Storyteller: Wandering on Hambledon Ridge

With the recent spell of sunny weather, I took the opportunity to return to one of my favourite areas of the moor, Hambledon Ridge, for a spot of letterboxing and sightseeing.

The ridge can easily be accessed. From the south, by parking near to Wind Tor and walking along a track known locally as Church Way, which gives amazing views towards Widecombe in the Moor and its stunning old church.

From the north, you can park in a little pull-in by Firth Bridge, as marked on the Ordinance Survey map, and walk up to the ancient Bronze Age remains of Grimspound and its fascinating hut circles before attempting the climb to Hambledon Ridge itself.

At the top, you are greeted by the scattered outcrops of Hambledon Tor, a trig pillar and a more modern interpretation of a cairn, or pile of rocks, often associated with the burial of our ancestors.

From here, you get magnificent views in all directions, making the effort of ascending so worthwhile.

At the end of last year and earlier this, I had visited the southern slopes, and the northern end, around Grimspound and Hookney Tor, for letterboxing but this was the first time I’d actually scaled the heights for many years, so there was much to get reacquainted with.

Having taken some pictures, it was time to continue with my mission. Having already found two on the way up, I turned my attention towards a footpath heading down the slopes of Natsworthy Hill, in search of some more.

This route soon brought me to the first of many granite boundary stones, all marked with the initials DS for the Duke of Somerset, and the date 1854, when they were originally erected to denote the extent of his land around his manor house at Natsworthy.

This property is now used as a retreat, but back in the day, when the owners held sway over the locality, it would have been their decision to have the body of Kitty Jay buried at the crossroads that is to be found at the end of a little lane running away from the manor, and maybe it has been subsequent generations of their family who have taken it upon themselves to lay flowers, and tend her grave, as a way of showing remorse for what the then law of the land had compelled them to do.

On the opposite side of these marker stones, has been carved a name, possibly something relevant to where it is sited, like Broad Burrow, a barrow or burial mound; or Old House, another collapsed cairn that housed an old shepherd’s hut at one time; while others, that are marked on the map, have names like Gray Weather or Blue Jug, whose meanings aren’t quite so obvious.

Having managed to find a third letterbox in a gully on the hillside, pertaining to the Postman’s Path, whose route passes that way, I made my way back to the top of the ridge, and into the collapsed remains of the burial mound known as Broad Burrow, as carved on the DS stone that now despoils it.

While there, I put my mind to considering what made this particular ridge so special to our ancestors, for them to bury so many high-ranking members of the community, all along its length. There are several well-preserved enclosures in the area, that would have contained homesteads, but no signs of any stone rows or circles, that are usually associated with our ancestors and their rituals for the dead.

The presence of so many burial sites, gives Hambledon Ridge an atmosphere all of its own, you feel that you are possibly walking in a sacred landscape.

As I search for my letterboxes, my imagination often takes flight, and I wonder what it would be like to uncover an ancient artefact that has lain undiscovered under a rock, or in a peat bank for centuries.

Something exciting, like a sword or dagger, as opposed to a coin or button. Well, this is exactly what happened to Mr C. Spencer Bate in 1872. While he was excavating one of the two burial sites on Hambledon Ridge, that make up the spot known as Two Burrows, he uncovered a bronze age dagger, complete with a handle made of amber, attached by gold pins.

The value of this find just goes to prove the high status of the deceased, among the local community, back in their day. Sadly, the treasure trove was entrusted to Plymouth Museum, where it was displayed until it was destroyed when the building was struck by bombs during a World War Two air raid in 1942.

Some legends suggest that acts of such violence, death and destruction, are brought upon those who dare to desecrate the resting places of the dead on Dartmoor. At the time of such meddling, it was said that terrible noises would issue forth from the graves, in an effort to deter the sacrilege.

It is my belief that one such act of vandalism, amongst the burial sites of the Bellever area, resulted in the Hairy Hands being set loose in the surrounding landscape...

Talking of the war, this is another period of history that has left its mark on Hambledon. Positioned strategically all along the top of the ridge are a series of wooden posts, deployed as a deterrent to stop German gliders from landing, and forming a bridgehead for a potential invasion of the West Country.

This would appear to be the only part of the moor where the remains of such a strategy are still visible in such numbers. This begs the questions, if they were positioned in other areas, why, if they haven’t been removed over the years, do they not still exist in situ today, like on Hambledon? And, if only on Hambledon, what made this such an important area, worthy of such a level of protection? Why leave them there, unless they serve as a reminder to the history of this part of the country?

Another war memorial can be found on this hillside, positioned to mark the spot where several airmen lost their lives when their plane crashed, returning from a mission on March 21, 1941.

Sadly, over the years, other aircraft have come to grief on the heights of Dartmoor, in some cases, the wreckage is still present.

On my return trip along the ridge, I made one final stop at the remains of Hambledon Cross, one of the many way markers erected to mark safe passage across the more isolated and hazardous parts of Dartmoor, as featured in a recent article. I took some more photos, by the light of a nearly full moon, before returning to my car below.

Hopefully, I’ve done enough to encourage you to make your own excursion to this special landscape. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.