Classic Walks on Dartmoor.
Volume One.

Navigation Practice Walk 1.

For those just intending strolls and easy walks, this test session is not necessary, but it can make a reasonable walk for those who wish to practice using a map and compass.
This is essentially a safe, if slightly difficult walk by intention. It remains within and around the cosy and popular valley of Newleycombe Lake for all to access from Princetown.
But this walk is not easy, as it involves many of the types of terrain that Dartmoor can offer.
Decent boots and waterproof clothing, spare socks, map and compass, whistle, first aid kit and safety kit are needed.

This is the first test to practice navigation.
If you cannot manage this, then do not try the longer walks without suitable assistance.

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Here is an extract of the Volume 1, 'Navigation, Maps and Terrain' section to learn how to use a compass.

Grid References.
Standard Ordnance six Figure Grid References are given such as Grid Ref 561749. Splitting the number into two sets of three, 561 749, helps understand the place marked. The first three numbers are read along the bottom of the map, rightwards from the vertical line marked 56. The third number means one tenth the way into the box. The second three numbers are read along the side of the map, and the 74 means horizontal line starting from the vertical side of the map marked 74, then up nine tenths of the box.
Therefore Grid Ref 561 749 means the box to the right of 56 and up from 74, positioned in the left upper corner, 1 tenth in from the left, and 9 tenths up from the bottom.
Remember it as walking in a house, along the passage to the right, then up the stairs.

Simple check: 561749 is a small sheltered car park at the sheep pound on the Tavistock Princetown road, just south of the Great Mis Tor track.

Taking a bearing.
With a basic compass, align the map to the north, using the north end of the compass needle to line up with the north- south lines on the map. With the map orientated to the terrain, decide in which direction your route takes. Once you know this direction, then read off the angle and use the compass to maintain your direction.

The modern 'Silva' type of compass makes life much easier. The advantage of this type is that the map need not be oriented to the landscape. The map can be used at any angle and the straight side of the compass is aligned along the intended direction of travel on the map. Then the inner compass bezel is aligned to the north-south lines. The angle is read and remembered for safety. The compass can now be removed from the map and laid in the palm of the hand. When the compass needle aligns with the N in the Bezel, the arrow on the base, parallel to the side of the compass is the direction of travel.
Because of the design of the compass, this can also be used to check back bearings, to see how much you may have wandered off course from the previous check point.
This type of compass is very convenient method, especially with an ungainly map in high winds or rain. always remember the bearing should the compass become mis-adjusted should you fall.

Compasses.
By far the most common is the Silva(TM) orienteering type of compass. This is a clear, flat rectangular base with a rotating central compass with an oil filled and damped needle unit in the centre. There is no point in using a basic compass on Dartmoor, as this modern type of compass is now universal in acclaim and convenience.

If wishing to use a basic compass, the compass is laid on the map, then the map and compass oriented using the needle to point the north of the map to the north. Then the walker walks in the direction of the route on the map. With a little skill, the experienced walker can easily read the direction required on the map, such as East or 90 degrees east, then simply use the compass to obtain this bearing.

The next step up from the orienteering style compass is the sighting compass, as shown with the black folding version with the mirror. The same system as the Silva, but with the advantage of using the mirror at 45 degrees so the walker can sight along the line in the mirror, while it is also reflected accurately onto the compass unit. When aligned, the compass can be rotated until the correct needle bearing is aligned in the mirror, which also points in the correct direction very accurately. This is rarely needed on Dartmoor, as reading the excellent cartography of modern maps can also give superb accuracy.

Magnetic variation between true and magnetic north.
The needle in the compass points towards magnetic north, which lies near the north of Canada. The lines on the map point to due north at the top of the world, the axis about which we all rotate.
For extreme accuracy, it may be necessary to add a few degrees according to the difference between the magnetic and grid North poles. In 1996, the difference was that magnetic north was 3.5 deg west of north, moving 0.7 deg eastwards per year. Therefore when this was written, the difference is essentially minimal and not really bothered with by most people. Consult your map for latest measurements of the Earth's magnetic drift.

