Fairly Easy (Birthday) Walks on Dartmoor - Scorhill & Shovel Down.

Last month Carolyn and I were up in west London visiting our friend Alex for a very significant birthday celebration which meant that I finally got to visit Silchester on our way back to Devon, a visit I posted about here on the blog, see link below:

JJ's Wargames - Calleva Atrebatum, Roman Silchester

For Alex's birthday present we got her a Champagne Devon Cream Tea and an invite to come down and stay, which she did this week and so we were able to take us all to indulge ourselves at the Mill End Hotel at Chagford on the east of Dartmoor, combining our trip with a pre-tea walk to nearby Scorhill and Shovel Down courtesy of Robert Hesketh and one of his walks listed in Fairly Easy Walks on Dartmoor.

I have to admit Carolyn and I have not walked a great deal on this side of the moor so we were keen to see what is was like and have plans to revisit with a trip to Fingle Bridge later this year.

The area map below with the coloured route squiggle indicates where we were headed, just north of Fernworthy Reservoir, and a short drive out of Chagford via the road out to Gidleigh; which being a mix of typically narrow Devon lanes makes driving interesting, with plenty of preparation for reversing ones route when meeting someone coming the other way.

For our walk, I had planned in the route on the very handy app Footpath, that saves the plan from my Ipad to my phone and shows the route in terms of a path via key landmarks and the mileage with, in this case a 'there-and-back' calculation, together with a gradient plan as illustrated in the lower left corner so you can gauge how hilly sections of the walk are likely to be along the route.

The screen shot below shows the route zoomed out on an Ordnance Survey walking map that when running can be orientated to the route being followed together with an easy to see display that helps keep you on track.

 

I now have lots of different routes planned in and ready to go so, as in this case, we can simply choose an appropriate walk as and when the fancy takes us with all the preparation done before hand.

This walk starts at the end of a dead-end lane that leads out of Gidleigh to the edge of the moor and has some very handy parking nearby which allowed us to park up and change into walking boots while enjoying the shade of the trees on what proved to be a day that showed off Devon and Dartmoor at its best.

The only down side to the glorious weather was that the warm sunshine had encouraged a lot of horseflies to be on the prowl, particularly close to water and the nearby brook, accompanied by the sound of a lot of buzzing alerted us to the need to keep an eye on exposed legs and arms for any unwanted visitors.

The walk is described by Hesketh thus:

. . . a 'there-and-back walk' but of great interest visiting some of the finest Dartmoor antiquities. You can choose between a very short stroll, and a longer one.'

which given temperatures in the mid 20's degree C and not a cloud in the sky seemed a good recommendation to allow us to decide when we had done enough, although as it turned out we enjoyed the walk so much that we did the whole thing out to the Shovel Down stone row and back.

The walk up to the top of Scorhill in the picture above is a moderate climb but the views out over south Devon, seen below, on a day like the one we had were more than worth the effort and of course encouraged a drink stop whilst we indulged ourselves with plenty of pictures of the view.

Ahead, as we crested the top, lay acres of open moorland and a magnificently refreshing breeze that encouraged another stop just to enjoy God's own country in all its splendour, as well as trying to spot the remains of the ancient circular bronze age huts that mark the last indications of the original locals for this area.

Kes Tor dominates the view towards Chagford Common

Coming over the top of Scorhill, the vista opened up still further to give us an amazing view of the Scorhill Stone Circle, one of many similar ancient monuments to be found up here on Dartmoor and built by the very first inhabitants of Britain.

Scorhill Stone Circle

After walking around the stone circle and letting our imaginations run as to who were the people that built this monument and what its significance might have been, which must have been important enough to warrant the effort of moving these very heavy limestone rocks into position in a time where all heavy lift work was manual, we looked down into the valley for our next landmark, the limestone slab clapper bridge across North Teign River.

As you can see there are two of these remarkable constructions and whilst some are indeed very old, many others on Dartmoor date from medieval times, which in some parts of the world is still incredibly old, but so-so here in Blighty.

The water looked invitingly welcoming for a quick paddle, given the heat of the day and as with all water on Dartmoor very clear, but with that tannin-brown shade imparted by the peaty soil up here on the moor.

After crossing the river, our path turned to the left, as we made our way up the lower slopes of the Kes Tor ridge, and soon our next major landmark came into view, namely the stunning 3,500 year old Shovel Down stone row and its central stone circle, still looking impressive despite many of its stones having been robbed out over the intervening centuries.

The view down the hill along the avenue of double stones, revealed our path back to the car, but taking a slight detour to the right this time to make our way along the forestry plantation as we headed back to the river.

With not a cloud in the sky our day was made perfect with the beauty of this ancient natural landscape complete with the sound of the babbling brook and the various piping songs of warblers, skylarks and grey wagtails, to complete the full on Dartmoor experience.

Dartmoor at its glorious best, and why we love coming back here again and again.

Needles to say we had had a fantastic walk and were now fully primed with a suitable appetite to enjoy our Champagne Devon Cream Tea, something for which the girls needed no encouragement for.

Our venue couldn't have been more perfect, the Mill End Hotel, Chagford, with a perfect English garden on a day to match and with a gorgeous egg and red onion tartlet, smoke salmon and cream cheese, cucumber, ham and English mustard and egg and chives sandwich selection, a selection of Bakewell, chocolate and carrot cake with fondants on top to die for, followed of course with a cream on first, Devon style scone, clotted cream and jam combination with a pot of tea and other appropriate beverages for a hot sunny afternoon.

Mill End Hotel, Dartmoor

Happy birthday Alex and a perfect way to end a perfect day.

More anon 

JJ