As well as cycle rides I am also managing to get out walking around the Moors and the Devon lanes.
Most of the lanes around this location are sunken lanes having been used for many many years.
I do enjoy walking these lanes but one of their drawbacks is that you don't get much of a view.
During the summer it's more of an annoyance than it is at this time of the year because with all the gales that we have had and are still having it does offer a lot of protection from the winds.
When you leave the banks and hedges that is the sanctuary of the sunken lanes and get out on to the open moorland you really notice the difference.
The shield that the lanes provide you with can make the walk a lot more pleasant in the bitterly cold winds that we get at this time of year.
As you move out on to the edge of the moor as well as feeling the wind a lot more you can also come across Dartmoor ponies.
These animals as well as the sheep which seem to be everywhere on the moor have total freedom to roam.
They are contained on the moor by the use of cattle grids on the roads but the animals don't have any road sense at all.
As you drive or cycle along you have to be prepared for them to wander out across the road in front of you.
Every so often you will see signs like the one above giving a running total on the number of sheep and ponies that have been killed on that stretch of road by idiot speeding drivers.
The sign above indicates that during 2019 eight sheep and four ponies were killed and that section of road is only just over a mile long...
If you come to Dartmoor for a visit just remember to take it slowly on the moorland roads.....
I do enjoy walking these lanes but one of their drawbacks is that you don't get much of a view.
During the summer it's more of an annoyance than it is at this time of the year because with all the gales that we have had and are still having it does offer a lot of protection from the winds.
The shield that the lanes provide you with can make the walk a lot more pleasant in the bitterly cold winds that we get at this time of year.
These animals as well as the sheep which seem to be everywhere on the moor have total freedom to roam.
They are contained on the moor by the use of cattle grids on the roads but the animals don't have any road sense at all.
As you drive or cycle along you have to be prepared for them to wander out across the road in front of you.
The sign above indicates that during 2019 eight sheep and four ponies were killed and that section of road is only just over a mile long...
If you come to Dartmoor for a visit just remember to take it slowly on the moorland roads.....
2 comments:
I like these old lanes, and imagining what / who has travelled them. Do you do the test to work out how old they are?
I didn't realize that there was a test Dave. I walked a lot of 'holloways' when I lived in Dorset and have read a number of books about them but always understood that putting an accurate age on them was difficult due to too many variables....I would be interested to know more about the test.....
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