| Walking at Haytor, Dartmoor | |
|  | | Looking from Black Tor to Haytor |
| | This is a walk with a difference - because there's no hard and fast route. Just park up at one of the car parks at Haytor, and follow whichever pathways you want! |
| | | We were so lucky on the day we did this walk at Haytor. It was the middle of January, and, amazingly, it was completely still. No wind, just lovely clear blue skies and a covering of frost underfoot.
To get there, we drove from Bovey Tracey towards Haytor and took the little road headed to Manaton.
We parked in one of the car parks (don't forget to remember which one you've parked in!) and set off on a walk which took us around the eastern and northern sides of Haytor Rocks.
 | | Taking in the view... |
There are so many tracks to follow, you can make this walk up as you go along.
Keeping to the pathways, we veered east of Haytor, where there are views down to Bovey Tracey.
You can also see the much recovered Trendlebere Down, which was devastated by fire a few years ago.
Walking up the hill, we made our way to Black Tor, from where there are views - on a clear day such as this one - all the way up to the north moors.
 | | The sun above Haytor Rocks |
Down in the dip to the right, there's the village of Manaton, with its church standing out as a landmark, and if you turn around a bit, there's Hound Tor and Little Hound Tor.
We then turned back and headed up the hill to Haytor.
There were loads of people about considering it was January, and they were all making the most of this clearest of Dartmoor days.
With the sun high up above Haytor Rocks, it made for a fantastic scene. We went on a little diversion to the old disused quarry at Haytor.
This was where granite was extracted and transported to Teignmouth Docks.
 | | Dogs enjoying a swim at the old quarry |
You can see the entrance to the quarry, and walk into the old workings, which is now a lake with some remnants of the work which once went on there.
On the way up the hill to the quarry, we came across the granite tramway at a place where the tracks branched off in different directions.
The tramway was opened in 1820 to take the granite off the moor, and it must have been a real feat.
 | | The point where the tramway branches off |
After making it up to Haytor Rocks, we walked back in the rough direction of our car park - and it seemed that 'all roads led to Rome' as there were a number of well trodden paths leading back to the parking area.
It was at this point that we met our first ponies of the walk, but they kept their distance.
Our walk was a slow amble. It was about three miles or so and took a little over 90 minutes. Afterwards, we popped into Manaton for a pub lunch, just to round things off in the proper manner.
If you want to walk in this area, don't forget the moorland code: keep to the speed limits on the roads; stick as much as possible to the paths; keep your rubbish to yourself; and don't feed the animals.
 | More photos >>> |  |
Article first published: 20th January 2004
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