 |
| Wray Cleave Wood Tor snake head |
Ever since spotting, on old OS maps, a collection of large outcrops in the wood here, I have been wanting to check them out, even more so after looking at Paul Buck's pics along with Tim Jenkinson's on their visit to the area. What was revealed was and is truly magnificent.
Parking by a small verge on Pepperdon Down, we first went to the summit of the hill; a very diminutive granite outcrop, lowly in appearance. However, put that aside and it has a fine ruined rock basin.
 |
| Pepperdon Down rock basin |
 |
| Pepperdon Down |
 |
| Pepperdon Down |
 |
| Pepperdon Down |
We then headed in a southerly, coming to the sprawling outcrops of Pepperdon Rocks. Still lowly, but much more substantial. Before this, however, I made the most of my new camera and zoomed into Pepperdon Tor, or Pepperdon Rocks North, that lies on Private Land.
 |
| Pepperdon Rocks North, on Private Land |
 |
| Pepperdon Rocks |
 |
| Pepperdon Rocks |
 |
| Pepperdon Rocks |
 |
| Pepperdon Rocks |
 |
| Rock Basin, Pepperdon Rocks |
Descending further on the down, and beside some trees just above the lane, is Rose Cottage Lower Rock; a fine outcrop resembling a small cliff face.
 |
| Rose Cottage Lower Rock |
 |
| Rose Cottage Lower Rock |
 |
| Rose Cottage Lower Rock |
 |
| Rose Cottage Lower Rock |
Then, onto Rose Cottage Rocks, one outcrop topped by a bench.
 |
| Rose Cottage Rocks |
 |
| Rose Cottage Rocks and bench |
 |
| Rose Cottage Rocks large slab |
 |
| Rose Cottage Rocks |
 |
| Rose Cottage Rocks |
We made for the lane heading away from Rose Cottage, and, on our right, we spotted two ramblers. Guess who they were? Paul Buck and Matthew King!
Back to the walk, a sharp left turn takes you southward to Lewdowns and an entrance to Wray Cleave Wood. Wray Cleave Wood Tor was first, the largest of the tors here, and as soon as you step into the wood you begin to notice low outcrops, an appetiser for what sits below. Clambering down the steep slope, you come across massive walls of granite and a stunning viewpoint out to Sanduck.
 |
| Ladder stile near Lewdowns Cottages. There's another after this. |
 |
| Upper outcrop of Wray Cleave Wood Tor |
 |
| Wray Cleave Wood Tor upper |
 |
| Wray Cleave Wood Tor lookout |
 |
| Wray Cleave Wood Tor |
 |
| Wray Cleave Wood Tor |
 |
| Wray Cleave Wood Tor |
 |
| Wray Cleave Wood Tor berries and holly |
One of the things I love about woodland tors is that some of them boast views almost as good as those on the high moor. Being above the canopy and looking out after spending hours messing about the dense wood is rewarding and you're likely to have this lesser known tor to yourself.
We stopped just above the tor on a rock for a snack, bumping into Paul and Matthew again. It was nice to meet Matthew for the first time, he has his own website at
Backpackartist. Not to leave Paul out, his website can be found
HERE.
OS maps show several footpaths through this wood, which is rare as many obvious paths on Dartmoor aren't marked on modern maps. However, the paths in Wray Cleave Wood are some of the worst I've walked because they simply don't exist, or are very faint and indistinct. So we relied on my GPS.
The next tor was my favourite of the walk; Wray Cleave Middle Tor. A very beautiful outcrop, possessing chacrater and shape.
 |
| Wray Cleave Middle Tor |
 |
| Wray Cleave Middle Tor |
 |
| Wray Cleave Middle Tor |
 |
| Wray Cleave Middle Tor |
Then lastly, Wray Cleave South Tor, a modest tor.
 |
| Wray Cleave South Tor |
 |
| Wray Cleave South Tor |
 |
| Wray Cleave South Tor |
 |
| Wray Cleave South Tor |
It took some effort finding the stile to exit the woodland, but, when we reached it, we almost had a heart attack. As mentioned earlier, the paths in this area are poor and indistinct; this one, on the other hand, was obvious, but severely overgrown and not maintained, left for the bracken to swallow it up.
Luckily, Paul and Matthew had walking poles, helping us to bash through the elements. It was difficult both mentally and physically, especially for me as I had to not only climb a barbed wire fence, but also a gate. The motivation from the group got me through that traumatising experience.
 |
| Bracken bashing: Paul and Matthew lead the way! |
Lesson learnt, exit the way you entered, from Lewdowns. I can also see an access point by Steward Wood, on Pepperdon Hall Lane. We haven't explored the woodland and paths there yet, but it wouldn't surprise me if there are more forgotten rockpiles to be found. I hear that the bluebells really thrive in Spring, so that'll probably be my first revisit, a distraction if nothing else is discovered.
I digress; the path is no longer gripped tightly by vegetation and it opens out into fields, where the uplands and valleys (cleaves) of East Dartmoor unfolded themselves.
It was now a simple route past Rose Cottage on its east side, back to the car. We said our goodbyes to Paul and Matthew, the former going to embark on a long trip to Australia for the Christmas holidays as I write this post.
No comments:
Post a Comment