On Sunday, June 11 ten walkers, some new to the rambling club, started this walk from the small quarry on the road below Hookney Tor, taking the footpath towards Grimspound. 

 The weather was forecast to be warm but cloudy, with a chance of thunderstorms. 

At Grimspound the remains of 24 stone roundhouses survive, within a boundary wall about 150 metres in diameter. This dates from the late Bronze Age (about 1450–700BC).

 There are great views of this site from above, so the group made a steady ascent to the pillar trig-point at 1,736ft (529m) on the highest point of the ridge from Hameldown Tor towards Widecombe, which provided the promised panoramic views.  

This ridge forms part of the Two Moors Way (central route).  About 80 metres to the west of the main trackway across Hameldown, the remains of Hamel Down Cross stand out against the horizon. 

The ‘head’ and one ‘arm’ are missing, making it a strangely shaped menhir.  It marks the northwest boundary point for both Widecombe and Natsworthy Manor.

 On Hameldown there are five round cairns, including those known as Broad Barrow, Single Barrow and Two Barrows, which form part of a linear cairn cemetery. Round cairns are prehistoric funerary monuments dating from the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC) constructed as earth or rubble mounds.  The prominent position of these cairns suggests they were an important territorial marker and this is reflected in their later use as boundary markers. 

At Two Barrows, the walkers made their wall-side descent to cross an unnamed, isolated patch of moorland north of Lower Blakaton, stopping for lunch at the rocks on the top, enjoying more excellent views.  

On quiet lanes towards Soussons Down, they managed to find the Bench Mark on a gatepost at Grendon cottage, also known, according to the wooden sign on the gate, as ‘Grendon Lodge’.   

At Soussons Farm the group were pleased to see new footpath signs and a new bridge over bogs and stream.  Soussons Farm was originally a warren house, although the warren is now covered over by the nearby conifers. 

 The woodland on Soussons Down is one of the Dartmoor coniferous plantations that were set up after World War One.  

As the weather remained hot and dry, the walkers stopped for a drinks break at the remains of Golden Dagger Tin Mine, which was set up around 1850.  

The dramatic name is thought to derive from a prehistoric golden dagger that was found in a barrow on nearby Hameldown. The mine finally closed in 1930. 

The route then joined part of the Two Moors Way (west), passing Birch Tor & Vitifer, a tin mine whose gullies the group had seen on the surrounding hillsides.  The mine was worked between the mid–18th century and 1925. Birch Tor mine on the eastern side of the Redwater Brook valley, and Vitifer mine on the west side, were separate mines but, for most of their working lives, they were operated under the same management.  

On the final stretch, the walkers passed Headland Warren.  From medieval times, rabbits bred at Headland Warren were used to feed the locals.

 The warren or rabbit farm was one of the traditional industries of Dartmoor (the earliest recorded grant of land on Dartmoor for warrening was in the 13th century).  Warreners had rights to use many of Dartmoor’s resources – peat, wood, stone etc.

The rabbit population of Dartmoor was decimated in the great blizzard of 1891, and warrening declined after that with the last warrener dying in 1969.

  Headland Warren Farm, a Grade II-listed 14th-century longhouse, during that time operated as a pub, providing food and hospitality to the local miners.  

After about seven miles walking in the heat, the group were very pleased to enjoy ice creams from a seller in a nearby car park.  

They felt very lucky that the threatened rain storms had not materialised.  

New walkers are always welcome at Okehampton Rambling Club. Please be suitably attired for all weather conditions, including sturdy footwear, and bring drinks and a packed lunch. 

They meet at the post office in George Street, Okehampton on Sundays, ready to leave at 9.30am. 

They share cars so please be there in plenty of time so the group can leave promptly. 

Car drivers with spare seats are encouraged to meet at the post office to offer lifts to non-drivers.

  If you would like to bring your dog, please contact the leader of the walk to check that the route is suitable. Next week’s walk is on Bodmin Moor.