UKH

One for any runners who don't make it over to UKH (you're missing out) - the Dartmoor crossing N-S:

https://www.ukhillwalking.com/articles/destinations/the_big_routes_across_d...

I mostly walked and it took about 12hrs including photo stops, but it struck me it'd make a brilliant long-ish-distance hill run. I tried searching for a record and came up with Tim Holsgrove 5hr16min...

https://fastestknowntime.com/route/dartmoor-crossing-united-kingdom

Seems very respectable given the terrain, but I wondered if many folk on here had tried it?

I know several people who have done the route.  No idea on timings though I think most walk it, often with an over night stop on route.

Edit:  Thinking on it would  fun to combine it with the Dartmoor 600s and make a full day of it.  I might have to give that a try now it's popped into my head

I believe the fastest known time for North to South is 3 hrs 14,by Brennan Townshend. Although he went the most direct route (via Bellever forest anf up onto ryders Hill I imagine)

https://twitter.com/climb_southwest/status/996739001255067649?lang=gl

Sounds like a good effort! I did think it ought to be a good deal less than 5

That's a fair bit shorter than over towards Princetown and staying on the Moor proper. That's the way I did it (the more direct way), but would love to do it the longer way.

It's a brilliant day out, and really good running all the way 

I walked the 600 a few weeks ago as a recce for running it, the terrain isn't ankle friendly by any stretch, needless to say I won't be running it! made for a fantastic walk though..

the N-S definitely intrigues me for a long day out though in a just finish capacity rather than as fast as possible. 

This looks great, I'm doing something similar on the last weekend of November, So I can expect wet feet! Ideally camping but if it's constant rain then maybe a Princetown Bunkhouse instead.

I like the look of your route through North Dartmoor, I was wondering how to stitch it together without too many river crossings and yours looks the best bet.

Walk it N-S with a wild camp half way back in the 80s. Came across some lost folk on what I think they called the Ten Tors challenge.

I don't take any credit for the north moor leg - key bits of that were suggested by our own Mark Glaister. But yes, it's a very logical line without loads of too-rough off-path stuff, and the only river crossing of note is the East Dart at Sandy Hole Pass. That's definitely one to think about if it's a wet spell, I can imagine times when you'd need to take a big detour upstream to get over safely.

Down in the south moor, you'd probably be wise at this time of year to skirt well wide of Foxtor Mires - it's easily avoidable if you tweak the route to stay to the west of it.

Enjoy!

I am pretty sure that, MOD firing notwithstanding, it will be a fairly straight forward leg down to Hangingstone Hill and Winney's Down but the crossing of the East Dart has caused me to keep looking for an alternative route South... I did note that on the 1:25k OS map there is what looks like a bridge adjacent to the waterfalls at SX 6275 8105, I think we'll head towards your crossing point and keep walking towards it in the hope that it's there. If not it could be a long night!

South of Princetown I know fairly well, I would avoid Foxtor Mires, instead I would take a path to the West of it via Nun's Cross Farm and the Abbot's Way. I would also utilise the old railway that you mentioned.

Edit: Great article by the way, I really enjoyed reading it.

Thanks Tony! I love Dartmoor (and I'm only a recent convert in the last few years)

If that had been ten years later it could well have been me!

I did all three distances of the ten tors while at school, it was my first introduction to hill walking and loved it (although trudging over endless tussuck grass on Ryder hill definitely sticks in my memory as a low point). So Dartmoor will always have a special place in my memory, although not been there for years. 

Same here, although I enjoyed the odd foray over a number of years. Since doing DofE with kids I've really got to know South Dartmoor as that's where they generally go. 

SX 6275 8105

That is the East Dart waterfall.  Easy to cross when the river is low.  Can be tricky after heavy rain though.   A lovely spot for a wild camp.   There is no bridge there.

I walked the moor N-S training for Ten tor in 1981.  I'd forgotten we did it until the other day, when I came across our route card for that weekend in my scrap book.

