The Abbots Way Walk. Possibly.

The Abbots Way winds from East to West across Dartmoor from the small village of Buckfast to the small town of Tavistock. It starts and ends with quiet country lanes, bookends for the longer part of the walk across open undulating, and somewhat soggy moorland.

The Abbots Way is often thought to be a monastic crossing, or monks way, which links monasteries. An alternative view is that it was not used for this purpose, and was a predominantly Jobbers trail. Jobbers criss crossed Dartmoor leading pack animals laden with wool, yarn and fabric to various trades for the next stage in processing. Eric Hemery, author of ‘Walking Dartmoor’s Ancient Tracks’ is quite disparaging of the name ‘Abbot’s Way’ throughout the book, right up to the index on the last few pages, where he references “Abbots Way (spurious title)”. He has good reason, pointing out that the route was more suited to travel on or with animals, and has no crosses of navigational use.

So I was possibly walking the route of the ancient Abbots, and possibly not.

The other reason for the possibly in the title is that from around five my route was enshrouded in thick, wet, cloying fog. The possiblyness compounded by the well known, to all but me, fact that one stretch of the Abbots Way marked on the OS map is roughly 70 metres away from the ‘path’ on the ground. So, in the fog I possibly followed the mapped route of the Abbots Way, but not an actual path, which was possibly not the path of any Abbots anyway.

Despite all this it was an interesting walk, and while the fog concealed the often lauded ‘sweeping views of the moor’, the silvery waters of the Avon Dam Reservoir and anything beyond about 10 metres, a few interesting things were found, or rather stumbled into.

Just like the Lych Way the Abbots way looks like a big obvious easy to follow path on the map, when you’re on the ground it’s much harder, not least of all because it intersects with other paths and some the land marks, like fords, aren't really landmarks - one crossing place looks very like another, and it’s tricky to tell if it’s a livestock or human path.

It looked like summer had finally arrived, I crammed my camping gear into my 35L Alpkit Ledge, looking forward to bivvying under the stars (Kit list here). I took the mainline to Totnes station and a local bus (88) to Buckfastleigh, undoubtedly the most stylish option is to arrive by steam train on the South Devon Railway.

Buckfastleigh is pretty village with useful facilities including a small co-op, a couple of cafes, toilets, pubs and a friendly photo-bombing dog.

Up a steep climb from Buckfastleigh is one the few churches in Dartmoor with a spire. It has seen three catastrophic fires ranging from suspected arson, to lightening, to definitely arson. The later in 1992 from which it never it recovered.

The church yard contains a small structure which is notable for two reasons, firstly it is one of the oldest free standing mausolea in England. Secondly it is barred mausoleum. One of its occupants, Richard Cabells (not to be confused with either of the other two Richard Cabells buried there) apparently sold his soul to the devil, necessitating precautions to prevent his wayward soul escaping.

This is the official route start, at Buckfast (not to be confused with Buckfastleigh, an easy to make 1.5 mile error). The impressive Abbey is surrounded by all the usual modern tourist paraphernalia - coffee shop, restaurant, and gift shop in case anyone runs out of pencil sharpeners during their visit. There's a nice farm shop on the Buckfast side, with fine Devon Pasties.

Best seat in/on the house!

An actual Abbot, should I ask him the way?

The climb from Buckfastleigh, much of the first stretch is like this

Shiny new Boundary Marker at Hockmoor Head

"If the way ahead does not excite you seek distraction in what is beside you" - me, admittedly sounding a bit like a bumper sticker.

Finally out of the lanes, it would turn out to be a very long 7 miles of bearing checking and pacing.

Dean Burn Clapper

Not quite the summer evening I had in mind. Its not even five and by the time I reach the moor and it's already dark and foggy, setting the tone for the next four or so hours walking, at least the torrential rain added some variation.

The banks of the Avon Dam Reservoir...possibly.

This is fine. Skulls on the old river fence are perfectly normal and not foreboding at all.

Huntingdon Cross in an atmospheric mood.

Petre's Clapper Bridge, ludicrously steep climb afterwards not pictured (or actually visible)

The first sign of the Red Lake Tramway, the explosive magazine, the roof is thin to direct any accidental blasts upwards.