How this is applied to the map.
The reader has the map laid out in front, and the start and waypoints. In the field, align the map using the compass to align it to north. With the map aligned, look at the lie of the land to recognise the features and start the walk. The rest of the walk is simply more of the same.
Sometimes there may be no way points, just a general direction using known paths. The rest is simply recognising the features available and adding them to the walk. Once the walk is created, the planner can choose the best way around. On steep hills, the best way is to contour around, using local knowledge. Across wet areas, skirting the nasty or dangerous areas, again with local knowledge. Eventually the route is chosen.

Timings may or may not be needed and are mentioned in relevant harder walks. Walking to an estimated time of arrival on a bearing can be a vital part of the navigation skills needed, especially in mist or driving rain. Being able to use your eyes with increasing knowledge of the landscape to read the terrain and the lie of the land, how the watercourses drain and how flora grows, will all help the walker to navigate far more accurately.
Good reading of the map and the land can make poor visibility navigation a fine and accurate skill.

In fog, mist and snow, a few extra techniques are necessary. In poor visibility the navigator will need to walk to a compass bearing, especially if visibility is down to just a few yards. To assist keeping on line, the rest of the team walks ahead in a line, so the rear navigator has a constant pointer of the teams direction to maintain better accuracy. This demands walking in a straight line, especially in bleak land. Strong footwear helps being able to navigate in a straight line across almost any terrain. The alternative to this is to follow known and discernible features, then taking bearings before features disappear and also when specific spots are recognised.

You should attempt this walk preferably after a good number of the easy walks, as this helps your eyes, balance, legs and feet to become better acclimatised and strengthened for rough terrain.
Good walking boots are needed for some areas, as some rough ground is covered in three different sections.
Waterproofs are mandatory.
Walking with a few friends is recommended, although navigation by committee is always a long winded affair. So simply take turns navigating, but make your own navigation decisions as well, as this too, is a learning process, as you may not always be right, and there are often many ways to achieve some objectives.
The other important aspect is keeping an eye on yourself, as noting the safety of your body is also vitally important. - Do not get too cold, too hot, too wet, too exhausted or too confused or lost.

The shape of the walk is such that it can be printed onto an A4 sheet, using a scanner, or camera via a computer and printer. The advantage of carrying the genuine map in your rucksack is that it remains pristine, while the A4 sheet can be used far more easily in the field than the much larger map.

Read the navigation and map reading section first, so that the use of the compass can be ensured, and that the types of terrain are understood in a basic manner.
This exercise gradually contains a wide and increasingly challenging selection of terrain, including initial track, medium tufts, easy downhill walking, leat crossing, deep grassy gulley, an easy river crossing, the less than delightful clumpy uphill ground, a couple of boulder fields, one short section of dense brush and scrub needing some head ducking, another easy river crossing, and some generally vague non path work, then an easy walk back to the start, should time be running short, for those who are struggling. There are also a couple of emergency escape routes should the weather turn bad.
I have not included any dangerous bogs, or deep boggy areas which can get the walker into problems. Nor are there any long sections of bleak ground which can cause the beginners into getting lost. But the route will not be easy.
The main use of this exercise to get to know the map, compass and how to use your eyes, timepiece, how you walk under various conditions, and how this applies to the ground under your feet and all around you.

(To check the walk, I last did this on an overcast, very warm and very damp July 26th 2005 at the age of 54, carrying a poncho and a bottle of pop. I wore an old pair cheapo 8 quid trainers with a split in the heels, thin socks and so my feet were wet for most of the walk.
You MUST always wear decent clothing and boots. - I only used my worst shoes to check that it is safe and possible to manage for most people.
I had also not walked some of these sections for many years and so they were effectly 'new' to me, to make sure they were also safely passable by those who are new to walking.
The timings are at a 'mild Ten Tors pace', and so the timing and times are only given for general reference.
I left Princetown at 2.34 PM and this walk took me about FOUR hours, so a beginner must plan for at least five, preferably six hours.)
J.P. :)

Therefore this can be considered a long, tough afternoons walk and as such, should preferably be started at about midday in the summer and about 10 AM in winter.

Timing.
Starting from Princetown, walk to South Hessary Tor using the path to the south of the small button roundabout, beside the pub. Shut all gates. Check the start time.

