This walk: 2013-12-11. "The walk of a thousand stiles" - Mary Tavy Inn, William Crossing's grave, step stiles, mowhay, Wheal Friendship miners' dry, reservoir, smallholding, hens, Hare Tor, Ger Tor, Jubilee Walk.
Walk details below - Information about the route etc.
Link to Google Satellite view of the area - including the GPS track of the walk (compare with the Ordnance Survey map plus track below)
Bing and Google maps side by side - but no GPS track.
Preparation in the Mary Tavy Inn car park.
Walking towards Mary Tavy church - Tavy St. Mary ..... Norman i.e. perpendicular architecture, referred to in 1270 .....
Entering the churchyard ..... on our own walker's pilgrimage .....
Passing some ancient graves .....
Passing onward ......
And further onward .....
Around the back of the church ......
To the last resting place of William Crossing (1847-1928). who wrote the most famous guide to Dartmoor, known simply as "Crossing" or "Crossing's Guide" .....
Detail on the headstone .....
Straightforward view of the grave .....
A little context.
A fairly spectacular tree in the churchyard, covering a stone ......
Inscribed thus.
The first of many step stiles !!!
View through a gateway.
A modern mowhay seen along the way.
A bit of a lane.
A modern, wooden form of the old step stiles in this area.
First view of a Grade II listed nineteenth century miners' "dry" of Wheal Friendship Mine, where wet clothes from working underground in the nearby Bennett'e Shaft would be dried before the next shift of work ..... approx. SX 5119 7909 ...... more search results .....
Another view ..... with a chimney behind .....
As previous photograph .....
View through a rear wall ......
Another view .....
Zoomed view to the top of the chimney ..... that appears to be Common Polypody, compared to the narrow form seen in this area last week .....
Final view.
A set of steps that lead up to a reservoir at SX 5126 7908 .....
The reservoir - this can be seen on the map to run quite a long way as a narrow waterway and then to join a larger reservoir .....
This might be the small building at SX 51300 79053 on the map.
Sawn log seen somewhere along the way.
Another challenge - a high step stile over the hedge!
Possibly Hare Tor (highest) with Ger Tor down to the left.
Cantering pony - they moved quite quickly, didn't they?
Somewhere near SX 5066 7955.
A new power pole arrangement to me?
Self-explanatory notice.
Zoomed view to the rear of the Mary Tavy Inn.
The path to take .....
One of the notices .....
Another notice .....
And another.
The Jubilee Walk .....
Getting close now to the pub and our Christmas lunch!
The Mary Tavy Inn.
General table photographs of the festive occasion ......
Miss with her skiing marmot, memories of Sixt Fer � Cheval and the surrounding area, in the Haute Savoie region, in the French Alps last July.
MAP: Blue = GPS satellite track of the walk.
© Crown copyright and database rights 2012 Ordnance
Survey
Licence number 100047373
Also, Copyright © 2005, Memory-Map Europe, with permission.
This walk was reached by driving from Tavistock towards Mary Tavy on the main A386 road. The venue is seen on the right-hand side of the road before reaching Mary Tavy itself. We had special permission to use the car park early in the morning by arrangement with the landlord of the inn.
Statistics
Distance - 4.65 km / 2.89 miles.
All photographs on this web site are copyright ©2007-2016 Keith Ryan.
All rights reserved - please email for permissions