31 December

I was not to know that 11 December would be our last moor walk of the year.  The following weekend was busy with work as we prepared for visitors.  Then the days we could have walked at Christmas were wet and uninviting.  I looked at the forecast and said - Thursday looks good, it would be a good end to the year to have one last trek on Dartmoor.

And until yesterday evening that was the plan.  Moving, with Devon, into tier 3, however, made us feel that travelling to walk was not appropriate, so instead I've got my blog up to date and we'll walk locally.  I'm glad I took a few minutes on Bonehill Rocks earlier this month to reflect, and I was blessed by that hint of a rainbow.

The year started with the aim of visiting 50 tors - the final total is 154!  A revised aim of 50 walks was met with 42 - and all things considered for the year, I'm impressed with my persistence.  I also reached the summit of 47 out of 53 tors of 500m plus.  Grateful to Jonathan for committing with me this year - he's been with me for probably 150 of the walks, patiently snapping shots for this blog.  And grateful to those who've supported my three charities.  I don't know the exact amount collected, but it's over my target of £500 overall.

Hard to choose a favourite photo, but this one maybe reflects how Dartmoor often feels - like it puts things into perspective!

11 December

I picked up a particular postcard (no.284 here) earlier this year and wanted to finish visiting the tors shown.  We climbed Down Tor, above Burrator Reservoir, earlier in the autumn, and last weekend I sought out Combestone Tor.  Today was the turn of Hound Tor (414m) [K17], my 150th tor, which we put together with Greator Rocks (371m) and Holwell Rocks (382m).  By this time the weather had turned a little, and we were glad of our waterproofs.  

Hound Tor:

Greator Rocks:

Holwell Rocks:

To find the fourth postcard tor, we drove on toward Widecombe, and parked at Bonehill Rocks (393m).  When we visited Bell, Chinkwell and Honeybag on our second walk of this year, the pull up from Widecombe was too much for me to face adding in these rocks, so this was a return visit.  I'd kept my wellies on from the Hound Tor walk, so left Jonathan in the car and wandered around the rocks on my own for a short while.  There are some lovely views to the south - on this occasion with some bits highlighted by the sun - and as I came around and was looking north, there was the beginning of a rainbow.  It was a good time to reflect on my visits to the moor this year, to be thankful for all we have achieved, come rain or shine!

6 December

 At long last, I persuaded my youngest daughter to come to the moor with me.  We took pasties from Bakers and visited Combestone Tor (356m), an impressive set of rocks near the roadside. Back across the moor with the late afternoon sun in our eyes - not the safest driving conditions.

Quick phone stitched panorama from the tor: