The next morning we were super excited as we realised that close friends of ours were holidaying merely 20 minutes away, so we had planned a dog walk with us, our children and our two under one year old labradors for a big stomp around the moors and a lovely pub lunch after.
We had decided to do a circular walk to Vixen Tor and Pew Tor in South Dartmoor. Sadly Vixen Tor is closed off to the public so you can only admire it from afar. But it is worth admiring as it is Dartmoor's largest free-standing granite outcrop and therefore makes it the most dramatic tor in Dartmoor.
The walk was then ambling across the moors, crossing rivulets and taking in the vast views until we reached Pew Tor. The kids loved this one, we spent a good hour here Tor climbing; scrambling over the rocks and scaling the top to the Tor. While the children and the dogs played we sat and admired the views and had a good catch-up. However the views here are outstanding, looking out far into West Devon towards Bodmin Moor.
On the way back we passed Feather Tor that was home today to a host of Dartmoor Ponies. We found more ponies at Windy Post Cross. It is an old relic, a granite cross tilted across the flats on the Moor in Whitchurch. Then back to the car we saw a couple of goats lounging on some granite rocks.
This walk took longer than we thought and we missed the traditional lunch time hours, so lucky for us we found a pub that was serving food all day, it was a brilliant day spending it with friends.
The next day the weather had taken a slight turn. Howver my husband. and the boys went to the cycle hire place next to our campsite, to hire bikes and travel to Lydford via the Granite Way. I took the car and Digby and had a mooch around the saxon church at Lydford and a walk behind it before meeting the boys at a very lovely pub called The Castle Inn that did the best homemade pizzas.
On the way back I met the boys at Meldon Viaduct to take in the views and to swap with my husband to do a bit of cycling. We then noticed the most eclectic pub I have ever seen and said we must go in for a drink. I am so glad we did. The owner intherited the pub from her parents how made it a mission for it to be as it is today. Inside is almost labyrinthine with the most delightful nooks and crannies, and one part of the pub looks like a galleons dining room. I could have spend much longer here thank I did, I recommend you come visit the Highway Man Inn.
I had also booked a rather nice meal out for our last night in Dartmoor. We went to The Dartmoor Inn and the food was exquisite.
Our last day our fix for Tor climbing was to visit the legendary Haytor. This is a Tor you can really climb. It is only a short walk from the car park but once there you see two mighty outcrops side by side. One has handy rungs and loopholes in to help you climb, put there by Queen Victoria so she could safely climb. And Haytor itself is higher and does require a scramble. If you look closely enough there are rough steps hewn into the side of the rock but these are so worn down and to reach the absolute peak felt perilous without any ropes. My eldest, ever the daredevil wanted to do this so another family offered to take him. I could barely watch, but he did it and can get the well earned badge of climbing the top. You can find these badges at the visitor centres that are dotted around Dartmoor National Park.
This was also a perfect place to have a picnic, which we did and enjoyed the expansive views. Nearby is an old tramway that used to carry granite rock from here so you can spend some time walking around that before heading back to the car park, where very conveniently and welcome was an ice cream van.
Dartmoor was short and sweet, but I loved every minute of it.
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