21.02.2025

I had been parked up in Ivybridge for a few days waiting for the rain to stop. My luck changed at 1pm when the rain abated and from the weather forecast I judged I had enough of a good weather window to set off on a three and a half hour walk up to Butterdon and Piles Hill. These were the two most southerly stone rows and the last I would visit on Dartmoor.

I headed up through town passing the Stowford Paper Mill and found a quiet lane with high stone walls covered with thick green moss. At the end a five bar gate had signs warning walkers to keep to the path to avoid unnecessary erosion and to keep to the swards of firm ground. This was all very well but I had heard from locals about deep bogs called Quakers or Feather Beds hidden by a thin cover of Sphagnum moss that lay in wait for unsuspecting hikers. Beyond the gate the moor opened up before me with a choice of three paths leading off into the mist. I took the middle one which climbed gently up through fern and gorse past rocky outcrops to Butterdon Hill. I made slow progress and had to stop a few times to catch my breath. It felt desolate and eerie and just when I felt a strong sense of isolation, two ghostly figures suddenly emerged from the mist near a trig point before being enveloped in the mist once again.