This week I was alone again, after 3 straight days of heavy rain I finally got a break in the weather so headed back to the South Moor to shoot Tristis Rock and the Stalldown Barrow/Stone Row. In stark contrast to the miserable rain and mizzle of the previous 3 days it was all bright sunshine with a few fluffy white clouds but very harsh contrast. Hey-ho you take what you can get. My first stop was Harford Bridge over the River Erme which was running high and fast. Unlikely I would be able to cross it into Piles Copse.
Harford Bridge.
Stalldown Barrow and Piles Copse (Sharp Tor on the right)
Having found a parking space near the St Petroc’s Church (the main Harford Moor Gate Car Park is closed for the time being) I headed off down the road over Harford Bridge and cut onto the Moor just past Tristis Cottage.
The track was well marked/used but very wet and rocky in places.
It wasn’t long before I got my first view of Tristis Rock.
After Tristis Rock I headed over to Stalldown Barrow, this is a fairly bland hill but a deceivingly hard climb with 2 or 3 false crests before you see the Barrow itself.
The top of the Barrow seems to have been scooped out (or built up), not sure when this was done but I suspect rather more recently than the original build.
Stalldown Barrow hill has lots of Settlement remains all the way up.
More evidence of earlier life on here is the Stone Row.
On top of the hill the wind was much stronger so I decided to lose some height before stopping for lunch, my next target was Piles Copse but I needed to get across the Erme if I wanted to shoot the trees in detail. There was a herd of Ponies and Cattle grazing in the lee of the hill.
The lee side of the hill was surprisingly steep and rocky I found an outcrop to shelter in while I had lunch.
From my lunch spot I could see the Erme Valley and the raging river far below me.
I could see last week’s targets in the distance, Western and Ugborough Beacons.
I scanned the river with my binoculars and determined negotiating the rocky descent would be wasted as there was no way I would be able to cross into the Copse so a distant shot was all I got, maybe another day?
After lunch I decided to head back to the car back via Tristis Rock.
I passed more Settlements on the way.
Then found the track back to the road and eventually the car.
On the way home I crossed Wisdome Bridge so I pulled over to grab a shot.
That’s all for this week folks, as always comments welcome.
Tags: Dartmoor Tristis Rock and Piles Copse Stalldown Barrow and Stone Row Harford Bridge Wisdome Bridge
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