OUTDOORS AND ACTIVE
Out and About with Tavistock Ramblers An easy 4½-mile walk with John Noblet of Tavistock Ramblers, with great views to blow the winter cobwebs away. The granite quarries around Princetown were a major source of employment up until the 1930s and a few, such as one at Merrivale, continued until the 1990s. There was a whole community here with houses for workers’ families, a chapel and a school. This walk, mostly on old tramway and railway tracks, visits the two larger quarries whilst enjoying superb views as far as the sea. Start at the small parking area at the end of the track to Yellowmeade Farm on the Tavistock to Princetown road almost opposite the old pump house building. (SX567750)
1. Walk along the track towards Yellowmeade Farm with views to the west towards the Cornish hills of Bodmin Moor. Soon, you see two conifers rather out of place in this moorland landscape - this was the site of a row of cottages for quarry workers. The track to a small quarry on the right is still visible.
Pass the entrance to Yellowmeade Farm and the granite sleepers for the old tramway are obvious as the huge waste
tip (known as Big Tip) for Foggintor quarry grows closer. Opposite Big Tip and the remains of the row of cottages is one of the entrances to the quarry. If you venture in, take heed of the warning sign as the quarry is flooded. There are remains of more ruined buildings, loading platforms and spoil heaps before reaching another entrance to the quarry workings. The track is sometimes flooded here but only for a short distance.
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