I have an odd compulsion to photograph the Two Moors Way post every time I pass it.

The Red Lake Tramway was built to serve extraction of china clay from the nearby pit. A pair of these pipes carried slurry containing china clay almost all the way to Ivybridge, terminating at the processing plant at Cantrell near Bittaford.

The ruins of Red Lake Cottage, which once housed the pit captain and the redoubtable Mrs Bray who ran the miners hostel at Redlake. Passing below this ruin is a sign of being on the Abbots (possible) Way, if you're above it you're on the tramway and heading to Ivybridge.

Puzzled by this - presumably another structure related to the Red Lake Tramway, I could not find it on the map in Wade's comprehensive Red Lake Tramway Book. (SX 6447 6626)

Stall Moor Stone Row - what it lacks in height it makes up for length, one of the longest in the world.

A forlorn flag at Broad Rock. I stopped for the night near here, camping in cold fog and rain, cursing my luck; a whole Dartmoor day had passed without a single sheep photo.

More under-the-rain than under-the-stars, and certainly not my most salubrious camp. I made the mistake of pushing on in the dark and rain without waterproofs to find a better spot, and then doubled back, getting into my bivvy wet in a saturated atmosphere meant no amount of breathability would save me from condensation.

Plym Ford, with the grassy track of the Abbot's way discernible on the upper right. Here I took a detour on the left branch of the path towards Wheal Katherine and Eylesbarrow Mine.

Atmospheric Ruins at Wheal Katherine, looks like a bearing stone in the foreground, there's some interesting remains of mine workings spread out out around the ford, for an extensive survey see Dartmoor Explorations. (SX 6072 6830)

Wheal Katherine Adit

Eylesbarrow Mine is a huge site spanning an obvious T junction.

Eylesbarrow Mine gate posts. (SX 5981 6818)

Detour over, its time to rejoin the Abbots Way.

Possible wheel pit near Wheal Katherine

Inside the Wheal Pit, the hole connects to an outlet a little way down hill.

First sighting of Nuns Cross Farm, and welcome relief from navigating by map.

Siwards (or Nuns) Cross, even this lump of hewn granite has an interesting history.

You can fly a tarp, so why not a bivvy? Trying to dry my gear along the way.

The stretch from Nun's Cross to Princetown offers easy, quick walking and fine views.

So many boundary markers, so little time.

The jobber's path from Nun's Cross Farm to Princetown, easy to follow and littered with boundary markers

Gate posts are of interest Dartefact hunters and cattle alike.

South Hessary Tor, home the Dartmoor Cobra peaking from the summit.

Heading out of Princetown towards the mast.

Looking through North Hessary Tor

North Hessary Tor trig point, with mast wire ropes in the background.

Tare and feather stone - presumably rejected when it failed to break straight, it would have taken hours of effort to get this far.

I'm always weary of cows with their young, they seem more watchful and alert.

All that remains of West Mead Quarry, a few large concrete blocks and the outlines of stone structures. (SX 5649 7467)

I was briefly tempted to swim...

... but the pool is full of mining debris - what looks like plant life is rusting sheet metal.

From Foggintor Car Park the route follows road to Tavistock, its open with good views, and not as onerous as it might appear from the map.

At last! the obligatory sheep photo.

Turf trekking towards Whitchurch Common, a welcome relief from hand railing the road.

Beckamoor Ford

Boundary Stones near Beckamoor Ford, who owns the bit between them?

Vixen Tor, another relatively recent loss of public access, closed off promptly by the new owner in 2003 and set in stone by the stroke of a planning inspectors pen. Fifty nine people gave accounts of using path, but the land owner suggested "there had been times when the path had not been used" and it seems that singular opinion outweighed the others. Source: BBC News.

The aptly named Windy Post Cross (SX 5340 7420)

One of the Bullseye stones downstream from Windy Post Cross. These provided an easy way to control water branching from the main leat, but only after successful installation of a huge granite slab with a small hole in it.

After Whitchurch Common it's back to quiet lanes for most of the way to Tavistock.