Dartmoor Peat Passes
Discover the fascinating history of these ancient tracks shaped by settlement, grazing, and fuel needs with Emma Cunis, a Dartmoor Guide.
Original photographs from Brian Le Messurier’s collection for the article ‘The Phillpotts Peat Passes of the Northern Fen, A Pioneer Survey’, 1965. Devonshire Association Vol. 97, Devonshire Press, Torquay
What are Peat Cuts?
Peat Cuts, or Passes, are unique to Dartmoor due to settlement locations, grazing patterns, historic domestic need for fuel and use in commercial enterprises, as well as sporting pursuits. Where peat had already eroded, artificial channels were carefully sited and dug to join up stretches of open and firm ground to enable safe passage through difficult terrain. These ancient tracks have mostly fallen out of use and into disrepair. This article explores their context, uses and future prospects.
Peat forms in cool, wet climatic conditions. Waterlogging combined with high acidity and nutrient deficiency slows microbiological activity so dead and decaying vegetation accumulates, mostly sphagnum mosses. Names of settlements and ancient tracks reveal the importance of peat and its transportation links to Dartmoor inhabitants through the ages, eg: Black Down, Black Hill, Blackabrook, Blackwood Path, Black Lane, Turf Hill, Turf Road and Stooky Moor. And, amongst other key rights, ‘turbary’ was important to commoners needing to gather and use peat for domestic fuel and cooking. Colliers also harvested and sold peat and peat charcoal for commercial use such as fuel for tin mines, for blacksmiths’ furnaces and for horticulture. Naphtha oils were also produced from peat to make candles, mothballs and gas for lighting. The fibrous top peat could be used to make paper.
MAPS STEVE GRIGG/DARTMOOR EXPLORATIONS
Cut Lane and Black Lane South are probably the earliest peat cuts, although there may be others now lost in the mists of time. The Historic Environment Record (HER) dates these to post-medieval (AD1540–1750), while Hemery posits they may be even older, perhaps Saxon, alongside the development of ancient tenements, and growth in inter- and intra-moorland travel. From 1895 to 1905 Frank (William Francis) Phillpotts developed an additional network of nine passes using local assistance to enable local hunts to ride further in pursuit of their quarry, as well as helping farmers to drive livestock across the moor.
Marker stone, Black Ridge (Photo by Emma Cunis)
Born in Okehampton in 1837, Phillpotts was a journalist and barrister in London, and enjoyed sailing and competitive horse riding, and regularly visited Dartmoor for hunting. Skilled surveying resulted in the construction of passes ranging in length from 60 metres to over a kilometre around the central basin of north Dartmoor interlinking the upper valleys near the sources of the North Teign, Tavy, Taw, East and West Dart, West Okement and Walkham rivers. Originally marked by wooden posts, short granite posts were cut at Merrivale, mounted with plaques manufactured by Vickers, Maxim, & Co., and transported by George French of Teignhead Farm using pack ponies. The plaques read
‘This stone marks a crossing through the peat, which may be of use to hunting and cattlemen: the crossing was made by Frank Phillpotts, who died October 1909. It is kept up in his memory by his brother and son.’
Cut Lane
Possibly the oldest pass, it traverses the north slope of Cut Hill to link East Dart and Tavy countries as part of the ancient North-South Track from Okehampton Moor Gate to Harford Moor Gate. Butler considered that Cut Lane might have provided an alternative route to the Lych Way. Still in regular use in the 1950s, this cut is still traceable today although very uneven, and filled with tussocky molinia. Two set stones marking its west end are easy to spot from a distance.
