lunch Break	Weather	Wildlife	Notes
David M.	Yelverton, Harrowbeer Down, Dartmoor Way (disused Rail Track), Grenofen Tunnel, Grenofen, Grenofen Bridge, River Walkham, Double Waters, Bucktor and return along the Two Moors Way.	Beside the Rivers Walkham and Tavy at Double Waters.	A warm, dry and still day with mainly blue sky and sunshine, with cloud building up during the afternoon. Early on there were isolated patches of mist adding to the atmosphere of the scenery.	Crows, Magpie, Pheasants, Pigeons, Raven and Robins. Red Admiral Butterflies, Honey Bees (swarming outside a garden shed) and a Squirrel.
Maurice D.
Bob W.

Friday 29th September 2023		Distance: 7.93 Miles	Temp: Start 12°
Walkers	Route	Lunch Break	Weather	Wildlife	Notes
David & Peggy M.	Postbridge, Bellever Bridge, Riddon Ridge, Pizwell Bridge, Cator Common, Runnabridge, Pizwell Farm and return along the track past the Lydgate House Hotel.	Beside the Walla Brook at Pizwell Bridge.	A warm and dry day with mainly blue sky and sunshine, with the occasional cloud passing overhead.	Buzzard, Crows, Dunlin, Pipits, Raven & Skylarks. Red Admiral & Small Copper Butterflies, Common Darter & Golden-ringed Dragonflies and a Fish (Unidentified).	Paul left us along the lower slopes of Riddon Ridge to take in the Laughter Hole (Snaily) Stepping Stones and rejoined us along the top of the ridge.
Maurice D.
Bob W.
Paul R.

Friday 11th August 2023		Distance: 6.87 Miles	Temp: Start 16.5° / End 22.0°
Walkers	Route	Lunch Break	Weather	Wildlife	Notes
David M.	Willsworthy, Wheal Jewell Reservoir, Will, Willsworthy Bridge, Reddaford Farm Ruins, Reddaford Target Railway (Higher) and return to the car park via the Rifle Ranges.	At the ruins of Reddaford Farm.	Dry and warm with a constant breeze. Quite a bit of cloud around, with intervals of blue sky.	Buzzard, Crow, Jay, Pied Wagtail, Pipits, Ravens & Skylarks. Gatekeeper, Green-veined White, Holly Blue, Large White, Meadow Brown, Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Red Admiral & Small Heath Butterflies. Fox & Golden-ringed Dragonfly.
Maurice D.
Bob W.

Friday 21st July 2023		Distance: 6.82 Miles	Temp: Start 17.0° / End 21.0°
Walkers	Route	Lunch Break	Weather	Wildlife	Notes
David & Peggy M.	Wrangaton Golf Course, around the western shoulder of Ugborough Beacon, Spurrell's Cross, Weatherdon Hill, Black Pool, Butterdon Hill and return to the car park.	Beside the Redlake Tramway at the Two Moors Way Guide Stone, on the south west slopes of Butterdon Hill.	Cloudy, dry and warm with a consistent breeze.	Buzzard, Meadow Pipit, Ravens, Skylarks, Wheatear, Funnel Web Spider and Meadow Brown, Red Admiral and Small Heath Butterflies. We also saw 5 and 6-petalled Tormentil.	Paul covered some additional mileage in search of objects for his Dartmoor 365 exercise in the Piles Hill and Western Beacon areas.
Maurice D.
Bob W.
Paul R.

Friday 16th June 2023		Distance: 6.91 Miles	Temp: Start 20.0° / End 27.0°
Walkers	Route	Lunch Break	Weather	Wildlife	Notes
Maurice D.	Yelverton, Harrowbeer Down, Horrabridge, Knowle Down, Walkhampton, Woodman's Corner and return via the footpath past Binkham Farm.	On a wall / seat beside the Black Brook in Walkhampton.	Clear skies, hot and sunny in the morning, but clouding over during the afternoon.	Blackbird, Crows, Herring Gulls, Jackdaws, Magpies, Pied Wagtail, Pigeons, Thrush, Meadow Brown Butterflies and Damselflies.	On the day Bob and Tim both decided to join Maurice on the short(er) walk.
Bob W.
Tim F.

Friday 19th May 2023 (Full Walk)		Distance: 8.60 Miles	Temp: Start 20.0° / End 16.0°
Walkers	Route	Lunch Break	Weather	Wildlife	Notes
Bob W.	Okehampton Station, West Devon Way, Meldon Viaduct, Red-a-Ven, Black Down, Higher & Lower Halstock, East Okement River, Fatherford and return along the tramway.	Beside the Moor Brook, below Lower Halstock Stepping Stones.	Sunshine and blue skies, gentle breeze and gradually clouding over.	Blackbirds, Crows, Jackdaw, Robin, Skylarks, Wheatear, Newt & Tadpoles.
Paul R.

