County – Devon
Elevation - 621m
Date – 27 July 2022
Distance – 10km
Elevation Climbed - 397m
Status – 6th highest county council; 10th highest CT
After the joviality of Blackpool, High Willhays came as a slight shock. It's a proper mountain.
I was working in Devon for a couple of days so took the opportunity to nip to Dartmoor one afternoon. I parked in a lovely spot by Meldon Reservoir; trees in full green, birds singing, and set out over the dam towards the moor.
Over the first rise the landscape suddenly changed from the bucolic to the wild. It was a hot summer, but immediately there was evidence of bogs, brown heather, a certain windy dampness in the air (that was just me). That said, it was all pretty beautiful as I climbed Longstone Hill and headed for the rocks at Black Tor for a snack.
I looked up towards High Willhays - it was 150m of verticality, through long boggy grass, guarded not only by cows but one big scary bull. I took a significant detour to keep away from the mean beastie, eventually reaching the top.
As with many Tops, it's not actually the best view; that's saved for Yes Tor, a km to the north, which is much more impressive. At the trig point I met some wild boys of around 11 years old, and their long suffering mum. Each were carrying a giant rucksack. The mum explained that they were traversing Dartmoor, wild camping as they went, and this was the fifth day so the boys were getting a "bit ratty". Five days hiking with primary school kids! The woman deserves a medal.
We said farewells and I headed downhill along Rod-a-van brook, which led from the moors to one of the most idyllic lowland river settings I've ever encountered. I didn't see a soul for an hour as I walked down the babbling brook into a delightful dell, eventually joining a larger river which I headed back to the car.
All Tops are memorable, but some are magical; this is absolutely the latter.
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