Sunday 16th October 2016

We went for a walk on the moor today. Starting from Haytor we walked the short distance to Haytor Quarry. The granite quarried here was used to build, among other things, the British Museum and London Bridge.

The ponds in the quarry have water lilies growing in them.

The quarried stones were taken by granite tramway down off the moor and loaded onto barges to be taken down the Stover Canal and Teign Estuary to Teignmouth where they were loaded onto ships to be taken along the south coast and round into the Thames Estuary and into London. Quarrying here stopped in 1858.

From Haytor Quarry we moved on to Smallacombe Rocks where the remains of this prehistoric house is situated.

From Smallacombe Rocks there are great views west to Greator Rocks and Hound Tor.

Next we visited Holwell Quarry which is also on its own branch of granite tramway.

Finally we returned to Haytor.

Haytor is a real tourist trap - you wouldn't think it from this photo but there were lots of people around this afternoon.

We wanted to go abroad in our camper van at the end of September but this got put off when my GP referred me to the hospital in Exeter with a suspicious spot which he didn't like the look of! The dermatology department decided it was cancer but didn't think that they were competent to remove it so they have referred me to another department in the hospital who can hopefully operate successfully. Still hoping to be able to set off travelling soon..