Dartmoor CAM Walks

Previous walks Weather Links

This walk: 2012-10-16. Norsworthy Bridge, Norsworthy Farm, Norsworthy Mill blowing house, River Meavy, mortar stones, mould stone, Raddick Lane, Keaglesborough Mine, Raddick Plantation, Leather Tor, Sharpitor, North Hessary Tor, Crazywell Pool, Crazywell Cross, Burrator Reservoir, Down Tor, Sheep's Tor, feathers and tare.

Walk details below - Information about the route etc.

Link to Google Satellite view of the area

This walk is partly a repeat of a walk that became a trial page for Dartmoor Cam, dated 28 Dec. 2004 - almost 8 years ago!

The junction in the tracks just up the track from Norsworthy Bridge, with Leather Tor Bridge and Raddick Lane to the left: this is also the site of Norsworthy Farm.

The stile at SX 56771 69585 that leads to a blowing house, .....

From Legendary Dartmoor - Tin Mills page .....

Norsworthy Bridge Mill	SX 5673 6938	Pre 1750
Norsworthy Bridge Mill (B)	SX 5687 6942	Pre 1750
Norsworthy Mill*	SX 5687 6958	Pre 1750
Norsworthy Mill (B)	SX 5674 6954	Pre 1750

(* the track is about 10 metres from the blowing house)

General view of the blowing house, where tin ore was crushed and smelted, beside the River Meavy .....

Looking up the river .....

Looking down the river .....

General view of two mortar stones, on which the ore was pounded by a water wheel-operated stamp or stamps .....

The two pairs of stamp impressions here suggest that there might have been a pair of stamps .....

The second mortar stone also shows a pair of stamping impressions .....

A largely buried mould stone into which molten tin was cast into ingots to be taken to (Plympton, the nearest?) stannary town for assay and taxing .....

A cavity in the blowing house wall.

Looking up Raddick Lane, at SX 5738 7003 ..... with the remains of Keaglesborough Mine in Raddick Plantation, on the left, clear felled since a previous walk on 17 June 2010, possibly due to the Sudden Oak Death notice that issued for the area (also see johniesmeanderings.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/burrator-my-favourite-walk20th-august) .....

Part of the Keaglesborough Mine - the remains of the leat that brought water to the water wheel .....

The ponies are beside the old water wheel pit.

Looking back towards the gate at the top of Raddick Lane with Leather Tor (left, Lether Tor or Lodertorre, SX 563 700, elevation 380 metres/1246 feet) and Sharpitor (right, SX 560 703, elevation 410 metres/1345 feet).

A closer view .....

Leather Tor.

North Hessary Tor, tv and radio trasmitter built in 1955, SX 578 742, elevation 517 metres (1696 feet), with a 196.0 metre (643 ft) high guyed mast.

Crazywell, Classenwell, Classiwell, or Clazywell Pool .....

As previous with a view to Crazywell Cross .....

As previous, showing the pool overtopping .....

Another view.

Crazywell Cross, with Burrator Reservoir in the distance (left) and Leather Tor and Sharpitor (right) .....

Another view with Sheep's Tor (left).

Down Tor SX 580 694, elevation 366 metres (1200 feet) and Sheep's Tor, SX 566 682, elevation 369 metres (1210 feet).

Sheep's Tor (left) and Burrator Reservoir seen from the track.

An abandoned attempt at splitting a stone beside the track at SX 56989 69499 .....

Another view ...... the right-hand slope (in shadow here) is seen in the next photograph .....

As described above .....

Close up of an old feathers and tare, used for splitting the stone.

Looking up the River Meavy from Norsworthy Bridge (the parapet of the bridge is seen in the foreground). Several metres "behind us" here, Newleycombe Lake runs into the reservoir and a little further away Narrator Brook also runs into the reservoir.

Walk details

MAP: Red = GPS satellite track of the walk.

This walk was reached by driving to Dousland, turning at the Burrator Inn crossroads towards Meavy, then left to Burrator Reservoir, continuing past the dam and around the top end of the reservoir, over the small bridge (Norsworthy Bridge) and parking in that area, indicated on the map by the P symbol and the yellow cross.

Statistics
Distance - 5.21 km / 3.24 miles