Wild Camping In Dartmoor National Park
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This is my church, a place that even on the darkest of days lifts my soul and illuminates the path in front of me. After a hectic few weeks of illness, work and moving house I seized the opportunity granted by a couple of free days, packed my tent and headed off into the wilderness. Luckily I packed my camera so I'm looking forward to taking you guys on a #walkwithme or should that be #campwithme or #hikewithme? Hmmm decisions, decisions.
So with my bags packed I slowly (and I mean slowly as it was blisteringly hot) headed off into the moor, casting a last glance back at the scorched Devonian countryside.
After walking for a couple of hours I found the perfect spot (including a water source for the dog) and set up my tent.
So with my camp set up I decided to take a little walk, well that was the plan but seeing as I wasn't following any paths a little walk turned into a very long one.
So half way through my walk I realised that I'd committed the cardinal hiking sin of not bringing enough water! It was a extremely hot day so when I eventually staggered back to my campsite (at about eight in the evening) it was with dehydration and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth! I spared a thought for unfortunate souls that find themselves lost in the desert, made my dinner and sat transfixed watching the dying embers of a resplendent summer sun. The symphony of silence speaking to my soul with the sublimity of a violin concerto.
So following my excursion into the heart of Dartmoor's green desert I decided that today's adventure would be a journey into a pristine and ancient river valley.
This is the tree I'm camped under and the route into the valley is straight ahead.
On this hot day the cool breeze greets me like a long lost friend and the clouds above are little more than whisps of chaotic beauty.
Famous last words as it now seems to be getting a little cloudier, but that's fine it's still boiling and to be honest it's a welcome relief.
So it's time for a couple of more shots from the top of the hill and then I'm going to head down into the heart of the river valley, although I took lots of pictures so you'll have to wait until part 2 to join me.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post. Join me next week as I head into the magical ancient forest below.
Written by perceptualflaws
Original pictures by perceptualflaws
The banner picture was taken by me and is from Dartmoor, but is from a different hike
Gifs courtesy of giphy.com
Banner Gifs courtesy of @justcallmemyth
What a great adventure! Water is life - glad you got back to camp safe. Loved the pics, nature heals.
Hey thanks my friend .. it was touch and go there for a while lol Thanks I'll load the pictures of the forest next week .. it certainly does and it's amazing how quickly your circadian rhythm comes back into synch.
Thanks for your hiking post! "The symphony of silence speaking to my soul with the sublimity of a violin concerto". I love that very much. All the best with your new circumstances.
Thank you my friend, I'm glad you enjoyed and also thank you for the kind words.
wow it is really beautiful, you sure picked quite the camp spot, glad you got back to camp to your water, always important to pack more than you need or get a good water filter, they are very handy, can't wait to see more of that magical forest, cheers for the great walk x
Thank you @trucklife-family it was a beautiful spot and for my dog there was a leat .. (I think French POW's dug miles off them) that carried water across the moor so the roaming cattle etc can drink.
The water was a silly mistake on my part, I misjudged the distance a little bit and the effort a pretty big bit lol Good call on the water filter .. I actually have a couple of life straws somewhere so I'll definitely pack one next time. I love the forest so I'm looking forward to sharing the pictures.
Thank you for reading.
Wow, these are awesome pics! So cool you got out to the wild...
Looking forward to your next series:)
Hey dude, thanks for stopping by .. I love the wilds and I've done a fair bit of hiking and climbing around the world ... spent a fair bit of time in the Canadian Rockies as well :) Cheers my friend, I'm looking forward to getting this one written and posted.
Beautiful Devon !! Looking forward to seeing the mysterious forest. Lovely journey. Seems like a full nature recharge.
Hey @wallpaperflower thank you .. I love Dartmoor and I needed a recharge so it's a no brainer for me .. I think you'll like the forest, there are some beautiful spots :)
Beautiful pictures. We don’t have tree-less plains like that here in Boston so it’s wonderful to see some. The countryside in England I’m guessing? I think I’ve looked st your profile and saw England but can’t remember.
That’s a picture I took while hiking in the green mountains of Vermont. I love the scenic long shots! Makes me feel so small.
Hey my friend,
Thanks, yes I'm in the UK .. you've probably heard of the Sherlock Holmes book/films called The hound of the Baskervilles .. well that's set on the same moor .. and the war horse book/film. There are some beautiful spots on these moors .. it's roughly 400 square miles so there are lots of hidden places.
Those mountains look beautiful and that's a great pic! It looks a bit like where I was camping .. you'll see what I mean next week. :) Thanks again @cmplxty
Some beautiful pictures there. How far from Sheepstor were you? I can drive to Sheepstor in about 25 mins from my house so would give me an idea of whether I could easily check out those great spots you've shown me for myself.
Thanks dude .. hope you're well? The first few pictures are taken pretty far into the south moor .. about four hours walking from the road, most of it off the path. In relation to Sheepstor, the wooded area is probably .. as the crow flies not too far, by road .. not sure, the roads are pretty windy so probably 30 mins driving. I'll check the map and give you a shout .. there are some beautiful spots on the moor, there is another place with some amazing standing stones and stone rows I want to try and grab some pics of before the end of the summer. Thanks again @jimbobbill
https://steemit.com/@perceptualflaws Most welcome your post is actually veey nice
Thank you my friend .. I'm glad you enjoyed .. nice picture!
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That was impressive. The first photo just calmed everything inside of me. It's hard to imagine that such scenes are real..I would truly love to see your countrysides sometime.
I'm sorry you ran out of water that day, omg...I'm so glad you ended up being okay.
My son Stryder was looking at the computer while I was reading this, and he asked if you took this photo because the lake looks like a heart:
Awesome clicks of my favourite STEEM Dog too! :) Can't help but smile every time I see her...
Hey thanks for stopping by @lyndsaybowes
There are some amazing landscapes & contrasts of habitat on the moor .. I think you'll like the forest/river valley and I have another trip to take .. which will see me camping near some world-class standing stones and one of the longest stone rows in the world :)
I was wondering if anyone would notice the heart .. the wisdom of youth and open eyes eh? :)
My dog is one of the happiest you'll ever meet .. 100% good mood 24/7 lol
Thanks again my friend
I'll tell Stryder that you're impressed that he noticed it!
Looking forward to Part 2 xoxo