Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Granite Way
Start
Okehampton YHA
End
Okehampton YHA
Length
12 miles (return); four hours
Dartmoor's now tranquil wilderness used to bustle with quarrying and mining; this traffic-free, relatively level
ride teams striking scenery with insights into that past.
The Granite Way traces the route of a railway line, built to shuttle industrial cargoes off the moor. Hire a bike
from
Adventure Okehampton
(p) and head downhill, under the railway bridge, turning left onto the Granite
Way (National Cycle Route 27). Shadow the railway line, forking left under a stone bridge; soon
Okehamp-
ton Castle's
(p) ruins emerge on your right. A bit further on, head left through the
gate
, under the busy A30.
After
Meldon Quarry's
Dr Who
-esque landscape of rocks and waste piles, a ridge of tors emerges, includ-
ing Dartmoor's highest point: High Wilhays (621m).
Meldon Buffet
, a cafe/visitor centre in former railway
carriages makes an unusual tea stop, just before the
Meldon Viaduct
; an 1874 steel structure spanning 165m
with views of the deep tor-fringed valley ahead. Next detour left (signed Meldon Reservoir) to 45m high
Meldon Dam
, a reservoir with waterside walking trails. Back on the main Granite Way, cycle south, dog-legging
beside a cattle grid, where the landscape suddenly widens, exposing open moorland sweeping up to Sourton Tors.
Explore the 14th-century
St Thomas a Becket church
at Sourton, which pops up beside the track. Eventu-
ally multi-arched, granite
Lake Viaduct
appears; a stunning structure offering more gorse moorland views.
Soon, a sign points left towards the Bearslake Inn; a steep path onto a rough track which leads under the viaduct
itself, over wooden bridges and beside a stream, before emerging at the thatched
Bearslake Inn
, which
serves classy bar food (12.30pm to 2pm and 6pm to 9pm). Then, retrace your steps back to the Granite Way, and
Okehampton. You're nearly home when the precarious ruins of Okehampton Castle peel into view.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Okehampton
POP 5922
Okehampton has a staging post feel. The town huddles on the edge of an uninhabited tract
of bracken-covered slopes and granite tors - a mind-expanding landscape known as the
higher moor. With traditional shops and pubs, it's a good place to stock up before a foray
into the wilderness.
Sights & Activities
Okehampton Castle
CASTLE