The main methods of finding less easily seen places is by walking on the bearing, and using the time taken to cover a similar distance on similar terrain. In the mist, this is a two prong strategy to make sure you are in the correct vicinity.
You may be slightly out of breath, but not panting. Look at the skies in the direction of the wind, to see if it is clear. If cloudy then decide if the clouds are white and fluffy, or darker and containing chances of rain. This will be compared later in the day to see if the clouds are getting darker or not.
I took 10 minutes up to South Hessary Tor. Take three minutes to climb up to the top of the tor, to spy the land ahead and get a general feel of the area.

From South Hessary, continue on to the corner of the boundary wall at 600 714. Check the time taken.
Measure the time.
I took 20 minutes from Princetown to the boundary wall. 3.05. PM.

The four main points of the compass.
From the boundary wall, walk due west on a bearing of 270 degrees to the trig point at 592 712. This is due west, so the bearing is three quarters around the compass of 360 degrees x 3/4 = 270 degrees.

This is not easy ground, although there are a few sheep tracks which may divert your path a little for easier walking. The ground will slow down the walker more than the time taken to go from South Hessary to the boundary wall, even though they are about the same distance. A simple navigation trick is that the compass is not always used, as a Trig Point is always at the top of the hill, so if the weather is clear, simply walk uphill.
At the top, the ground gets wet as it is poorly drained.
From the Trig Point, compare your times and see whether you are about three quarters as fast on rough ground as you are on a smooth cycle track. As the sections are about three fingers width, (on the OS map) and you know the times taken, then this can be a good guide for general use on the moors.
I took 14 minutes up to the Trig Point, so am just slightly slower than the pace on the easy path.

Using your own timings, you now have rough ground and easy walking times for an approximate three fingers distance on the moors.

Trig points are trigonometrical points used by the Ordnance Survey to measure the land before satellites or lasers. This point would be measured in degrees and distance to other trig points to phenomenal accuracy and is part of a grid across the whole of the United Kingdom, from Lands End to John 'O Groats and the Isles beyond.

From the trig point, walk due west to Cramber Tor at 584712. This is much easier going, so you can now estimate when you will reach it to within a minute or so.
I took 14 minutes, which included a minute taking photos of the pool in the tin mining gulley to the left. 3.18 PM. A nice view down the valley and across Burrator. Keep an eye on the clouds. After this short section on easy ground, any mild breathlessness up the hill to the trig point should have long since disappeared. If finding your pace a struggle, then simply slow down. If needing to cut the walk shorter, then there are two escape routes.

From Cramber Tor on a bearing of 190 degrees, walk down to Crazywell pool at 583704. This is almost due south, so the bearing is about half of the 360 and is thus close to 180 degrees.
Be wary: Consider what features will have to be negotiated en-route to Crazywell pool. There is also a very steep, northern bank at the pool, so be very wary, especially in the mist.
Although extremely easy walking underfoot, this took longer than expected, as the pool is almost impossible to see from the north.
Another obstacle was finding a crossing point on the leat which also takes time and helps put the walker off course. I used Downtor as a general alignment bearing, and noted the lie of the land on the forrest side, then used the map to gauge the pool's distance down the hill from the leat to help me find it.
I took 15 minutes to reach Craziwell Pool, by 3.49. PM. but I have been here many times and know the many small tell-tale signs to look for the pool and leat crossings.

A tip on leats and keeping to bearings. Unless you know the area well, then a leat will not always have the crossing in the ideal place. Therefore aim to left or right of the bearing, such that you cover as much of the leat as possible, with minimal deflection of the bearing. In this case, it is better to walk a little westerly, to keep more of the leat in sight to look ahead for crossings.
Knowing the land, I actualy walked a little easterly, to a known kink in the leat, then follow the leat until it can be crossed safely. The kink in the leat also aligns you almost north of the pool, so only minimal compass work relative to Down Tor to the south, should lead you direct to the unseen pool.

Escape Route from Craziwell Pool.
If the weather turns bad, you can follow the leat upstream or take the track just below Craziwell Pool, eastwards to Older Bridge, then up the hill to the east to this crossing on the cycle track and back to Princetown.

