Good Friday on Dartmoor

As part of my training for The Big Walk I set out with friends on Good Friday to walk from Belstone on the edge of Dartmoor, in a 8 mile circular loop across Cosdon beacon on northern part of Dartmoor. After eating hot cross buns and coffee we set out from the Tors pub along the moss enchanted valley of the river Taw before reaching the edge  of Dartmoor. Small streams hung with icicles and the bitter wind was soon howling in our ears as we climbed ever higher to the 1,800 ft of Cosdon beacon. On the way up we stopped for our picnic lunch and I struggled to eat in the freezing wind in the lea of a stone wall.Just below the Beacon is a stoneage avenue and at the top a trig point and stone cairn.It is a bleak and wind swept place. As we headed down the Beacon we saw Dartmoor ponies feeding on the rough pasture and watched as the billows of smoke arose from the controlled Gorse fires. Hopping over streams we eventually arrived again at our starting point at the Tors pub. Time to head back home.

You can give to the Ian's Big Walk on http://www.justgiving.com/Ian-Harris11