| Moorland walk to Buckland Beacon | |
|  | | The view from Buckland Beacon |
| | This four mile walk starts at Buckland-in-the-Moor and takes you across open moorland to Buckland Beacon on Dartmoor.
By: Laura Joint. |
| | | Dartmoor is brim-full of amazing places to visit and this circular walk takes in two of those - Buckland-in-the-Moor and Buckland Beacon.
In keeping with many parts of Dartmoor, this area has lots of stories to tell - legends that have been passed down through generations.
We started the walk at St Peter's Church at Buckland-in-the-Moor. This is one of the "must visit" buildings on Dartmoor, because of its unique clockface.
Instead of numbers, the clockface reads: "My Dear Mother."
 | | The clockface reads: "My Dear Mother." |
The story goes that in 1930, the Lord of the Manor, William Whitley, had the tribute put up in memory of his mother.
Opposite the church is a lane, Elliots Hill. The bottom of the hill is 795ft above sea level - Buckland Beacon is over 1200ft above sea level, so this is quite a climb.
Keep on the hill, which is a no through traffic route and you'll pass some farms. Initially, we took the first right after Elliots Hill Farm and headed towards a pathway to the Beacon.
But at the end of this lane, we found a sign saying: No public right of way. Apparently, it has been put up by a local resident even though this route has been used by walkers for decades.
So we turned back to Elliots Hill and carried on upwards where we luckily bumped into a local man who told us of an alternative route.
Little did we know then that it would add about an hour to the walk!
At the top of the hill is a gate to a public bridlepath. Follow this path until you reach another gate which takes you onto a road.
 | | The view back to the Beacon - here, it's a little dot in the top right corner |
Cross the road and turn right to walk along the moorland on the other side, which is safer than walking on the road itself.
After walking a short distance on the moorland, we reached another little lane, which comes out as a T-junction to the first road.
Cross this to the moorland opposite and keep the first road on your right. If you look to the right at this point, you'll be able to see Buckland Beacon in the distance (see photo above).
Keep walking - you'll walk past the road sign to Haytor and Bickington - and downwards to a little stream and a copse of trees.
Here, you switch to the road to cross the stream. Walk up the hill for some 50 yards and cross the road to the vast expanse of moorland which leads up to Buckland Beacon ahead of you.
 | | The granite wall |
There is a reasonably clear trail you can follow, and the stream is on your right.
Eventually, after a steep (and awkward in places!) climb, you'll see a long, granite wall.
This effectively guides you to the Beacon - a lump of granite with panoramic views all around the area.
At the front of the Beacon are two slabs of granite, on which are carved The Ten Commandments. This again, was said to be the brainchild of Lord Whitley, who employed a stonemason to do the work.
The stonemason started his work on 15th December 1927, and it took him six months to complete the carving.
The slabs have been badly weathered and the text is barely visible - but it's another story which adds to the Dartmoor legend.
 | | Looking back to Buckland Beacon. |
The way down is very steep! We carried on the same way, staying close to the granite wall - but it's very tricky in places so you'll need to take a bit of care.
Eventually, you'll reach a gate and some trees, at the end of which is the road into Buckland-in-the-Moor.
Turn right on reaching this road and stay on it until you're back at the church.
This walk was in mid-December and it had a very Christmassy feel, with holly, berries and robins in evidence.
You should do this walk on a clear day, so you don't get caught out - it's easy to lose your way on the open moor in poor visibility. Some of the terrain is also difficult in wet conditions.
Take a hot drink in winter, water in summer, and a map.
It's a rewarding walk - and you'll no doubt see some ponies along the way.
Article published: 22nd December 2004.
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Listen to Laura Joint and BBC Radio Devon's Jo Bishop, as they explore this area