From Crazywell Pool, go to the cross at 592703 on a bearing of 100 degrees. This is the eastern bearing and as such is only a quarter the way around the compass at a quarter of 360 degrees at about 90 degrees which is due east. The cross is slightly of south, so is at a bearing of 100 degrees - almost due east.

No, the first cross you find is not the cross you want, but shows how easy it is to assume the simplest ideas. Never trust your eyes, but check with the map, then relate to the ground and your three finger timings. The required cross is much further to the east. This is most easily reached using the track, then looking off to the right, as there is a small track to the cross.
Using the track, I took 12 minutes. 4.01. PM. After this steady pace, make sure you are not overexerting yourself. Although the last section will be easy going, it is a good time to check your physical condition. If you are in doubt, then simply follow the track eastwards back to the start, or take time to sit down and take a breather.
Knowing the ends of such tracks makes them excellent escape routes. They are not easily mistaken, and are easily found, even in the mist, if you aim to strike them at an angle, are rarely missed. This track also has a leat to the north, and many Dartmoor leats make a good escape routes.

Obstacles and the back bearing.
From the small cross, cross the river to the settlement at 598698 on a bearing of 135 degrees.
This is a good test of the 'back bearing' technique used for large terrain problems, where forward visibility is not assured.
This is a very difficult path and involves walking off course for many reasons, including crossing the river and avoiding the very steep sides of the old tin workings.
The tin working looks boring on the map, but is incredibly deep and even has a few trees in the gulleys. A nice place for a sheltered picnic.

The settlement on the south of the river is not easy to see, being partially overgrown. Therefore the navigator must decide the best point ahead after the obstacles, in this case crossing the river, so as to be able to get back on course with no interference in the bearing after negotiation the obstacles.

When walking down the cross, look across the river to the next item, which is almost impossible to discern. Take time for a careful note of the river valley below, also the intermediate tin mining gulley, plus the small unmarked track on the other side leading up from the river. The settlement is not so easy to see, but part of the curve can be seen and aligned on the map due to the small gulley it sits in. Before you set off, take time to compare this picture with the map. The unmarked track may offer a clue as to where the best place to cross the river may be, and an easier path up the otherwise fern strewn bank.

The river is quite easy to cross, but you will find that getting down to it is difficult as it is overgrown and the banks of the deep and extensive tin workings, and the river banks are very steep and tin worked too, so will put you off your ideal line.

Once on the far side of the river, there is also the safety option of using the back bearing. When high enough on the far bank, look back to the cross and take a sighting of the bearing relative to the cross. - So without disturbing the compass, line up the compass needle in the compass 180 degrees about, and look back along the compass base to see how far left or right of the start point you are. Then it is easy to return to the correct bearing.
A simpler alternative is to simply make a note of a good point on the other side of the bank before negotiating it, then walking to this point on the ideal line. Where there is no discernible point on the route, the back bearing is particularly useful, but only while the start point is still in view - so have eyes in the back of your head.
On Dartmoor, there are many places which the land is bleak and so obtaining a back bearing before loosing the start point can be very helpful.

The settlement is a Bronze Age stone circular wall with a few stone circles within. It is mostly levelled and overgrown so is not too easy to discern to the newcomer to Dartmoor.
I reached the settlement in 20 minutes. 4.22. PM.
Do this with moderate accuracy using the back bearing off the cross and also noting the distance up the hill from the river and its side tributary. You will notice that this is not very easy, as the curves of the banks are complex and getting the right part of the slope is not so easy as it seems on the map. The small rivulet and curves of the land will help.
So use this opportunity to check you are in the right place, but do not spend much time here, nor expect to be too archaeologicaly correct.

Contour lines.
From the settlement, walk to the cairn and pound at the end of the Hingston Hill stone row at 592695 on a bearing of 230 degrees.
(Hingston Hill is not marked on the maps, so this could be called Downtor Stone Row or Combeshead Brook Stone Row if you prefer.)
Note that this time you are not crossing any contour lines. This means mainly level ground and not gaining or loosing any appreciable height.
This may be level ground, but it is very clumpy, especially in the fern season, so look well ahead for the best of the meagre paths. Veering towards the ridge will allow the last few yards to be easier up to the eastern cairn.

