Roving the Ring Road

Returning to the South West for a rare, second consecutive weekend, whoisthechallenger went North to complete an attractive little charity walk around West and East Mill Tors.  The 11 box walk was sited in order raise funds for the Plymouth branch of the PDSA.  The 'Birds Eye View Of Dartmoor' series is the sixth and latest installment of this group's Charity walks, and their stamps and clues are always reliable.

We parked at Row Tor in bright sunshine, and were delighted to find that the wind was not bracing, nor was it bearing inhibitive.  All the boxes were within paces of the metalled army tracks, some of which formed the 'Okehampton Ring Road'.  This was looping track from Row Tor out to OP15 on Okement Hill.  The track was often rutted and pot-holed, with a couple of deep fords thrown in, but at least the Western (ford-free) half of the track was negotiable with a 2 wheel drive car.  On September 18th 2009 the track was closed to all public traffic.

The track has since been re-surfaced - with a fine gravel where the tarmac has failed, and the old arguments regarding the Ring Road closure will again be debated.  Whoisthechallenger always wondered if the MOD would let the track return to nature, or maintain it for it's own benefit.

The charity walk was being completed by several other letterboxers, and whoisthechallenger met up with the Colville Cobblers en route too.  Over the day, 7.5 miles were covered with 14 boxes found.