Good to be back on the moor and pleasantly surprised to see the sun out once again! Getting up at 5am for the long drive down to the South-West had paid off, and I had an extra day’s walking. Fully kitted out for a night out should it take my fancy, I was off on to the South Moor before midday.
Although it was bright, it was noticeably colder than London, and I was immediately regretting my decision to only bring my one season sleeping bag.
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Made my way over familiar waypoints such as Hart and Cramber Tors, south over the Devonport Leat and passed Crazywell Cross, before crossing to Down Tor.
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This had potential for a wild camp spot, water was available before the climb at Newlycombe Lake, although not very close and there seemed to be some lawn patches that might take a tent peg. Unfortunately, when I checked out the legality of the area when I got home it was NOT in the permitted wild camping area.
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I descended west through low ferns, passed Little Down Tor and Snappers Tor, down to the car park near Burrator Reservoir.
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Just before the car park, I took a sharp left on a byway that ran south-east along the edge of the Middleworth Plantation to Deancombe. Then south across Narrator Brook, passed a scattering of bluebells, up and out onto the moor once again.
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I continued until I met the cycle track and bridleway that ran all the way back to Princetown, via Eylesbarrow Tin Mine, which I took back.
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On my way, I thought to revisit the scene of my night navigation cock up way back on my WGL assessment. I found the small cist (Ref: SX 59234 67484) that had proved elusive without a problem, but significantly, my new map of Dartmoor had a path marked that my older one did not. Had the path been marked, I would have followed it to an obvious crossing of the river, instead of trying to over complicate things by taking a bearing from the dubious corner of a disappearing enclosure wall.
Time was marching on. I stopped at the Devonport Leat near Nun’s Cross Farm, where it reappears from a tunnel, and replenished my water supply. I then cooked up some couscous with chopped sausage, and finished it with a brew whilst enjoying the last rays of sunshine.
![](https://www.torsofdartmoor.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-152.jpeg)
I had decided, by now, that I wouldn’t be wild camping. Instead, I would check into the campsite at the Plume of Feathers pub. The thought of a couple of pints of Jail Ale was too good to resist!