Once at the end of the stone row, the walker has a good panorama, so is a chance to observe the clouds of any signs of deterioration.

Try to measure the diameter of the rather large pound beside the cairn. This helps you gain a general idea of the sizes of these ancient artefacts on the map.
I took 10 minutes to the cairn. 4.32. PM.

Escape route.
If the weather turns bad, then from the stone row, turn south, to skirt around the eastern end of the gulley by the spring, then strike south westerly up the hill, to cross the path from Eylesbarrow to Nuns Cross. Follow the ridge track northerly along the PCWW boundary stones to Nuns Cross, then back to Princetown along the cycle track.

From the cairn, simply use your eyes to navigate to the stone circle right on the western end of the stone row, furthest from you at 586693. 4.40.PM.

From the end of the stone row walk to Cuckoo Rock at 585687 on a bearing of 195 degrees. This will involve crossing many contour lines, slightly up, then steeply down. As this is in the direction of a river, it is fair to assume this is generally downhill.

This section to Cuckoo Rock is not physically difficult, but is rather challenging on the ankles in the boulder field. Even worse during the ferns season, when the ground underfoot is mostly hidden.

A problem in finding Cuckoo Rock is that you don't know what it looks like. Luckily, most rocks and other places are named because of some distinguishing feature. In this case it's a large rock pointing to the sky. It is a very large rock in a field of boulders and so navigation will again expect that a not very straight path is taken.
You will reach the old wall beside the tor and just beyond is a large rock, a likely candidate for Cuckoo Rock, but check your map relative to Combeshead Tor and continue to the real Cuckoo Rock, which has a small grassy area to its north and a small tree.
Please be wary of the boulders under foot, especially in the ferns: Do not twist your ankle.
You may wish to consider what techniques would be used if the weather was misty. The easiest escape route from here is to the head of the ring road at Burrator reservoir, using the path beside the Deancombe forest wall.
I reached Cuckoo Rock in 13 minutes at 4.53. PM.

Reading the map, contouring and secondary sightings.

From Cuckoo Rock, walk on a bearing of 95 degrees to the boundary stone at 591686.
This route almost due east is definitely not as easy as it sounds.
(Please note that on some electronic OS maps, this boundary stone is not marked.)
For this navigation exercise, and to understand the more 'interesting' terrain, this route will use the natural features to follow and use them to identify the boundary stone. In this case, to follow the river upstream and using the bend in the river.

At the grassy patch above Cuckoo Rock, even with high ferns, there is a slight path running east which I found easily, even in the deep ferns. It's the slight gap underfoot in the picture. The slight path gradually winds its way downhill and ends up near the old disused walls, then opens out near the small ford. A rather nice little downhill trundle through deep ferns. I reached the ford in 8 minutes at 5.01.

This area has it's charms, including easier camping along with the small field to the south under Cuckoo Rock and up from the ford with it's small waterfall.
Above the small waterfall the land opens out to follow the river upstream.
In deep fern season, this is heavily overgrown terrain, and annoying walking, but not too difficult, keeping the river a few yards to your right. This includes some slight scrambling and using your eyes and feet to make the best of the almost indistinguishable track, which luckily only has one route through this small gulley.
Eventually the short tricky path up the river opens out and the river can be followed easily over the tin workings.

The point to note from this little scrub uphill beside the waterfall is that there are many small otherwise hidden paths on Dartmoor.

At the bend in the river, it will be easier to find the boundary stone by using the map and the bend. There is a small, deep gulley on the far side of the bank and this leads almost directly up to the boundary stone.

As the boundary stone is just up the bank from the river, on a back bearing of 295 from Combeshead Tor with the river gulley between, then simply set the compass at 295 and walk along the upper river bank until you line up using a back bearing from Combeshead Tor. This will give the line from the Tor and the distance up from the bank is only a few yards.
Despite being the height of the foliage growth season, I reached the boundary stone in 12 minutes, at 5.13. PM.

Known points.
The boundary stone is the marker for setting a bearing up to Eylesbarrow.
If the boundary stone cannot be found, then simply use the bend in the river as your reference point. Luckily, this bend is rather sharp and keeps navigation tight to within a few yards. Because the boundary stone is almost in line with Combeshead Tor and Eylesbarrow, then once on the southern bank, it is fairly easy to line yourself up onto the route, using your newly developed compass skills by using Combeshead Tor to find a back bearing to Eylesbarrow.

Uphill and guess.
From the boundary stone, walk towards Eylesbarrow at 599695 on a bearing of 95 degrees. As can be seen on the map, this is almost due east, which is 90 degrees, so the navigator can guess it at 95 degrees and be fairly confident if the logic is correct.

Walking along or parallel to a contour line will be level walking.
Walking across contour lines will involve climbing or descending.
The closer the contour lines, the steeper the hill.

The path up to Eylesbarrow is crossing various contour lines which are evenly spaced on the map. Therefore the gradient is even, although it flattens out at the top. As Eylesbarrow is a low feature, it will not be seen during the walk up the hill, until close to the top.
The path up to Eylesbarrow is particularly devoid of any discernible paths, so read the terrain ahead.

You should be able to discern three diferent types of ground on the land ahead, denoted by the types of ground growth.
Time to learn how to read the different options for easy walking uphill. Hopefully you will have read the map and recognised the boundary work leading up to the top, so will plan to strike towards this feature, as they often have more easily defined paths, sometimes by walkers, but mainly by sheep and cattle, who can often make the going underfoot much easier.
This is a long slog, especially on a warm, overcast and damp day. It shows the need to carefully pace yourself slowly to the slope of the hill. I took my time and also took a five minute break part way up, to reach the top in a paltry 30 minutes, at 5.45. PM.
This is the last piece of hard walking and I've left it near the end, when you should be more knackered and so more likely to experience the needs to pace yourself carefully. Where the uphill slog is along a decent path, then the best way is to start gently and build up a lasting pace which will take you to the top without any over exert. But on this occasion up to Eylesbarrow, the terrain does not allow a steady pace, so the going is at a more general pace required to negotiate ferns, rocks and such like, and so a pause or two allows you to prevent over exertion and to make sure you are on the right bearing.

Eylesbarrow is a rather strewn pair of cairn selection of rocks, but the distinct remains of a cairn is evident.

From Eylesbarrow, the route is now straight forward walking and most importantly near the end of a good walk, easy and slightly downhill, to allow you to appreciate the scenery when high up and hopefully with a gentle breeze.

I consider it an important part of designing any walk, to finish with a nice stroll back to the start, as this not only rounds off the walk nicely, but also offers a good final escape route as part of the walk, should the weather turn really bad.

You may wish to take a bearing to Nuns Cross farm at Siwards Cross at 604699. The cross is also known as Nuns Cross. If your skills are being honed, then simply use your eyes to recognise the natural west-north right angle between yourself and Sheepstor and Princetown, then decide the route using just the map.

There are a few boundary stones between Eylesbarrow and Nuns Cross. Looking at the map, you will notice that they are evenly spaced on level, if peaty ground and define the reservoir boundaries and dated during WW1. If using a stop watch, they can be used to check your timing as if in the mist, as the path wanders around the peaty sections, and will help to gauge the general pace in reasonably easy going, fairly level and downhill terrain.

Measure the time taken to the first boundary stone to the nearest thirty seconds. Then walk on the same bearing to the second boundary stone, then check how far away on the same pace and timing, to check your timing to the nearest half minute. This will help you pace your speed, especially in the mist.
Thirty seconds adrift of your estimated timing, may not seem much in such a large land, but in the mist, when searching for a small feature, it can mean a lot less hunting around for the feature.
I reached Siwards Cross in 20 minutes at 6.05. PM.

From here it's just a case of following the cycle track back to Princetown, which took me 40 minutes, finishing at 6.46. PM.

Optional extra if time permits.
If you started early and have plenty of time, then here is a nice little addition to the route back.
Walking to a feature which cannot be seen.
From Siwards Cross, the exit of the leat running below your feet in the granite tunnel to the west cannot be seen.
The navigator must read the terrain, use the tracks and other signals to find the feature. In this case, it's a small wall protecting the upper edge of the exit.
Try first without the compass, just align the map with the terrain and guess the direction. Then check with the compass. without taking a bearing from the map, but look at the map and realise it is almost due west and therefore _____ degrees.
From Siwards Cross, walk to the exit of the leat at 604698. There are two features to the right.

From the exit of the leat, simply follow the leat around, past the weir and hut, along to Older Bridge at 598705. From this primitive, small granite clapper bridge over the leat, simply turn up the hill to the cycle track at 603708. Then back to Princetown.

Following the leat is an excellent way to navigate, as the water course is not easily lost, which is normally followed by man and beast, so a decent path is nearly always present and it also makes for level walking. The route may not be a straight line, but is usually just as fast or often faster in the long run. Luckily, Dartmoor is well blessed with many leats, alive and even the disused, dry leats allow good headway through otherwise awful terrain.

The track up from Older Bridge is just a few minutes from the second cross at 592703, so makes a good escape route for the first third of the walk.

During this not - so - easy walk, I hope you have understood the need to distrust the obvious traps of the cross near Craziwell Pool and the large rock before Cuckoo Rock.
Also the many types of terrain in this walk, from the very easy cycle track, to the scramble up beside the waterfall, the boulder field to Cuckoo Rock, the lack of route up to Eylesbarrow and the river crossing below the large tin working gulley.
This should all have added up to a wide selection of Dartmoor walking.

The large, often dangerous open expanses of north moor have deliberately been omitted, which should only be attempted once the challenges of this walk have become second nature. The medium walks should now be a lot easier to follow and enjoy safely.

The second navigation walk is easier walking, but will take you across the bleak ground between Plym Head and Ducks pool, from Ducks Pool to Broad Rock, and from Broad Rock to Grims Grave, to test your timings and compass and subtle ground recognition skills. It is not so easy as it seems.

This first navigation walk took me about for hours, so a beginner should plan for at least five, preferably six hours. Therefore this a long afternoons walk, and should preferably be started at about midday in the summer and about 10 AM in winter.

Summary.

You should now be able to: Read a bearing by placing the edge of the compass onto the map and read off the intended bearing upon which to walk. This will include choosing a suitable set feature further ahead should the walker need to go off the bearing to avoid a difficult part of the land.

You should be able to: Take rough timings of distances on various types of ground and make simple estimation of your expected time of arrival. (ETA)

You should be able to: Take a back bearing to check you are on the right course while the last feature is still in sight.

You should be able to: Decide when it's best not to follow the bearing, but to use natural or man made features on the land to make walking easier. Perhaps follow a river or leat, road or simply take an easier route along easier ground or to avoid a bog or rocky ground. The choice of route should always be able to help the navigation to the intended arrival point.

You should be able to: Read the basic form of the land, using the contour lines. From this you will know if you are going to walk downhill, up hill and whether the hill is concave of convex, or steep or shallow.

You should be able to: Guess the more easy bearings such as north, east, south or west and dial these into the compass. This is not recommended, but are simply used to make rough safety checks of your bearings.

You should also be able to: Design a walk which you will enjoy safely. This will include suitable inclines for your style of walking and features you may find interesting, and in a time frame suitable for a good walk, yet allow suitable safety escape routes should accident or foul weather occur.

You should also be able to: Recognise the best escape routes should the weather turn very bad or an accident occur, or you find that your pace is much slower than expected.

Once this navigation walk has been done successfully, then try the longer navigation exercise 2 which also starts at the centre of the moor for convenience and reasonable safety.

Note: It was not easy designing a navigation exercise to fit on a sheet of A4 with decent detail, have two reasonable escape routes and offer a wide selection of terrain which can cause some consternation but no real danger, while all the time embracing the core map and compass challenges - plus couple of booby traps, and still remain a reasonably nice walk. Designing a walk can take time, but mostly knowedge.

I hope you learn much from this walk and most importantly for any walk, to enjoy it at your own pace.

Version 1s. Copyright (C) J.Partridge. 2003.