Cut Lane guide stones at west end
Black Lane (South)
Potentially the same era as Cut Lane, this was an essential route between Erme and Yealm countries up to the central basin, and beyond. It was definitely used by tinners, whose enterprises can be seen in the ruins of Fox Tor Gert and Wollake Hill. Two wooden guide posts mark this pass (correctly sited on Harvey Maps but not on OS maps) so it is easy to locate, but the sinuous channel is choked with molinia and reed-filled watery beds. Culverts cut to channel storm water used to be kept clear by Jack Worth of Whiteworks and John Spencer of Plymouth staying in ‘Phillpott’s Cave’ under Greenhill while carrying out the work. Views from the northern post are stunning: down across Fox Tor Mire and up as far as Fernworthy Forest and Sittaford in the north, northwest to Great Mis Tor, and east to Swincombe Head and Hameldown.
North guide post for Black Lane South looking towards Fox Tor Gert
Sand Path
HER record this stone and turf causeway as post-medieval as it was likely associated with old turf ties on Whitehorse Hill ridge where you can also find the ruins of peat cutters’ shelters including Moute’s Inn. This raised path with drainage gutters avoids boggy ground as it tracks up above the head of Watern Combe. Now just a series of broken causeways rather than a continuous path, it can be located on the Dartmoor map, but the Harvey’s Dartmoor map also usefully positions the Sand Path Link from Teignhead Farm (and thus to Chagford). Two pits recently dug by the South West Peatland Project (SWPP) are close to one section making a continuous journey difficult, although not impossible.
Sand Path
Whitehorse Peat Pass
Frank Phillpotts rejected the ancient track next to Moute’s Inn in favour of cutting a new route up to the summit of Whitehorse Hill. Widened by the military in 1963, this is the most continuously used, and therefore best-preserved, cut. The Reddaway and Heard families, among others, still move stock through this pass, and riders, walkers and the military use it regularly. As part of the nearby peat restoration works, the walls of this pass have been re-profiled. The kistvaen of a fascinating Bronze Age cremation burial can be seen near here.
The author’s grandfather in Whitehorse Peat Pass, 1955 (Photo Credit - Page 799 in High Dartmoor - Land and People by Eric Hemery)
Phil Heard's team driving cattle through Whitehorse Peat Pass (Photo Credit: Phil Heard)
Reddaways’ cattle being driven through Whitehorse Peat Pass (Photo Credit - James Reddaway)
Dart Head Cut
Easy to find by taking a compass bearing from Whitehorse Peat Pass, this short pass leads down towards the East Dart Valley. The granite markers and plaques are still in situ, and the walls were re-profiled during nearby peat restoration works. The feeling of solitude here is wondrous, and there are beautiful views down the valley and across to Black Hill.
Statts House Cut
Running southwest from nearby boat-shaped Statts House, this pass is in poor condition but still used by horse-riders – I found a lone split boot near the causewayed bottom end.
Statts House Cut showing causeway and Phillpotts marker post
Northwest Passage
This pass provides a useful route from Kit Steps en route from Postbridge and up Cut Hill and thereon to Fur Tor. Small cairns have been strategically placed along the walls to ensure safe passage in poor visibility. George Lyon-Smith informed me that the peat at the south end is too soft now to be viable for horse riders.
Johnson’s Cut
Linking with the Northwest Passage, this badly degraded causeway had clapper bridges over culverts to facilitate travel but none were visible during fieldwork in May. Don’t make the mistake of trying to find the pass by walking over Flat Tor Pen – very soggy mire!
Black Ridge Cut
This is the longest peat pass and facilitated travel on the ancient North–South Track. Strategically placed cairns aid navigation between the two Phillpotts markers. Called Brim Brook Cutting by John Hodge, he told me they used to regularly drive livestock through this pass as it provided a dry route that was better for the sheep as well as riders. George Lyon-Smith said he still guides horse riders through this pass. Again there are extraordinary views looking up towards Fur Tor, Branscombe’s Loaf, High Willhays and Yes Tor, OP15 and Hangingstone Hill.
Horse Riders through Black Ridge Cut, 1957 Country Life article by Eric Hemery (Photo Credit - From ‘Uncharted Tracks of Dartmoor’, Eric Hemery, Country Life - October 10, 1957)
Black Ridge Cut showing strategically placed cairns marking this long route and Fur Tor on the horizon
Pinswell Cut
One of the easier Phillpotts passes to walk through en route to Fur Tor from Okehampton via Dinger Tor and Black Ridge Peat Pass. It also helps to avoid the now impassable Amicombe Water section of the old North–South Track.
