Dartmoor CAM Walks

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This walk: 2013-4-10. Two Crosses in Turf stone, Honeybag Tor, Chinkwell Tor, Bell Tor, D stone, Blue Stone, Kingshead Tor, Herring's Knock, Stoneslade Tor, cist, small cross, WW2 anti-glider poles, Hameldown Beacon, Hamilton Beacon, Grey Wethers Stone, cairn, Old House Stone.

Walk details below - Information about the route etc.

Link to Google Satellite view of the area - the car park is centre-bottom of the satellite image, the main track runs up the centre of the image and the walk extended to just off the top of the image.

The Two Crosses Stone, this place also having been known previously as also known as the "Two Crosses in Turf", across the road from the car park (which is at SX 7075 7635). This photograph is from a walk done on 2nd Feb. 2011, the photograph taken today shows the stone to be in need of cleaning. This is the place where the manors of Jordon, Blackslade, Dunstone and Widecombe Town meet. The lord of the manor of Dunstone, Robert Dymond, in 1869 (Brewer, page 86), had planned to place two crosses here or a cross with two sets of arms but he died before this could be done.

From the Legendary Dartmoor web site's Two Crosses Stone: "It appears that a Mr R. Whale donated the stone which appears to have been previously used as a gatepost. Always known as 'Two Crosses in the Turf' this location was always marked by two crosses cut into the turf, every year the village lengthsman would re-cut them to ensure of their visibility. In May 2008 the Widecombe History Group announced that the donated stone had been given to the Dartmoor National Park Authority to have the necessary engraving done. In June it seems the National Park's stonemason, Andy Cribbett, was progressing well with the cutting of the stone and work was expected to be completed very soon. In July the long awaited announcement came that a ceremony was to be held on the 10th of July 2008 when the stone would be placed in-situ and all members of the Widecombe History Group were invited to attend."

Very close to this stone is a standing boundary stone known as Two Crosses, seen in the second photograph on the web page for the 2nd Feb. 2011 walk, also illustrated by Brewer, page 86.

Brewer = Dave Brewer (2002) Dartmoor Boundary Markers, Halsgrove.

Looking east: Honeybag Tor (left), Chinkwell Tor and Bell Tor (the 'pimple').

D stone, boundary marker of Dunstone Manor at SX 70745 77279.

Wheel marks at the wall corner near the Blue Stone (next photograph).

Blue Stone, a Widecombe Town Manor boundary stone at SX 70782 77595, "a rough boulder of coarse red granite with intrusions of tourmaline giving it a greyish-blue appearance" (Brewer, page 81, including a photograph) .....

The Blue Stone with the corner of the enclosures of Kingshead Farm in the background.

Kingshead Tor, SX 71005 78033.

Herring's Knock, with its notch (mis-named as Aaron's Knock in Crossing's Guide to Dartmoor; see pages 12 and footnote, page 284) .....

Another photograph where the notch is at top right. This is a boundary stone between Widecombe Town and Jordan Manors. The name is possibly derived from Heron's Cnock (= Heron's Hill) although it appears as Herring's Knock in Widecombe Town Manor Court Rolls (Brewer, page 80). "Aaron" could be an old dialect pronunciation of "Herring" (or "Heron").

Another view: a story was told that on Midsummer's Day, when the midday sun shines through the notch and strikes the water, a fairy arises from the pool and dances around the stone, singing!

Stoneslade Tor, SX 7094 7828, conquered! It should be said that the two tors seen today are quite small and this one is quite scattered.

Cist at SX 71006 78333, about 20 metres east of the ridgeway track and 100 metres south of a tinners' gert (see the contours on the map) .....

Three sides of the cist are present as well as a capstone, the rest of the cairn has been dug out ..... it is described by Jeremy Butler, 1991, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities Vol. 1 - The East, 20:6-17 Cairns on Hamel, Hookney and Blackaton Downs, pages 147-149 (as Cairn 15, not illustrated).

Walkers beside a very small cross - towards the left end of the stone .....

Closer view .....

A 50-pence coin shows the scale .....

"1990" engraved on this face .....

"RIP 17.2.91" engraved on this face.

There are other small metal crosses on the moor .....

Northmore's Cross - Legendary Dartmoor, Dartmoor CAM
Traveller's Ford Cross - LegendaryDartmoor
Huntingdon Warren Cross - Dartmoor Crosses, Dartmoor CAM.

Wooden poles on Hamel Down, erected during WW2 as an anti-glider measure, to deter enemy troops landing by air.

Approaching a cairn at Hameldown Beacon with another boundary stone .....

"Hamilton Beacon", SX 7082 7891, mis-inscribed, at the junction of Natsworthy, Widecombe Town and Blackaton Monors. Long-used as a fire signalling beacon and previously known as Fire Beacon (1566) and Fire Barrow (1659). Source: Brewer (page 85).

Inscribed DS 1854 on the reverse face, for the Duke of Somerset, a one-time landowner.

The Grey Wethers Stone, SX 7130 7890, also known previously as The Grey Stone, a natural boulder inscribed DS 1854 on it's east-facing side. See Brewer, pages 84-85 - there is an error with two different grid references given for it's location: the one used here seems to be the appropriate one. In sheep husbandry, a wether is a castrated male, which are less aggressive. There is another Gray Weather (Brewer, p.76)/Grey Wethers stone (Ordnance Survey map) at SX 7067 8031 at a distance of 1.56 km bearing 334� on the northern boundary of Natsworthy Manor. It is engraved Gray Weather (photograph Brewer p. 85).

Another cairn with a boundary stone at SX 71450 78661 .....

"Old House" described by Brewer, page 83. A stone between Widecombe Town and Natsworthy Manors.

Representative view of the landscape encountered on this walk .....

A few ponies to finish.

Walk details

MAP: Red = GPS satellite track of the walk.

This walk was reached via the A38 dual carriageway, turning off just after Ashburton (from Plymouth) at the Sigford sign at Alston Cross, to Owlacombe Cross (turn left), to Cold East Cross (turn right), to Hemsworthy Gate (turn left), to Widecombe-in-the-Moor (turn left), then take the first small road on the right to Dunstone Down, parking at the small parking area on the right (at the yellow cross on the map).

Statistics
Distance - 6.82 km / 4.24 miles.