ROUTE: Easy walk. Start Postbridge. Path through Pizwell. Cator Common. Soussons Down. Vitifer Mine. Challacombe Down. Finish Warren House Inn. Distance 12km.
SITES OF INTEREST: Pizwell Medieval Village, Soussons Cairn Circle, Cator Pound, Challacombe Triple Stone Row.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Walk originally based on the discontinued Transmoor Bus Service. Probably now possible starting from Plymouth to Yelverton or starting from Tavistock.
Soussons, Cator Pound, and Challacombe
From the Postbridge bus stop head back into Postbridge along the road over the bridge with the clapper bridge on the right. Take the minor road turning to the right past a white building. This road becomes a track going past the Lydgate House Hotel. Follow the path through the grounds of the hotel. Stick to the path for 1Km, at any junctions in the path stick to the main path in an easterly direction. Head through a group of well preserved medieval buildings at Pizwell. These buildings, apart from their long lost thatched roofs, are thought to be much as they were when first documented in 1260.
Cross the Ford at Pizwell and head east for 0.5 km until the path is crossed north to south by another path. Head south towards Cator Common. Keep to the track for about 0.5 km until it starts to veer to the left of a rounded hill. Leave the track and head right up the hill to a mound. This is a large cairn in which can be seen a kist and around it a retaining circle of around 25 kerb stones. Head south to meet a transverse reave and then follow this west to meet a converging reave. Follow this reave southwards and after a short distance the stones that form Cator Pound should come into view. Cator Pound is a large rectangular structure connected to a droveway on the south-western side.
Head back now by following the droveway east to rejoin the same path north back towards Soussons. On reaching the road head SSE for around 100m to find a clearing in Soussons plantation with the almost perfect Soussons Cairn Circle with its central kist. Another 100m or so to the SSE is a path near Ephraim's Pinch, take this path to head north through Soussons plantation to the Golden Dagger Tin Mine. Alternatively, to see the Red Barrows, head north-west along the edge of the plantation from Soussons Cairn Circle to find a path through Soussons plantation and take the right fork after about 0.5 km.
Pass through the remains of the mine head north on to open moor to the ruins of the Birch Tor Vitifer Tin Mine. From here take the Vitifer-Headland miners' path east ascending steeply up Headland Warren. The rugged terrain in this area is partially the result of open mining using gunpowder and later dynamite. Chaw Gully is a 15 feet deep gash torn into the hillside. Directly between Birch Tor and the summit of Challacombe Down can be seen Challacombe triple stone row. A small path crosses over to the stone row.
From Challacombe head back to Warren House Inn. If you have time you could go further north and take a look at Grimspound. To head back either return directly west down the miners path and then take the path due west up a steep climb directly to Warren House Inn. Alternatively go north-west over Birch Tor to join the Two Moors Way on to Bennett's Cross and then back to Warren House Inn.
External Links
Legendary Dartmoor: Chaw Gully
Page last updated 6/8/11
