Down South...

The car park at Harford Moor is not one I've visited much.  Certainly not in recent years.  The narrow lane from Ivybridge thick with Summer growth lead me to a rutted but refreshed parking area. No self-serve gate of old, but a cattle grid.  The National Park interpretation board remains intact.  This despite Harford Parish Council arson worries voiced prior to its installation 2 years ago.

My walk was to take me up the River Erme, with views South and West towards Plymouth.  Not far away from here is the topical village of Sparkwell, currently making headlines for the zoo's missing Lynx.  I had other cats to find though, amongst a host of boxes on a short route out to Sharp Tor and back.

The weather was terrific.  Perhaps a bit blowy, but not enough to prevent bearings.  My mind wandered off, considering possible walks which might bypass the New Waste closure.  Perhaps from Harford Moor Gate, I could descend to the River and cross at Piles Copse.

I passed the Money Pit, Piles Gate, the old clay pipeline, Redlake Tramway, Hobajons Cross.  Just some of the relics which help make the Erme valley such a gem in a granite setting.  My walk finished at a very different relic, and perhaps the most dilapidated of them all: the disused Butter Brook Reservoir.  I say disused, although South West Water - who withdrew it from auction in 2014 - reserve the right to extract water supplies from it irrespective of owner, says Tim Sandles in his Legendary Dartmoor article.

A fascinating day out all round.  Unknown distance walked, 16 boxes located.