Walkham Head Cut
Linking firm ground between the Walkham and Tavy Heads, this pass is choked with molinia and spongy sphagnum mosses. There are no useful cairns guiding the traveller, and one of the plaques is missing from its post at the lower end. If you attempt to locate this pass from Lynch Tor, stay above the sunken amphitheatre of old turf-ties, which make for wet and treacherous walking. Cut peat was stored in the Turf House on the east slope of Lynch Tor near Black Lane North so that it could be collected by packhorses when required by Wheal Betsy copper mine on Black Down.
Huggaton Cut
Also known as Hammond’s Cut, this was a useful ancient as well as modern route from Okement Hill to Cranmere Pool for riders, walkers and commoners. Tall wooden posts placed during recent peat restoration works make this pass easy to locate. However the newly re-profiled banks and dug pits made walking down or along the cut impossible when I attempted at the end of May. DNPA have been informed, and will be investigating with SWPP.
Riders in Huggaton Cut, 1950s (Photo Credit - Page 71 High Dartmoor - Land and People by Eric Hemery)
Huggaton Cut showing new wooden markers, re-profiled banks, and nearby pits
Lamerton Lane
This failed cut was intended to cross the south slope of Black Hill from the East Dart to Rush Bottom near Little Kneeset towards what was known as ‘Lamerton Hunt Country’. A single stone stands marker to Sir Ralegh Buller Phillpotts (Frank’s son) 1920s’ attempt. Further efforts were made but abandoned 1958/9.
Tanners Path
This pass provided a route from the south to Fishlake Gully and Blacklane South and then into the central basin. There is an excellent report on this difficult-to-locate pass in Steve Grigg’s website Dartmoor Explorations. Leading his pack ponies towards Tanners Path a few years ago, Sam Goodwin said it ‘proved to be impossible... I had to back out before something went wron….’
What is the future of the Peat Passes?
Properly restored and maintained, this unique and historic network of peat passes offers invaluable access to graziers, riders and walkers. Dartmoor faces increased pressure and use from a growing population and these routes offer remote but beautiful journeys away from the ‘honeypot’ areas for those who are well prepared and suitably equipped. In their current state however, the passes are a rapidly disappearing arcane feature that few people know about or use. HER records several passes but provides no protection. OS and Harvey Maps record some passes but not all. Questions arise as to whether they should be protected, preserved and restored similar to other tracks and features such as the Lych Way, Mariners Way, Diamond Lane, Featherbed Lane and so on. If so, then who should undertake the works and maintenance? Up until 1964, the Mid Devon Hunt did regular maintenance but not any more. Should it now be up to individual landowners, commoners, DNPA, SWPP, volunteers or a combination of interested parties?
Dartmoor’s blanket bogs and valley mires are internationally important, ever more so since the declared climate emergency. But the University of Exeter recently estimated that ‘just 1% of Dartmoor’s deep peat area is healthy, peat-forming bog’ due to natural peat movements (these can occur from landslides, slope terracing, slumps, collapses of peat banks and above peat pipes, plus acidic rain) combined with historic domestic and commercial extraction, draining, grazing, burning and artillery shelling by the military. The South West Peatland Partnership (SWPP) is a £13 million project to ‘restore peatlands… that support wildlife, store carbon, manage flooding, improve water security, enhance the historic environment, and champion livelihoods.’ Areas on high Dartmoor that have already had works completed include Whitehorse Hill, Flat Tor Pen, Great Gnats Head, Ockerton Court, Black Hill, Cramber Hill, and so on. Several nearby passes had their walls re-profiled during these works. As the peat is restored and the water table rises will the peat passes be accessible to future generations? Should they instead be resigned to relics of the past leaving access and grazing rights behind for the greater good of nature and wildlife recovery? As the eternal optimist, this author’s hope is that ‘common ground’ can be established to satisfy everyone’s requirements including health and well-being, cultural heritage, farming and nature.
