On Easter Saturday 11 Club members and family gathered at the car park between Sharpitor and Leeden Tor on Dartmoor for an informal social walk. We set off to the disused Yelverton to Princetown railway on a warm sunny morning. On reaching the railway we turned towards Princetown with the possibility of hearing a cuckoo. At Ingra Tor we entered the disused quarry to look at the quarry and remains of the workings.

Moving on along the old track bed we heard a cuckoo way off to our left and as we progressed we managed to locate the bird and see it in a tree to give us a good view of it through binoculars. We rounded a bend where the original tramway took a different course and took a short cut to Foggintor Quarry, an ideal place for our picnic.

After we had our picnic lunch in the peaceful quarry we returned the the railway track and made our way towards King’s Tor and Swelltor. On this stretch we stopped to inspect worked granite corpels that were made as spares when London Bridge was widened in 1903.

After marvelling at the size and amount of work to make these corbels only to be left on the moor we continued along the track to near Leeden Tor where we turned off the track and made our way up to Leeden Tor and down to the car park past a sizeable Bronze age settlement of hut circles. Back at the car park some of us took the opportunity to treat ourselves to an ice-cream.

We were lucky with the weather, the good company and with the interesting historical features on the route which made for a very enjoyable walk capped by the sighting of a cuckoo.

Following this enjoyable outing another walk is planned for the Spring Bank Holiday Saturday 25th May, start time 10:30. This will be on Dartmoor again and will take in the Bronze Age monuments at Merrivale. We will gather at the Four Winds car park on the B3357 Tavistock to Postbridge road, grid reference SX 5606 7489. From there we will explore the area around the stone rows and further afield as time weather and stamina allows. Appropriate clothing will be needed, walking boots and waterproofs and a packed lunch plus drinks, no dogs please as it is lambing and ground nesting bird time. The car park is the one with trees around it.For further information please ask Jim.