Great Links Tor via The Fox and Hounds, Dartmoor: route guide

A clutch of Dartmoor tors, including Great Links Tor, and then back to the pub, suggests Tim Gent.

Setting out from the Fox and Hounds car park, five tors will be just enough on a short winter day before returning to the warmth of the bar. Arms Tor is first up, spread out well, with much seeming to have slipped down the hill over the millennia. Great Links Tor (pictured above) seems almost reluctant to show off from this direction, and it’s not until you bump right up against the imposing mass of once molten rock that its prefix makes sense. A very impressive lump of granite. Which Kitty Tor isn’t.

But what this dispersed stone scatter lacks in exuberance, it makes up in views, even if Branscombe’s Loaf, next in line, isn’t actually visible. Although fairly close to the moor’s edge, Shelstone Tor is relatively seldom visited, but this multi-faceted stone pile calls out to be clambered over and inspected. Finally, with superb views out over the farmland below, Sourton Tors always manage to feel slightly set apart. It’s not just the location, as Sourton represents one of only a handful of limestone tors on the moor.

Great Links Tor: route description

START/FINISH: Fox and Hounds car park (free, in exchange for a visit on your return) SX 525 867 | MAPS: OS Explorer OL28 | DISTANCE: 14km/8.6 miles | ASCENT: 440m/1440ft | DURATION: 4-5 hours

1. SX 525 867: Before leaving the pub car park, pop into the bar, let them know that you intend to return for a drink or meal, and ask if it’s ok to park (I’ve checked, and the answer will be yes). Now head out along the lane that runs uphill away from the back of the pub. Continue beyond the gate (Nodden Gate) at the end, to cross the infant River Lyd at the ford, then forge your way straight uphill amongst the scatter of granite to Arms Tor. A path should be visible as you drop to meet the stream, which you can pick up on the far bank. This does fade somewhat as you approach the bulk of the tor.

2. SX 542 862: A slightly faint path heads ENE across relatively level ground before climbing gently through stony ground to Great Links Tor (which isn’t visible for much of the ascent). You should meet an impressive granite outlier first.

3. SX 551 867: From the far side of the tor, perhaps after passing through the obvious notch or gap, drop north-east (towards Hunt Tor) along one of a number of visible paths to find a raised track, where you turn right. At the end of the track walk right through the remains of a tumbled brick building (a peat drying shed). The ground immediately beyond is very wet, but wooden duckboards and small bridges zig-zag their way through the bog to a clear path, with occasional wooden marker posts, that climbs the hill to Kitty Tor. Here, you’ll find fine views to the north-east of Yes Tor and High Willhays, Dartmoor’s highest points.

4. SX 567 875: Branscombe’s Loaf isn’t visible from Kitty Tor, and there’s no obvious path (a faint one may be found at times), so take a bearing on the Loaf before setting out on the long, and often soggy, tramp over Corn Ridge.

5. SX 553 891: After marvelling at the Loaf, and noting the remains of the encircling prehistoric ditch and bank, head downhill in the direction of an imagined point slightly to the south of Meldon Reservoir (or take a bearing in misty weather). If very steep ground is met, veer slightly to the right. Shelstone Tor will soon appear on the valley side below.

6. SX 558 898: In good weather, Sourton Tors are visible from Shelstone Tor, but by heading almost due west, a reasonably clear path will be found that extends between the two (a good starting move is to make for the seemingly perpetual area of bare ground directly below the tor. Continuing in the same direction, the slightly faint path should be visible). Where the path forks, take the higher option. A drainage ditch will cross on higher ground, from where Sourton Tors should be visible again directly ahead.

7. SX 543 898: A clear path extends downhill, just east of south, from Sourton Tors, before joining a track on the far side of a slight dip. Turn right to follow this track south, eventually meeting an even better track, that drops gently to pass Great Nodden (easily added to the walk by taking the obvious path straight over the top). The track continues to Nodden Gate, where you can re-trace your route back to the warmth of the Fox and Hounds bar.

Further information

PUBLIC TRANSPORT: First Devon bus 86 (0845 600 1420)

TOURIST INFORMATION: Okehampton 01837 53020; Fox and Hounds 01822 820206

NEAREST YHA: YHA Okehampton

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