This Dartmoor circular hike and wild camp starts at Okehampton Camp, takes in the beautiful views over Meldon Reservoir, the eerie but wonderful Black-A-Tor-Copse, then after what seems an endless climb to reach Dartmoor's highest Tor, High Wilhays, with amazing panoramic views of Yes Tor. before setting in the shadow of West Mill Tor for a wildcamp and a look at the military railway.

Trev tries out some astro photography and timelapses with his DSLR, NAth goes under the tarp once again, and Moby comes along for the long haul. So a crammed pack video of views, wilderness and banter as Summit Or Nothing visit Dartmoors North moor.

We have some new gear to test out - we've both purchased Jet Boil Zip's for one thing ( [ Ссылка ] ), so will be trying out some boil in the bag meals.

Plus Trev has a new back pack (Vango Sherpa [ Ссылка ] ),

his new tent (Vango Banshee 200 [ Ссылка ] )

and Nath has purchased a water filtration unit - the handy sized MSR Trail Shot [ Ссылка ] .

OS Explorer MAP (Dartmoor) - [ Ссылка ]


Thanks to Andrew Ross for suggesting this walk, below is his route as we received it, maybe you can copy, paste and would like to try it yourself!

And thanks to Mike from Cornish Knives and Camping for the tent - check out his channel here

[ Ссылка ]

Whilst some (fat people) may consider some sections hard going, they are short and as it is a circular walk, you are never that far from your car (or the station, if you have arrived by train in the Summer). The only bit of kit that you will definitely need are decent pair of boots - as you know by now, this part of Dartmoor is rocky, with lots of clitter (stop laughing at the back) and bogs (I won't tell your again - stop laughing!). Hilarious jokes aside, the boggy areas catch some people out - there's a section between Black Tor and High Willhays that is boggy three quarters of the way up, even in Summer! You probably know this already but if you find yourself having to walk through such an area, simply look for cotton grass and walk on the turfs, which are firmer, in the same way that you would use stepping stones in a stream.

Anyway, using OS28, here we go. Being a country bumpkin, I don't normally waste my time with grid references and simply read the the map, but the starting grid is 9258.

1. Park near Okehampton Camp - people use the road, by the Camp, before the Ford.

2. Once parked up, cross the Ford, immediately turn right and head onto Black Down. As you'll note, this is a deadly dull part of Dartmoor, however the scenery quickly changes.

3. Head towards the R of the Red-a-ven Brook on your map. You may want to spend a few minutes exploring here and taking some photos. If I remember correctly, there is a mineshaft there. A very odd area - beautiful until you turn and look in the direction of the quarry!

4. Next skirt around Longstone and Homerton Hill (or spend sometime on them if you want to photograph Meldon Reservoir) and head towards Black Tor.

5. I always spend some time​ at Black Tor. The valley is very photogenic. At this point you can head to Lints Tor, but to keep this walk in order, head towards High Willhays, by walking via Fordlands Ledge. This area can be surprisingly boggy, particularly on the higher ground after it has rained.

6. From High Willhays, you can head to Yes Tor. I then go down into the valley and up West Mill Tor. This valley is also boggy, as you would expect with a stream in it! Every Summer I watch tourists whining about getting their wet feet here!

7. From West Mill I recommend that you head to the military firing range minature railway loop - see Ray Mears' programme about Dartmoor, I'll send you a link in a moment. I walk directly to it, but until you know this area well take care, as it is deceptively boggy - you will do a lot of cotton grass hopping here!

8. From the railway, head toward Rowtor, via the firing range.

9. From Rowtor it is a short walk back to the car, or roughly a mile to Okehampton Station.

Like I said, this is a pleasant afternoon walk/hike that has great potential for a long hike. If you are going to go camping in this area, I would suggest that you use the car park by New Bridge (9059).

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