Saturday 14th April 2018. An ascent of Haytor 457.4m/67.4m and Black Hill 414.1m/33.1m, near Haytor Vale, Dartmoor, Devon. 6.2km, with 200m of ascent. 1hr 50mins.

Saturday dawned with a cold wind blowing from the east. I set off, as before, after lunch, driving to Haytor Vale on the far eastern flank of Dartmoor. The cloud was down low over the moor, and, as I parked the car below the Haytor Rocks at nearly 400m altitude, hill-fog was streaming in on the easterly wind, with visibility only at about fifty metres. Haytor is one of the most visited areas on Dartmoor (see at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haytor), and, even today, the area was busy with Saturday walkers. I was made aware of others ascending the steep grassy flank of Haytor by disembodied voices in the fog. A lofty lump of granite loomed up at me out of the mist. If it had not been for the GPS in my hand, I would have taken this as the summit tor. Luckily it was not, as getting to the top looked to be a rock climb. This was confirmed when I passed by to its western side and saw climbers preparing for a pitch.

The summit tor was over 100 metres further on. This would have been a somewhat awkward scramble to its top, had it not been for some slight steps cut into the granite, and the aid of metal rings to grip onto. With a few scrambling moves I was on the highest point. There was no view today. I descended by my route up, joining a path that worked down through the northern crags of the hill to the moor below. A group of black Dartmoor ponies were grazing there. GPS in hand, I made for Black Hill, my second and final objective for the day. I reached a quarry. Bypassing it, I followed various tracks across the misty moor. The fog had thinned a little, with visibility increasing to about a hundred metres.

Walking in hill-fog can be rather disappointing in some ways, as there are no views - one of the great attractions of hill-walking in clear weather. However, there are compensations. One's senses are heightened, and close particular things can hold an interest they would not in clear conditions. Patches of colour seem more vibrant against the grey background.

My GPS led me unerringly across the moor for just under two kilometres to the top of Black Hill. The highest point could have been anywhere, but I chose a low tor on the western side that seemed to over-top the moor a little. In contrast to Haytor, here a group of white Dartmoor ponies were grazing below the tor.

On my return, I looped round the plateau to be sure I had taken in the highest point, and then headed south to join a wide grassy track across the moor. I followed this south-east, passing a family of four in the mist. The woman was carrying a large pilot case strapped to her back, while her partner was equipped with a rucksack of standard size on his back. It was a strange sight to see on a misty moor.

I reached a lane. I followed it south to the main road and the car parks, passing a tramway with ruts carved into the stone - the Haytor Granite Tramway (see at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haytor_Granite_Tramway). The mist had not cleared throughout my afternoon hike. I resolved to visit the Haytor Rocks again some time in sunny weather in order to appreciate their granite beauty properly.