Birthday Walk on Dartmoor

[Bernie]

It's been a long time since I posted here so I thought I'd share some photos from Dartmoor for the unlucky folk working or too far away to enjoy it.

It was my wife's birthday yesterday and she wanted to get out for a walk somewhere. So I planned for us to go down to Ivybridge, planning to walk a new route. Unfortunately I underestimated the complexity finding the place. Nevertheless, we were soon on the Moor and found a spot to park and walk past a few farm fields and up to the first hill. You can see the track, times, map, and all that jazz on Endomondo (http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/182009341/3442830).

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-xQzukZv3wl8/UXvy6h8aZNI/AAAAAAAAI-E/NL8sjAGO_Ho/w931-h525/2013+-+20

It was blowing a hoolie and the wind was really cold. We were wrapped up and ready for it though.

At the top of the first hill we found a hollow surrounded by rocks that afforded sufficient shelter to allow me (with a lot of hassle) to boil up some water for a welcome brew.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O520FV1ir9g/UXvy6nhPdOI/AAAAAAAAI94/HamDbG6sGVE/w931-h525/2013+-+19

We had great views of a large quarry from here, and Plymouth Sound in the distance. It really was a very clear day, and were it not for the wind, would have been perfect weather.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-BBsFBjq11ao/UXvy6rrsNVI/AAAAAAAAI_0/8JHQXmMq-L0/w931-h525/2013+-+34
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-WxLgxaDS8p0/UXvy6kFwVzI/AAAAAAAAI_8/DdEaqCoQ0do/w1305-h251/2013+-+35
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-BBsFBjq11ao/UXvy6rrsNVI/AAAAAAAAI_0/8JHQXmMq-L0/w931-h525/2013+-+34

Once warmed up and refuelled (it was quite a hike straight up the hill - nearly 1000ft elevation over a distance of 2 miles), we were off to the next hill we saw North of our current one.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-saMTEJgCncQ/UXvy6pAdQ7I/AAAAAAAAI8c/RTkh75g5Duc/w322-h571/2013+-+7
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-mTpDQAaVA0Y/UXvy6r6OjwI/AAAAAAAAI84/PrTj8tQjIic/w931-h525/2013+-+10

The second hill proved a little more interesting with a few large boulders.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-d3G-GwqYDpg/UXvy6v1eyDI/AAAAAAAAI5Y/6QXr79E_kJI/w931-h525/2013+-+2

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oTam5SiPLos/UXvy6rpHtiI/AAAAAAAAJAE/3iHPVkbecxQ/w931-h525/2013+-+36

After that we turned West and headed for our final hill with my daughter skipping along full of the joys of being out and about. :)
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Hfi0H1Nc_Cg/UXvy6ngWiuI/AAAAAAAAJAU/rdHKkLa43SU/w931-h525/2013+-+39

This third hill was more interesting and had a nice rock collection for climbing about on. It was a tad hairy at times with the wind gusting and my 15kg backpack throwing me off balance a few times.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-a8jnCuqkonM/UXvy6nVV7bI/AAAAAAAAI-k/Zmur5W4DX_o/w931-h525/2013+-+24

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5Xb5K9kgU5c/UXvy6vZxX9I/AAAAAAAAI_E/HQSwsvf6pUc/w931-h525/2013+-+28

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_rMy74Pjghk/UXvy6vH5edI/AAAAAAAAI_M/cNxpEcRhz08/w322-h571/2013+-+29

My wife even found a rock that was hollowed out and suitable as an armchair. :)

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-K9zZMQ1b1Fo/UXvy6n080fI/AAAAAAAAI8U/GlddSGlf-OA/w931-h525/2013+-+6
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-USqPq0i7pJU/UXvy6mN5HwI/AAAAAAAAI9Y/JjbOTdxmHu8/w931-h525/2013+-+15

But on our return to the ground, I spotted a white plastic container in the gap and thought it might be a geocache (letterboxing for the older folks:))
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-PdeHLCRHpns/UXvy6pVpncI/AAAAAAAAI9A/3nKIdkUwyHU/w931-h525/2013+-+12

However on approach I noticed there was a furry next to the tub
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1IcEm988gE0/UXvy6iAFRSI/AAAAAAAAI9I/_OEiaH17sSw/w931-h525/2013+-+13

By the state of it, I didn't think it'd been dead for long, but given that it was dead next to a tub of liquid, I chose not to touch it or the container for fear poison might have been used. Does anyone know if this is done on the Moors?

Either way, we now just needed to get back to where we started, so we found a "road" that runs along the North edge of the quarry and just hiked that back to the car.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tP-4N9Hx0CM/UXvy6toHglI/AAAAAAAAI-U/RUoYLui-mrM/w931-h525/2013+-+22

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-f0pa2CnXx4Q/UXvy6rkvDLI/AAAAAAAAI-M/nTfm0sO8P1c/w931-h525/2013+-+21

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-MiZLQsvulzE/UXvy6oBy74I/AAAAAAAAI_k/qdQ3Od_2rg4/w931-h525/2013+-+32

We all felt much better for having been out and had some fresh air. The rest of her birthday was just amazing - dinner, cocktails and a DVD. Everything she wanted. :)

[ian c]

Very nice i like the views thank you for sharing.

[Ashley Cawley]

Lovely way to spend a birthday :)

I've not seen Rabbit poisoning up on the moors but have seen them trapped. Does seem a bit strange that tub.

Beautiful photos, lovely panoramic, thanks for sharing.

[rawfish111]

Never seen rabbit poisoning up there either

Was up there today with a couple of mates too, we got @ 20lb of broken glass that gobshites had left behind bloody disgusted.

[Ehecatl]

Great photos - thanks

M@

[OakAshandThorn]

T^ What a wonderful day out you all had :). Thank you for sharing with the rest of us ;).
Don't know what to say about the rabbit other than it's a big no-no to use poison here in the States. Hopefully it wasn't a slow and painful death...

[jus_young]

Thanks Bernie. Never heard of that Endomondo before, is it a phone app or GPS you are linking up to that?

[mr.punch]

One word, Beautiful.

[Bernie]

Thanks Bernie. Never heard of that Endomondo before, is it a phone app or GPS you are linking up to that?

It's a website and apps for iPhone/Android that tracks you and then uploads the data to share how you wish. You can also enter routes by drawing on a map or have mapless workouts. It's really for people to share their workouts and run their own little competitions. Just a bit of fun. :)

[Tigger004]

Beautiful area

[snowleopard]

Beautiful area and pictures,

Thanks for postings,

Joel

[Silverback]

T^ nice one bernie