Tuesday 16 November 2010

Up to the Erme Pits


Time for the weekly long run and as the military were bombing the north moor I planned a 20 miler in the southern bit.

It's been a while since I ran down the Erme Valley so setting off from Princetown at 8:30 it was off down the motorway to Plym Ford and then following the Abbot's Way to Broad Rock. The cool and crispy conditions were perfect and the vis was HD sharp. In 3D too, which was a bonus.

Dropping down to Erme Pits it was time for a bit of pixie dust (not two like last time in case I was seized by another rant) and we followed the left bank at first along a smooth swift grassy track which merged into a bouldery boggy tussock-fest before opening out into more runable terrain.

A bit more bog and boulders later, past a cracking wild swimming spot (return visit in the summer) and it was time for the climb up the edge of Piles Copse and on to Sharp Tor.

From here it was a swift, if a bit boring, sprint up the Puffing Billy Track, the trackbed which served the Red Lake and Left Lake china clay works, before dropping down a nice runable track following Red Lake to its confluence with the Erme.
From here we were on very familiar ground, following the Blacklane Brook to Cater's Beam post, Fox Tor, Little Fox Tor, Headless Cross, Nun's Cross and back to Princetown at 13:00.

8 comments:

  1. Sounds like a very nice run. Lovely photos! Beautiful clear skies.

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  2. Cheers Johann - it has a bit of everything. Not a soul in sight until I headed back into Princetown

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  3. Looks like the perfect day for "connecting" with the landscape ;)

    Fine pics yet again. Must do more stuff on Dartmoor.

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  4. connecting with me more like, my Swoops have given up the ghost :-(
    Give me a shout if you fancy a tour of the moor!

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  5. Have you tried sis pixie snot? I found some caffenated stuff in asda the other day.

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  6. love your new badge on the right but im sure it should say 100 no?? ;-)

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  7. Hi Steve - will give it a go. Tried powerbar caffeinated blackcurrant snot? Yum......

    Hi David - will see how I get on in the 50 first but fully intending to give it a red hot crack!

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  8. I eated sand.

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