This walk was a little different. Originally I had set out to follow the River Plym up to Plym Steps and then climb up over Shavercombe Head to Hen Tor. Unfortunately this didn’t happen as by the time I reached Drizzlecombe I realised that I had lost my Sat Nav somewhere between the Scout Hut and Drizzlecombe. I scrapped my walk to retrace my steps and got back to the Car Park without finding it. As I stood there looking really p**sed off, a chap approached me and asked me if I’d lost something and when I told him, he produced my Sat Nav from his pocket. I could have kissed him! I was incredibly fortunate to have recovered it and headed back to Drizzlecombe. I spent an hour or so amongst the Menhirs, Stone Rows, Cairns and Stone Circles just being absorbed by them and their place in the landscape.

Drizzlecombe is home to several Bronze Age artefacts including the largest standing stone (Menhir) on Dartmoor and is thought to be around 4000 years old. It consists of three stone rows, each has a large Menhir (standing stone) at the head and a cairn at the foot. The largest Menhir is known as the Bone Stone and stands at 4.2m (14ft), weighs around six tons, sits in its own ‘socket stone’ and is known to have been resurrected in 1893 by archaeologists. after it was found on its side. It’s believed to have originated from Higher Hartor which lies 1.25km North of its final resting place.

Interestingly it has been observed that on the Winter Solstice (21st December) at 3:00pm, the shadow cast by The Bone lines up perfectly with it’s associated stone row.

It was getting late and I’d wasted time on the GPS hunt and so headed back to my car and ended the walk. As much as I wanted to get up to Hen Tor I thought it would be better to leave it for another day.

Walk Summary

Distance

Ranges

Bogs

Difficulty

Route

Photos from this walk