Thanks for the local info, that's most helpful and could potentially save a lot of extra steps. 

Do you know the best place to cross the East Dart if there has been rainfall? Would it just mean a long walk round either East or West?

I've done the N to S a few times in shocking conditions in last few years. If you really want to get over the E Dart and the Waterfall is a no go, there is a spot which is normally fine about 150m N of Sandy Hole Pass which you can cut to from Whitehorse Hill. It's pretty rough going. I then go Lower White, Higher White, Cherrybrook Hotel and on to Prince Hall via Muddilake. Cross the Swincombe either at the Isalnd Crossing a few 100m above the reservoir,  or down at Fairy Bridge if it's really high. 

Plan B is to stay on the E side of the river down past Sittaford and on to the bridge at Postbridge.  Then through Belliver,  to Huccaby. The stepping stones at Dunnabridge will be underwater too, so cross at Hexworthy Bridge. You can get back on line either via Hooten Wheels to Skir Gut, or straight over Ryders Hill.

Wonderful bog fest!!

That is really usefull to know

This is great to hear, thank you. I think this was the route that Dan (The OP) took looking at his GPX file. From Higher White I would head to Two Bridges via Longaford. The reason for this is we are taking two days and fancy a pint in Princetown before wild camping either near Whiteworks or Nun's Cross Farm.

Absolutely - I'm dubbing and re-dubbing my boots in readiness, somehow I still don't think it'll be enough!

Many thanks

maybe try dubbing your legs too, knee high should be fine!

Sounds a great plan. Shame the Plume is shut, but other pubs available!!

Camping too close to Whiteworks and Nuns Cross is a bit frowned upon. Trying not to be too obvious,  I would go slightly further South (2k ish) and look at not the Higher Tor, but the Lower Tor and down beside the river (look closely....) or a certain Coombe nearby,  that isn't good.....

It's a real shame about the Plume... This Summer I received a frosty reception from the bloke looking after it, all I asked was if it would be open any time soon. Hey-ho

Just to clarify, by Whiteworks I was thinking of approaching the Plymouth College to see if we could camp in their bunkhouse garden - something I have done before. And by Nun's Cross I meant anywhere flattish South of the bunkhouse, I was thinking of the reentrant where there's a spring and old tin workings, just East of Plym Ford and fairly sheltered (I walked through it two months ago) - joining your dots gives me another great option.

Thanks again

As others have suggested you can cross at Sandy hole pass.  If your your 6ft 4" like me, then you can probably just chuck your sack over and then run and jump over. But with the water flowing quickly, it's an intimidating undertaking and not something you want to get wrong.

It's also easy to cross the East Dart  just above the tinner's hut. SX609846 Then, as you are aiming for Princetown, work your way across the peat to Beardown tors.  Stay on the high ground, Cut hill, Summer Hill and Devils Tor and it's a pretty simple, flat boring travers. Can be very damp under foot that way.  But I have walked it a number of times doing the 600's from Two Bridges.

Hope it goes well which ever route you take.

Another choice - many thanks

I think I'll make dynamic risk assessments baed on weather and water levels - I have a number of options now.

We did it!

I altered the start time so that we could steal a march on the poor weather. We set off from Okie at 1.30pm giving us roughly 3 hours of daylight. We wild camped just SE of Hangingstone Hill. Day 2 and the feared East Dart crossing - it proved an easy undertaking as I decided to cross it higher up (At the Tinner's Hut East of Black Hill) and was literally a step across. We then stayed high up heading over Cut Hill, Summer Hill and Devil's Tor and finally Beardown Tor. The weather was awesome with 40mph winds and rain come at us from the South. Spent the night drying out at a bunkhouse in Princetown. Sunday was a calm day and we walked the 24km in to Ivybridge in 6 hours.

Thanks again for all the top tips, they realy did help in my decision making.

Brilliant! Glad you enjoyed yourself.

It's great when posters who have asked for advice then come back and update people on their adventure. Helps to close the loop!