Dartmoor: The Tors out of Shipley Bridge

River Avon at Shipley Gorge

Note: Walk undertaken in December 2018, blog post slightly rewritten in January 2021.

I have been wanting to revisit this area for some time, as it has always been a popular family stroll, up to the dam and back. But this time, I was going to bag all the tors and rocks north of Shipley Bridge.

Dartmoor: Hexworthy to Shipley Bridge (11.4 miles)

Paul on Fishlake Rocks

Oh boy, this was going to be a hot one - very hot, in fact, and by the end once we, that being me, Tim Jenkinson and Paul Buck, had departed our own ways, it became unbearable. But, before I jump to conclusions, let's go back to the beginning of the walk where, after some 5/6 months away from these two chaps, we finally reunited at the Forest Inn at Hexworthy.

Dartmoor: Around the River Avon (Part 2)

Black Tor (Brent Down)

Continuing from Part 1, I pushed on to Waterfoot Clatter (SX 680 653), an area of clitter first described by Eric Hemery, although only briefly on page 317 (it is also labelled in a photograph on page 314). All I can say is the rocks are more impressive than Ryder's Rocks across the river, and the view of Avon Dam is quite spectacular.

Dartmoor: Shipley Bridge to Ivybridge (Part 1)

Ryder's Rocks

This was going to be quite a big walk for me, and it took in a lot of tors on the featureless south moor. But I love it like that sometimes, and it enabled me to just forget any issues in my life and breathe in the fresh air.