WALK: Tavistock and Whitchurch Down, Devon
Winter crosses and costumes
Crunch frost underfoot on a wind-whistling walk to Dartmoor’s ancient stone monuments, before returning to town to warm the cockles with the Victorian merriment of the annual Dickensian Night, says Fi Darby
With all the hustle and bustle of the modern Christmas season, it’s easy to forget that Tavistock’s fortunes have always been firmly rooted in its stunning surrounding countryside. One of four Devon stannary towns where taxes on Dartmoor tin were once collected, Tavistock has also been a notable producer of woollen cloth, a centre for locally mined copper and an important market town.
Much has changed but the town’s famous Pannier Market, where farmers and villagers would come to sell their produce from baskets, has been operating since 1105, and is still popular with locals and visitors today.
Whitchurch Down’s position on the edge of Dartmoor is perfect for anyone seeking a wintery blast of moorland air.
This much-loved greenspace is quirky, to say the least. Where else do ponies graze golf links next to ancient stone crosses? And what other place would get away with calling a beautiful piece of Lutyens’ architecture ‘the Pimple’?
TAVISTOCK DICKENSIAN EVENING
From 5pm on 2 December 2022, the streets of Tavistock will once again be transformed into a province of festive delight. As night falls, shopkeepers and stall holders don their Victorian costumes for the town’s famous Dickensian Evening. There will be no ‘bah humbug’ here! This is a Christmas shopping experience like no other, where shopkeepers and stallholders in traditional attire peddle the very best in local foods and crafts from the surrounding Devon countryside. Expect festive fare, stilt-walkers, music and a wealth of street entertainers, as well as family fun with a Punch & Judy show and traditional merry-goround. It’s enough to make even Mr Scrooge smile!
THE ROUTE
4.2 MILES/6.7KM | 2.5 HOURS | MODERATE
1 TURN AT THE BANDSTAND
From Tavistock’s Bedford car park, walk downstream alongside the river. Just after the bandstand, cross the River Tavy on the footbridge. Continue straight up the hill and under the bridge. At the top, turn left then right, before continuing up the hill to follow a short footpath.
2 PIMPLE VIEWS
Emerge on to Whitchurch Down through the gate. Keeping the wall on your left, walk up the hill to the triangular Grade II-listed Pimple building, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, which hides the entrance to a reservoir. Admire the views towards Dartmoor’s higher tors, and watch the golfers demonstrate their skills.
3 FIRST CROSS
Head down to the lane and past the club house. Turn right at the crossroads, keeping an eye out for your first Dartmoor cross.
4 HILL TO THE QUARRY
Continue alongside this lane for 750 metres. Just before the next junction, head up the hill on your left towards a large clump of gorse. The gorse hides a small quarry and your second Dartmoor cross.
5 ACROSS THE COMMON
Back at the junction, walk alongside the lane heading west back towards Whitchurch. At the next junction, continue over the common in the same direction, keeping the wall on your left.
6 TRACK TO TAVISTOCK
Follow the wall round until you reach a tall double gate that opens on to a residential lane. At the bottom of this lane, turn right then retrace your route to Tavistock in good time for the start of its Dickensian Evening.
About the market: Tavistock Dickensian Evening, 2 December.
Jingle bells
Listen to the bells of Tavistock Parish Church ringing Grandsire Caters in Bells on Sunday. Available on BBC Sounds. bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000mbqw
Fi Darby is an outdoors writer who is happiest roaming the wilds from her home in Devon.