I apologise in advance for the less then generous smattering of photos on this write-up - having SWMBO and our two little angels along for the ride ment the camera was rather forgotten amid the inevitable barrage of question, comments and infantile babble (not to mention our kids can talk alot too).
Thursday 16th February dawned clear and bright - not particularly warm mind you, but then i prefer it that way if i'm intending to head out for a walk. So, with woolens donned and bags packed we jumped in the family wagon and set out for the days adventure - to climb Bellever Tor.
As a little background we had walked around Bellever woods last summer. That day was baking hot, and with the kids being that much younger we decided to cut the day short and ended having an extended picnic / playtime close to the stone-row to the South of the Kraps Ring settlement. Whilst that day was wonderful, i kept looking up at the Tor behind us and wandering what the view from the top would be like.
And so when New Years came and i decided 2012 would be the year i did all those walks i'd been thinking of for years, Bellever Tor was one of the first i thought of.
If you have Google Earth feel free to download a copy of the route >>Here<< , which will give you a flyover of the route, as well as a chance to see other Google Earth users pictures of the area.
Things looked promising from the moment we arrived, as the pay and display machine said it was 'not-in-use', saving us a few quid from the off. From there there was only the route to choose, easy enough we thought as a the National Trust (who own the woods and car-park) had kindly produced a leaflet with a simplified map showing a variety of paths around the area. We ended up choosing a slightly longer route that would take in not only Bellever Tor, but also the relatively near-by Laughter Tor.
To keep spirits up on the reasonably long trek upto our first tor we kept our eyes down and scanned the paths for tracks. Among the dozens of horse prints we eventually came across something a little different, which we tentatively attributed to Deer.
Soon enough we reached the top of Laughter Tor, not the most impressive of Dartmoors many granite outcrops, but picturesque in its way.
And it was from here that we saw just how far we had to go!
Yep, thats Bellever Tor in the background!!.
And so, after another hour or so's walking, we finally reached our goal - Bellever Tor itself. And it was at this point that SWMBO remembered about the camera, and decided that we should all stand around in the howling wind for pictures.
The Author and full-of-beans.
SWMBO and little-Miss-Smiley (who barely grumbled all day!)
A wonderful family moment captured for posterity i hear you cry, and you'd be right, but after standing about for 10minutes or so, as well as going through the near heart-attack inducing trauma of allowing my hyper-active son take pictures with my digital camera (which he of course just had to do as SWMBO had employed relatively trustworthy Daughter to take a picture of us together), we were all pretty happy about getting moving again!.
Can you guess who took this picture?.
And so we began the long slow trek back to the car, our heads still giddy from the exhilaration of standing atop a point that at one point had appeared so distant as to feel almost unreachable, and our legs unthinkingly pounding out the rhythem of the trail, driven on by the downhill slope and the growing hunger in our bellies.
Getting back to the car felt almost too easy, with the wide even tracks ushering us homewards at a surprisingly heady pace. The final 100meters leading up towards the car-park flew-by, and before we knew it we were pulling off our boots and climbing back aboard the family-wagon.
Having learnt long ago that the carrot is mightier than the stick, i had one final adventure planned as a treat for my tired and hungry family. Turning right out of the car-park and driving a half-mile or so further onto the more we found a small gravel pit, a lovely sheltered location, and just right to cook up a round of bacon sandwiches for my well deserving family!.
Thursday 16th February dawned clear and bright - not particularly warm mind you, but then i prefer it that way if i'm intending to head out for a walk. So, with woolens donned and bags packed we jumped in the family wagon and set out for the days adventure - to climb Bellever Tor.
As a little background we had walked around Bellever woods last summer. That day was baking hot, and with the kids being that much younger we decided to cut the day short and ended having an extended picnic / playtime close to the stone-row to the South of the Kraps Ring settlement. Whilst that day was wonderful, i kept looking up at the Tor behind us and wandering what the view from the top would be like.
And so when New Years came and i decided 2012 would be the year i did all those walks i'd been thinking of for years, Bellever Tor was one of the first i thought of.
If you have Google Earth feel free to download a copy of the route >>Here<< , which will give you a flyover of the route, as well as a chance to see other Google Earth users pictures of the area.
Things looked promising from the moment we arrived, as the pay and display machine said it was 'not-in-use', saving us a few quid from the off. From there there was only the route to choose, easy enough we thought as a the National Trust (who own the woods and car-park) had kindly produced a leaflet with a simplified map showing a variety of paths around the area. We ended up choosing a slightly longer route that would take in not only Bellever Tor, but also the relatively near-by Laughter Tor.
To keep spirits up on the reasonably long trek upto our first tor we kept our eyes down and scanned the paths for tracks. Among the dozens of horse prints we eventually came across something a little different, which we tentatively attributed to Deer.
Soon enough we reached the top of Laughter Tor, not the most impressive of Dartmoors many granite outcrops, but picturesque in its way.
And it was from here that we saw just how far we had to go!
Yep, thats Bellever Tor in the background!!.
And so, after another hour or so's walking, we finally reached our goal - Bellever Tor itself. And it was at this point that SWMBO remembered about the camera, and decided that we should all stand around in the howling wind for pictures.
The Author and full-of-beans.
SWMBO and little-Miss-Smiley (who barely grumbled all day!)
A wonderful family moment captured for posterity i hear you cry, and you'd be right, but after standing about for 10minutes or so, as well as going through the near heart-attack inducing trauma of allowing my hyper-active son take pictures with my digital camera (which he of course just had to do as SWMBO had employed relatively trustworthy Daughter to take a picture of us together), we were all pretty happy about getting moving again!.
Can you guess who took this picture?.
And so we began the long slow trek back to the car, our heads still giddy from the exhilaration of standing atop a point that at one point had appeared so distant as to feel almost unreachable, and our legs unthinkingly pounding out the rhythem of the trail, driven on by the downhill slope and the growing hunger in our bellies.
Getting back to the car felt almost too easy, with the wide even tracks ushering us homewards at a surprisingly heady pace. The final 100meters leading up towards the car-park flew-by, and before we knew it we were pulling off our boots and climbing back aboard the family-wagon.
Having learnt long ago that the carrot is mightier than the stick, i had one final adventure planned as a treat for my tired and hungry family. Turning right out of the car-park and driving a half-mile or so further onto the more we found a small gravel pit, a lovely sheltered location, and just right to cook up a round of bacon sandwiches for my well deserving family!.
