Dartmoor CAM Walks

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This walk: 2014-5-14. Blackaton Cross, Emmett's Post, Trowlesworthy Tor, clay workings, large lorries and diggers, Saddlesborough hut circles, stone row, skylark, gorse, Eddystone Lighthouse (22 miles distant), Hawk's Tor, quartz vein, H stone, trig. pillar, Luxton Tor.

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)

Other walks in this area: 21st January 2009, 2nd March 2011, 18th April 2012 & 6th March 2013.

Blackaton Cross. Dartmoor Crosses web site says: Although generally known as Blackaton Cross, it is sometimes referred to as Roman�s Cross. The reason for this alternative name is not known for sure, but there may be a connection with the monks of Tavistock Abbey. St Rumon is one of the saints to whom the Tavistock Abbey is dedicated and it could have been named by these monks on their passage across the moor. William Crossing prefers the alternative suggestion that it was so named as a shortened version of the �Roman Catholic Cross�, again in association with the monks passing this way across the moor. The name Blackton is taken from the nearby Blackaton Slaggets, an area that was once extensively used for cutting peat.

The cross was re-erected prior to 1937 by Mr Philips of Lee Moor House, using a window sill as the shaft. The socket and head are original with the socket being a boulder, roughly circular. The cross was a wayside cross, marking a turn-off point on the Cornwood-Tavistock track on to the track to Shaugh and Plympton.

Gathered at a "telling place"?

Zoomed view to Great Trowlesworthy Tor.

Emmets Post at SX 56830 63233. This is a boundary stone that was erected on a prehistoric cairn, barrow or tumulus. Emmet is an old Shaugh family name e.g an Amy Emmet was baptised at Shaugh Church on 3rd June 1790.

Emmets Post bearing "LM" and "SM" but no date. Brewer (page 232) states that it is similarly lettered as other posts but is undated. According to the Dartmoor Crosses web site, on the page for Blackaton Cross: "This is a worked piece of granite, about 3 feet (0.91 metres) tall and showing all the signs of having been split by the tare and feather method. This is a boundary marker, set up to show the limits of the lands formerly held by Lord Morley and Sir Massey Lopes." LM = Lee Moor.

"SM" = Shaugh Moor.

Panorama of recent preparations prior to extending the clay works. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Notice.

Leaving Emmett's Post.

Stationary lorry ......

Zoomed view .....

Two other lorries in the distance .....

Lorry passing us .....

Tonka?

Work in progress with big boys' toys .....

The lorry driver stopped and posed for the camera .....

T'other side .....

Posing to show the scale of the tyres, apparently �6,000 to �8,000 each!

Another opportunity to see the scale.

Zoomed view to a mica lake.

A Ministry of Public Building and Works marker from the 1970's, one of several that mark antiquities. They were to be used up the entire Plym valley until common sense prevailed.

A Saddlesborough hut circle at SX 5597 6345, A1 in the figure below .....

Closer view .....

Another hut circle, A2, at SX 5593 6351 .....

Image © J Butler 1994. Reproduced by kind permission (ref. 29 Sept. 2012).

A3, at SX 5590 6350(?).

Skylark: there was discussion as whether it was a meadow pipit but the latter have a slimmer, darker beak; probably a young bird because the eye stripe is not developed.

As previous photograph.

Hut circle.

Shaugh Moor stone row ..... looking to the left in the figure below.

Image © J Butler 1994. Reproduced by kind permission (ref. 29 Sept. 2012).

Guess what, there are a lot of well-preserved hut circles in this area.

Once again ....

European or Common Gorse bush in flower: Western Gorse is a low, ground hugging plant and flowers later. See here for more details.

Little Luxton Tor is conquered, at SX 5544 6306 - never let it be said that we are not inventive!

A viewpoint ..... to the Eddystone .....

From here we could see the Eddystone Lighthouse, except that this is a section of Plymouth Breakwater ..... 15 km (9.3 miles) distant .....

THIS is the Eddystone Lighthouse, 13 miles SW of Plymouth (so 13+9) close to 22 miles (35 km) from this viewpoint. The stump to the right of the tower is the remains of Smeaton's lighthouse (1759-1882) - this lasted 120 years, until the rock began to split.

Hawk's Tor, SX 5539 6250, 230 metres (755 feet) elevation ......

Showing a boundary stone believed to be for Huxton Farm .....

Another view .....

Another tor is mastered .....

Row of feather and tare holes where someone attempted to cut the rock .....

The H stone .....

The H .....

Quartz vein, suggesting that the top stone was turned 90� to create the shelter underneath; that took some Weetabix!

A weathered rock pan.

Four riders came galloping by at speed, only three are shown here.

Saddlesborough trig. point, SX 5588 6321, 303 metres (994 feet) elevation.

Luxton Tor, SX 55885 63258, not exactly requiring oxygen, I thought, looking down on it!

Three walkers, plus one.

Dartmoor ponies grazing close to heavy machinery working .....

Zoomed view .....

Roadblock.

Another big toy .....

That could mess up your lawn!

Notice.

Back to Emmett's Post again .....

Last photograph, showing LM for Lee Moor.

Dartmoor CAM movie. TIP .....

press F11 to make more "Full Screen", remembering to press it again to regain Normal Screen.

A movie panorama made at the end of the walk, near the car park.

Click the photo to download the movie

File size: 3.7 MB.
Length 22 secs

Walk details

MAP: Red = GPS satellite track of the walk.

This walk was reached from the turn-off at Cadover Bridge (SX 5555 6461), reaching the car park at the end of the road marked by the green dots. The car park is marked by the P symbol and the yellow cross on the map.

Statistics
Distance - 5.72 km / 3.56 miles.