Belstone in a Crack of Sunshine

Belstone, on the northern edge of Dartmoor, is a lovely Dartmoor village and on Saturday there was a sufficiently long break in the awful weather to warrant a walk up Belstone and surrounding tors.

This weather is, frankly, depressing and any chink in its omnipresence must be embraced with gusto.

Bagged Scarey, Winter, Higher and Belstone Tors before the chink closed.  Higher Tor shows amazing sheet joints:

Higher Tor, Dartmoor

Belstone Tors show the classic smoothed granite outcrops.

Belstone Tor, Dartmoor

I have decided to create a brand new calibrated scale in the world of Geology.  Actually, to be fair, it might sit just outside of the world of Geology, but nevertheless I aim to create a definitive scale of rock "interesting-ness".  Roll your eyes by all means.

I will announce its structure and criterion shortly.  Such fun.

Water Coming Out of the Ground

Today, Sunday 16th February, sees Devon waking up to clear skies and SUNSHINE!  A brief respite to the unhinged weather we have had for, like, forever.

There is water everywhere; the ground is saturated and springs abound on Dartmoor; here's one on White Tor.  You can see the bubble of water emerging by the rock.

Spring erupting from White Tor, near Peter Tavy.

Now, do want to here an anecdote of pure irony about this weather and our particular predicament?  Of course you do...

Well, we live in an area with no mains water which means we have a borehole.

Our borehole pump stopped working so that we now have no water!  There is water all around but none in our house.  We are probably the only family using buckets to bring water IN to the house, rather than bailing it out.

Over the weekend we have had to bucket-up water from the old 1930s well and carry it to our storage tank so that we can get water in the taps for a bit.

Who'd've thought it eh?

Four Seasons in one Day on Dartmoor

Did a 9 mile walk around western Dartmoor on Sunday.  We had rain, hail, snow and sunshine along with 40 mph winds.  Very soggy bogs and dogs made for a squelchy time for all.  "Trudge" is actually onomatopoeic I've discovered.  Still, great enjoyment.

There was squall after squall of snow and hail showers; this shows Sharp and Hare Tors between squalls:

Sharp and Hare Tors, Dartmoor

At Ger Tor above Tavy Cleave, the sun shone ad gave the best view of the Cleave I've seen:

Tavy Cleave from Ger Tor, Dartmoor

I popped a panorama on the iPhone too:

iPhone panorama of Tavy Cleave from Ger Tor, Dartmoor

Storm Waves at Tintagel and Trebarwith Strand in Cornwall

Yet another storm, with combined with a 50 year storm surge high in seas off Cornwall.  Went wave watching at Tintagel and Trebarwith Strand yesterday with other hardy souls.  Had the wind and sleet thrown viciously in our faces and back sides.

The waves were yet to reach their peak, but it still made for some interesting sights.

Tintagel Head is about 54 metres high (177 feet) and the waves reached the top easily:

Tintagel Head and Storm Waves

Trebarwith Strand, further along the coast had messy, angry waves:

Storm Waves at Trebarwith Strand, Cornwall

Leeden Tor, Dartmoor - Sunshine after Hail

Very nearly got stuck in a bog this morning.  Even Cosmo sunk up to nether regions.  He loves bogs though; once out he darted around in circles splashing just for fun.  Meanwhile I'm regretting taking the shortcut towards Leeden Tor from Leather Tor.  Wielding my walking poles, I'm prodding the pretence of ground around my sinking tussock with a hint of panic whilst the dog just plays.

Only a fool thinks they can cross a bog unscathed in waterproof boots.  As Mother Nature is my witness, I am that fool.  My boots are wet.  And my socks.

Still, Leeden Tor was rather photogenic I thought.  Here are a couple of photographs for my black and white Dartmoor Tors series:

Leeden Tor on Dartmoor

Leeden Tor looking towards Sharpitor on Dartmoor