Article originally published in Dartmoor Magazine (Autumn, 2024)
Follow Up (February, 2025)
Last autumn, I wrote an article about Dartmoor’s historic Peat Cuts/Passes for Dartmoor Magazine. In an attempt to understand past, present, future uses and issues as well as different perspectives, I read around the subject as much as possible, attended conferences about peat restoration, walked to the peat passes to check their current condition, and talked to as many people as I could that own, graze, use, walk, ride, or have an interest in Dartmoor.
Then a few weeks ago, I was invited to join a site visit to learn about the £13m South West Peatland Partnership project in more detail. As a Dartmoor Guide, I consider it essential to learn as much as I can about this extraordinary living, working landscape and its people…and then to share facts, theories, and opinions with those interested enough to join me on guided walks, talks, and nature-connection experiences. Presenting ALL views allows people to form their own opinions and, my greatest hope is that education offers everyone the opportunity to care more about Dartmoor, and to get involved if they wish.
It’s a stark sight seeing diggers up on the high moor but we learnt a great deal during the site visit. Rachel, Martin, Jonny, Nick and Andy explained the processes in detail, showed us areas where sphagnum mosses were already starting to populate the pools, and answered our many questions and concerns along the way.
For more information about the project, https://southwestpeatlandpartnership.co.uk
References
Crossing’s Dartmoor Worker William Crossing, Peninsula Press 1992 edition
Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Two Jeremy Butler, Devon Books 1991
Dartmoor Peatland Heritage: A Bibliography Graeme Kirkham and Ralph Fyfe, 2017
Detailed GIS mapping resource of the peatlands on Dartmoor, University of Exeter (UoE) mires research team detailed maps.dartmoor.gov.uk/peatland.html
‘Hallowed Turf: Perspectives on the Conservation of Dartmoor’s Blanket Peat’ Dartmoor Society Conference, 2021
High Dartmoor – Land and People Eric Hemery, Robert Hale 1983
Letter to Western Morning News, Charles Hooley, MFH Mid-Devon Foxhounds of Chagford, 28 January 1964
Mires on the Moors Project. Science and Evidence Report 2020 exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/research/microsites/creww/miresprojectreports/CREWW_Mire_on_the_Moors_report_2020.pdf
‘Peat Passes’ Legendary Dartmoor website by Tim Sandles
South West Peatland Partnership southwestpeatlandpartnership.co.uk/
Peat Stability Risk transport.gov.scot/media/42751/appendix-102-peat-stability-risk-assessmentpdf.pdf
‘Stakeholder narratives of Dartmoor's Commons: tradition and the search for consensus in a time of change Stories from Dartmoor – hill-farming, wildlife, peatlands, historic landscapes and re-wilding: whither the Commons?’ Adrian Colston, PhD, April 2021
‘The Phillpotts Peat Passes of the Northern Fen, A Pioneer Survey’ Brian Le Messurier Devonshire Association Vol. 97, Devonshire Press, Torquay 1965
‘Uncharted Tracks of Dartmoor’ Eric Hemery Country Life 10 October 1957
Walking Dartmoor’s Ancient Tracks: A Guide to 28 Routes Eric Hemery, David & Charles 1986
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Kate Butterworth for walking with me to Black Lane South; Jim and Pauline Hamer for accompanying me to Black Ridge Peat Pass. And to the following for their insights, photographs, or copyright permissions for this article: Martin Gillard, Sam Goodwin, Phil Heard, James Reddaway, John Hodge, George Lyon-Smith, Steve Grigg, Rebecca and Robert Jordan, Francesca McGlouglin, Pauline Hamilton-Leggett and Geoff Le Messurier.
If you are interested in exploring Dartmoor’s hidden history, join Emma on a guided walk along some of the ancient peat passes. Discover the stories behind these unique tracks and experience the rugged landscape that once connected settlements and industries.