From forest to open moorland, this seven-mile walk of medium difficulty takes in a wealth of history including stone rows and stone circles.
Some areas of Dartmoor seem to have a concentration of landmarks from the past. The area around Fernworthy reservoir is one of these, so as a nice weekend beckoned I prepared my camera to photograph some of the many stone/hut circles there.
There is a car park when you first get there (with a toilet), but you can also drive around to the very end and park which cuts about a mile off and I wish I’d known about it beforehand.
A friend accompanied me for this walk and we easily followed the forest trail to Fernworthy circle (SX 654 841). As the weather was good (despite a shower of hail!) we decided to press on to see the Grey Wethers circles, so headed straight up and out of the forest.
We easily got onto another footpath that took us to Grey Wethers (SX 638831). Keep on the left path unless you’re heading for Sittaford Tor.
The two stone circles are about 33m wide and quite close together and their centre points are aligned almost exactly north to south. The circle was restored in 1909.
The moor was sodden and I was glad for very waterproof boots – it wasn’t an easy path and quite often an innocuous bit of mud would be a couple of inches of squelch!
After a bit of lunch and seeing the lovely ponies at Grey Wethers stone circles, we kept on the path, then veered on left (across more bog) towards the forest. Following the forest wall along past White Ridge, we turned back into the forest just as we started up Assycombe Hill.
Another bonus on the way back to the car was a wonderful cairn and stone row (SX 662826) to the left of the path. The double stone row went down over a hill so our aching feet ruled out a full investigation, but it was, nonetheless, stunning.
More muddy forest tracks and we were soon back on the road and to the car park.
If you park at the further car park and just go up to Grey Wethers circles and back it would be about four and a half miles.
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View Mid/North Dartmoor: Fernworthy circular in a larger map
• When walking on Dartmoor please ensure you take the right equipment with you, eg, waterproof, walking boots, water, a map, plus your common sense.
Come and enjoy Devon – book a hotel and get away!
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