Today I joined a few fellow WAGs members for an attempt at getting to Dartmoor’s two highest tors, High Willhayes and Yes Tor. There were 5 of us on buggies, with 5 walkers and a dog called Twiggy. As we knew the route was going to be a bone shaker, several members including Gill gave it a miss.
We could not have wished for a better day weather wise, a glorious sunny day with a slight breeze. As we started to climb the views became more impressive, made even better with the clear blue sky.
The climb up to the point where the track ends with Yes Tor to the north and High Willhayes to the south was very difficult. Although it is a well defined track it is very rough, with loose large stones, which caused problems for the buggies. As the buggies were struggling to get traction on the loose stones, combined with the steepness of the track. It caused a couple of the buggies motors to overheat and cut out, so we had to keep stopping for a few minutes, to give the buggies motors chance to cool down.
We had to zig-zag our way across the open moor, for the last few hundred yards to High Willhays, where we stopped for lunch and it gave us and the buggies a well earned rest. With the lovely clear sky we were able to see the Atlantic Ocean off the North Cornwall coast north of Bude.
After a leisurely lunch enjoying each others company in gloriously beautiful surroundings, with lots of photos to remember the day, at least the journey back down to our starting point, at Rowtor car park would be easier for the buggy motors. At least every one managed to stay upright, although a few of us, including me were very close to tipping a couple times.
The journey back down was a lot easier for me, still a bone shaker, but I found I had a lot more control of the buggy. We all enjoyed the day but if my aching shoulders were anything to go by, I expect the others are suffering to a degree, but it was worth it, the glorious weather helped. The other factor is the lower than average rain in the last 4 months. On the final section up to High Willhayes, it was obvious that we would not have got there in wetter conditions. It’s not very often you get such ideal conditions, up on the high moor. Not a ramble I would recommend as an individual, best as a group with people who know the moor well.
