Synopsis: Walk started with a visit of St Mary’s Church, Holne. Stained glass window with picture of Charles Kingsley, who was born in Holne. White water rapids and canoeists on the River Dart.
The inspiration for this walk came from looking in my book Devon’s Fifty Best Churches by Todd Gray, a recent acquisition, given to me as a birthday present from Mum. This is a superb book for anyone interested in Devon’s churches. I was looking for a church on Dartmoor that I might visit in combination with a Dartmoor walk. From examination of the book I deduced there is only the one church within the Dartmoor National Park in this book, and it is of course Holne.
Holne - St Mary's Church - north window with picture of Charles Kingsley
One of the things that is mentioned in the book is the fact that author Charles Kingsley was born in the village of Holne and has earned himself a picture in one of the stained glass windows of the church. I’d previously come across a statue to Charles Kingsley whilst out on a walk in Bideford. The nearby town of Westward Ho! was founded in the name of his novel.
Setting out on my walk I followed a lane up and out of Holne, crossed a road, then started a descent towards the River Dart. As I approached the river I could hear the rush of water well before actually seeing it. The river was obviously running high.
River Dart and gorge - canoeist on the river
There are stretches where the river is squeezed into a narrow granite-lined gorge, and it is these stretches where there are a plentiful supply of white water rapids. The River Dart is considered one of the best canoeing rivers in the country, and is certainly a degree or two higher than my canoeing capabilities. I saw a number of groups of canoeists out on the water today, and they looked to be having a great deal of fun. And they have the advantage of seeing some stretches of the River Dart that it’s not possible to reach on foot.
River Dart and gorge - Sharrah Pool
One of the best sections of white water rapids on this walk is that to be found at Sharrah Pool. To see this section it’s necessary to walk out a bit further along the track which subsequently has to be reversed because the path ends ahead of a very steep section of gorge. It’s well worth the two hundred metre extension!
Having returned out of Sharrah Pool, I then began the long hard haul out of the gorge, my eventual objective being Bench Tor. This proved to be a steep and slippery climb along a course littered with wet leaves. Quite doable, but requiring significant exertion. Note: I think I should have followed the wall when, near the top, continuing in the direction of Bench Tor as I struggled through tracts of bracken on my walk.
Bench Tor, overlooking the Dart Gorge
On reaching Bench Tor I was able to take in the fantastic view of the Dart Gorge. The leafless trees looked silvery when set against the brown bracken. A tremendous location at which to eat lunch I thought.
Bench Tor, overlooking the Dart Gorge
There are a number of impressive groups of granite outcrops here at Bench Tor, of which this photo shows one. This granite outcrop dramatically juts out over the precipice of the gorge.
Venford Reservoir
By the time that I reached Venford Reservoir I’d lost a lot of time for various reasons, one of which being that I hadn’t started early enough anyway. My planned walk was to take me out onto the open moor in the direction of Ryder’s Hill, then to loop back towards Holne. Instead, I cut the walk short by simply walking around Venford Reservoir and then picked up the lane that would take me back to Holne.
Despite cutting my walk short, this was still a tremendous walk, and I did cover a little over eight miles, if not my intended ten. This walk encompasses one of the wildest river stretches that I know of on Dartmoor, and at this time of year it’s to be seen at its best.
Note: For anyone considering walking this route, please note that if you examine my GPS tracklog (link above) you will see a number of abortive attempts to connect with a track at the northern tip of my circuit, just beyond Bench Tor. I subsequently back-tracked to investigate and found that I was only a matter of about fifty metres short of connecting with the track I was seeking when I had reversed my course. If planning to walk this route, simply continue along the additional fifty metres north and you will make the connection with the track that loops back to Venford Reservoir.
Walk Statistics:
Total Distance: 8.2 miles
Moving Time: 3hrs 35min
Stopped Time: 1hr 20min
Total Ascent: 508 metres
Maximum Elevation: 328 metres
Buses: (none)
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