Feathers from the Angel's Wing

When the archangel comes knocking, you should pay attention. 

So yesterday Dru and I found ourselves on our first proper jaunt of 2019. Our destination ... Dartmoor.

St Michael de Rupe, atop Brentor, to be precise. Here he is, in all his saturnine glory.

It's a hefty climb up to the church, but always worth it. Yesterday the view was like its angel, moody and magnificent.

a

Also, windswept and interesting.

Since I broke my leg a few years ago, descents are trickier than ascents because I don't trust my bones to hold me up anymore, but there were few pockets of ice left after last week's snow and it was mostly just squelchy.

Squelchy enough for frogs, in fact, but the croak overhead was the day's first raven.

We then headed for St Petroc's at Lydford. 

I like its setting best. Next door to the infamous Lydford gaol ... 'the most annoius, contagious and detestable place within this realm' ...

... in front of a small Norman hill fort ... 

... and with a fabulous, round churchyard, which suggests a religious site dating back to pre-Christian time.

Before this 13th century building, there was a wooden Saxon church which was attacked and burnt down in 997AD by the Vikings. 

A runic stone was set up in 1997 to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of the attack. A passing villager told us how he had seen silver coins minted at Lydford in a museum in Stockholm, and we took a moment to lament Brexit. 

Dru's snowdrop photo

The interior of the church is lovely, but possibly not as lovely as the interior of the Castle Inn, which is one of my favourites.  Dru was keen to see the modern stained glass of the three hares and the green man, so we popped in to have a coffee and avail ourselves of their facilities.

Next, we headed south to Tavistock and then up up up across the moor to Chagford, which always involves a stop at Bennett's Cross with its fabled view, which today was decidedly murky.

Here's St Michael again, this time in his church in Chagford. He's busy smiting the dragon, of course. Dru rather naughtily suggested that he might be using a flamingo to do it.  

Then it was off down some of Devon's rather hair-raising lanes to a meeting about putative involvment in a project combining art and poetry and walking on Dartmoor and archangels, with a possible side-order of local cider. More about tht n due corrse, perjsaps (fungrs crssde). 

Nun's Cross to Hingston Hill Stone Circle and Stone Row

Just over three years ago - blimey, that long! - we did a walk on Dartmoor that started at Norsworthy Bridge near Burrator Reservoir and took us to Down Tor stone circle and stone row (also known as Hingston Hill stone circle and stone row). It was a beautiful day and a stunning walk and I figured at the time that at the end of the row and over the hill must lie Nun's Cross and how, on another day, I should walk to the stone row and stone circle from there. So yesterday I did. 

The weather could have been brighter, although it was very lovely in that moody way Dartmoor so often affects.

And the company was good. 

In fact, it looked for a while as if there were going to be quite a few of us in our merry band. 

First, though, a rendezvous with the many-times-visited Nun's Cross, which I love for reasons listed elsewhere ...

...before we climbed the hill to Eylesbarrow, from where we could see over to Haytor Rocks and Hameldon to the east ... 

... and a sizeable section of our route to the west. The first part consisted of hacking our way over rough ground to Narrator brook, made visible by extensive tin workings, while ravens croaked overhead.

Looking over to Combshead Tor ...

... and Hingston Hill stone row and circle

View back the way we came

The stone row isn't that long but it does have presence. Here's the view from the end stone, looking back along the row to the circle ... 

... and over to Leather Tor and Sharpitor.

The view back to Sheepstor

Bronze age enclosure in the foreground with Leather Tor and Sharpitor behind

Cairn

Looking over to Newleycombe Lake 

(A lake is not a lake on Dartmoor, it's a stream.) 

Over to Devonport Leat Cross

Tinner's hut

And then Nun's Cross came back into view, and we were officially on the return stretch.

A chance for Ted to have a drink and a wallow.

We had one last stop on the way to a very crowded Chagford, where we were due to deliver maps of the three hares churches by Dru Marland, at the Warren House Inn and by Bennett's Cross, which looked wonderful with a backdrop of heather. 

Back at home the pain of distance was helped, just a little, by adding the loop of the walk to my map. Nowhere else matters as much as Dartmoor, or even comes close. 

Once upon a Dartmoor dreary ...

Happenstance took us to Dartmoor yesterday, for the second time this year. The first time it was wet, misty and dispiriting. Yesterday ... ?

... Well, it really wasn't any better.

The fabled view from the car park near Bennett's Cross  

We abandoned our plans to go for a walk out on the open moor and had our picnic in the car. Which is a bit tricky when you're sharing the front seat with a large, moulting border collie. 

On, then, to Postbridge, where at least it wasn't raining. Much.

And it was so very beautiful and lush, even on this greyest of days. 

I don't think I've seen the East Dart this full - at least, not in summer.

We then proceeded sedately through low cloud and mist, noticing with pleasure that the Forest Inn at Hexworthy, high above the West Dart, has reopened after two long years of closure. 

It was pretty bleak up on Combestone Tor too, looking out over the Dart Gorge. 

Finally, we stopped for a brief amble on the edge of Hembury Woods, so that Ted could stretch his legs and have a splash in a nearby stream. 

At least the company was excellent.

And as for not so glorious Dartmoor, we'll just have to try our luck again soon.