Tuesday 23 November 2010

We're on a road to nowhere.......

Despite being a vast wilderness ;-) it's surprisingly difficult to plan another 20 mile route in the southern half of Dartmoor from Princetown which doesn't repeat itself too much.

Starting from Princetown at 8:30 we were off down the Dartmoor Way to Bullpark and then down the arrow-straight Conchie's Road (so named as it was conscientious objectors who built/augmented the track during WW1) It ends abruptly, presumably as the war did.

From here it's down to the footbridge built on the site of a clapper known as Fairy Bridge and skirting Down Ridge to pick up the track winding up to Henroost Mine. On reaching the spring at the head of Skir Gut we cut across towards the Sandy Way track and on up to Ryder's Hill.

After a clarty plodge we were up on Snowdon where I got chatting to a bloke who had done the OMM on Dartmoor in October. Spook assessed his rucksac for sarnies but came away empty pawed.

On up to Puper's Hill we followed the Cumston Track before cutting down to Huntingdon Cross and up Buckland Ford Water to Crossways - leaving behind the Avon and heading into Erme country.

We padded down the track which follows the curve of Red Lake, down to its confluence with the Erme and up to Erme Pits.

For the last leg we climbed to Langcombe Head and followed the Langcombe Brook to Plym Steps. It's been a while since I ran down here and I'd forgotten how good it was.

After a fleeting visit to Drizzlecombe C (re-erected by no less than Turpin and Sons of Plymouth, those well known archaeological experts, in 1893) it was off up Thrushelcombe to join the track to Eylesbarrow, Nun's Cross Farm and back into Princetown for 13:00.

10 comments:

  1. I obviously don't know the area at all, will look it up though, but it sounds like a good time out on the trails.

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  2. Enjoying my 20 milers at the moment - you're right when you say they're long enough for a proper run, but not so long that things start to hurt. I'll save that for my 40 miler.....

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  3. Cumston Track - now where does that get its name...and does it end suddenly???? HEHE

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  4. Dear, oh dear. Sort of peters out after a promising start!

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  5. i feel i just about know every inch of dartmoor intimately reading your posts!
    btw i trust your bag had plenty of tucker for the lad!

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  6. He's dead fussy - only the cruchy banana and coconut slivers will do, so I've got to pick them out for him. Muts, eh?

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  7. It could be worth a look on the Dartmoor OMM route gadget for new routes
    http://www.omm.routegadget.co.uk/cgi-bin/reitti.cgi?act=map&id=21&kieli=

    Hours of fun looking at maps and different routes.
    Yes I know, I need to get out more.

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  8. Give me a beer, a map and then more beer and I'm a happy man.

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  9. Hey 4 Winds - we have an opportunity for beer, maps and running on Sunday up here - this weekend's activity is the Time Trial, from a pub to a pub via a pub, with a hill between each pub. Detect a theme. Oh, and Mercia's AGM is in the last pub.

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  10. Sounds like heaven - possibility of a bit of snow as well?

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