Friday 19th May 2023 (Short Walk)		Distance: 4.75 Miles	Temp: Start 14.5° / End 21.5°
Walkers	Route	Lunch Break	Weather	Wildlife	Notes
David & Peggy M.	Along the Water Works Track from Shipley Bridge to the Avon Dam and return along the same track.	On a wooden picnic bench a little way below the Avon Dam.	A really pleasant and warm day, with blue skies, sunshine and a gentle breeze.	Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Crows, Cuckoo, Green Woodpecker, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Willow Warbler, Wren and White Butterfly.
Maurice & Gill D.
Glenn B.

Friday 21st April 2023		Distance: 7.70 Miles	Temp: Start 6.0° / End 11.0°
Walkers	Route	Lunch Break	Weather	Wildlife	Notes
Bob W.	Princetown, Foggintor Quarry, King's Tor, Swell Tor, Crip Tor, Swell Tor Quarry, Yes Tor, Fur Tor, Leeden Tor, Black Tor, Hart Tor, Devil's Bridge, Soldier's Pond and return.	Amongst the rocks of Fur Tor (Walkham).	Gloomy start, sporadic bursts of sunshine (and warmth), brief drizzle at lunchtime.	Cuckoo, Crows, Skylark, Stonechat & Wagtail.	Paul left the group near Black Tor and visited Cramber Pool, South Hessary Tor and returned along the track.
Paul R.
Dave S.

Friday 10th March 2023

The walk scheduled for Friday 10th March was cancelled due to the adverse weather forecast issued in the couple of days leading up to the walk.

Friday 13th January 2023		Distance: 4.28 Miles	Temp: 7.0°
Walkers	Route	Lunch Break	Weather	Wildlife	Notes
Bob W.	Forest Inn, Sherberton Farm, Royal Hill, Tavistock / Ashburton Track, Swincombe Farm, John Bishop's House and return via the Fairy Bridge.	Christmas Lunch was at the Forest Inn, but a coffee break was held below Little Sherberton Farm.	A mixture of blue sky & cloud with a very persistent cold wind and a couple of short showers.	Crows & Kestrel.	After the coffee break, Chris, Dick & Jenny returned direct via John Bishop's House. David M, Peggy M, Maurice D, Colin W, Ann W & Dave S went for the lunch only.
Paul R.
Roy A. & Alison B.
Glenn B. & Di W.
Chris W. & Tim F.
Dick T & Jenny T.

Notes:

1) Photos
a) We are now moving away from using Flickr for the photo albums and, from January 2020, all the presentations have been put direct onto this website, which will make access to the photos much easier and quicker.
b) To view the photos for a particular month, simply click on the red 'Photos' button at the head of the month's walk (above). This will open a new browser window and take you direct to the first photo of the presentation.
c) Photos can be navigated forwards and backwards by clicking the arrows on the right and left-hand sides of the screen.
d) The photos, normally 25 to a set, are numbered and a brief description is shown below the photo.
e) There is also a photo reference and a name to show the photo's owner towards the top of each page. This makes it easier to contact us if you would like a copy of any of the photos
f) A link is shown in the top right-hand corner which will take you back to the walk details of that year.
g) Some photos may also show a link to the research notes, at the top left-hand corner of the page, and this can be used to read up more about the photo.

2) Research
a) If we have written up research notes on any walk, a red 'Research' button will be shown at the head of that month's walk details.
b) Clicking on this link will take you to the correct year's research page, at the point where the month's research notes are shown.

3) Walk Track
a) A click on the red 'Track' button will, from August 2021, open a pdf file which will show the section of the Dartmoor map in which we walked with the track of our walk being shown as a continuous red line.

Prior to August 2021:

a) A prerequisite of being able to view the walk track is to have Memory Map, or similar compatible software, loaded onto the computer that you are using to view this website.
b) Click the red 'Track' button at the head of a walk month's details and this will start the track being downloaded to your computer.
c) You will be able to see the download take place in the bottom left-hand corner of your computer screen.
d) When the download is complete, click the 'Open file' option and this will automatically start up Memory Map, if not already open, in your computer and the track will be shown as a continuous red line of the route we took for the walk.
e) Once showing on Memory Map, a track can be deleted or saved by right-clicking it, on the red line, and choosing the option you wish to take.