Haytor Quarry

We found it! We did'nt actually, Sandy had been there on a couple of previous occasions so we elected her as our leader on this excursion, after meeting for coffee at Cafe 360 in Bovey Tracey first. Surrounded by gel seats & lycra, it's where many of the cycling fraternity meet up somewhere along their cycle route, many of them heading up onto the moor, & around. They're tough, & fit. One group wore Okehampton Cycle Club kit, a few donning their Dartmoor Devil tops. They've certainly hit on a winning formula at the cafe as it's always busy, not only cyclists either. A good menu & great vibe. Jos paid for coffee. Sandy drove & paid for parking, I paid for the icecreams, our dessert after picnicking sat beside the disused quarry pond.  Dragons & damsels, newts, tadpoles, tiny black frogs, waterlilies, beautiful plants, & a Northern Wheatear spotted on a rock. A first for me.  Many mares with foals at foot, not to warm ... It was a perfect few hours spent with friends.
The quarry extracted granite which was transported along a granite tramway from Haytor down to the Bovey Basin where it was then transferred onto barges for it's destination down to Teignmouth docks where it would have been loaded on to ships. Granite from the quarry was used in the construction of Nelson's Column, London. The complete route ( The Templar Way) can be walked at low ride. A walk that Mum, Bavers, & myself did in two stages about 15 years ago.