Eastern White Barrow

Also known as:
Eastern Whitaburrow
Nearest town:
Buckfastleigh (7km ENE)
OS reference:
SX665651
OS sheet:
202
Latitude:
50° 28' 11.6 N
Longitude:
3° 52' 53.12 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Eastern White Barrow (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Despite having viewed it from Heap of Sinners a few years back now – that impression making an eventual visit an imperative – I was not prepared for the sheer size of this beauty... wondrous!

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN May 31, 2024
Image of Eastern White Barrow (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Looking towards the ‘Western White Barrow’ some 3/4 of a mile to the, er, west. Quite an additional extension, but it had to be done. NOT a place to be caught in poor visibility....

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN May 31, 2024
Image of Eastern White Barrow (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Shame about the ‘conning tower’, apparently erected by troops during WW2? Guess we can allow those guys a little leeway in the circumstances....

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN May 31, 2024
Image of Eastern White Barrow (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Looking toward Puper’s Hill (right skyline) and the great ‘Heap of Sinners’ upon Huntingdon Warren (centre, left).

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN May 31, 2024
Image of Eastern White Barrow (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

At (apparently) almost 12ft in height, this is among Dartmoor’s finest cairns...

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN May 31, 2024
Image of Eastern White Barrow (Cairn(s)) by Lubin

The cairn sits on a hill high above the Avon Dam and is prominent on the skyline . It is one of many cairns in the area that have been modified by walkers who do not realise the cairn are listed monuments.

Image credit: Peter Castle. ©
Lubin
Lubin May 6, 2007

Articles

The Whitaburrows – east and west

For Petre’s sake! How big is the eastern?

GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 25, 2024

Miscellaneous

Eastern White Barrow
Cairn(s)
GLADMAN
GLADMAN May 31, 2024

I approached from the large car park at Shipley Bridge to the approx south-east (SX 681629), a formerly pleasing starting point which is sadly now being used as a revenue cash cow for the National Park... biting the hand that feeds... of tourists bound for the Avon Dam Reservoir and serious walkers alike... and, furthermore, disproportionately impacting access to the countryside for the less well off, for which £4 is a significant additional outlay. Yeah, speaking to a number of locals passing by, the car park charge is apparently VERY unpopular with residents. But since when did the wishes of people who actually live in the locale count for anything? So... given that fiscal targets must be met to provide creature comforts for tourists, at the very least the machine MUST be able to accept card payments!!! My lack of cash placed me in quite a dilemma until a local stepped in to assist me. Shame on those incompetents failing to maintain this ‘facility’ and discriminating against those not meeting their limited criteria. Simply not good enough.

That negativity aside, the trek to c1,548ft Quickbeam Hill is upon a clearly defined, gently rising path, so should offer no technical difficulties except in poor weather. Note, however, that the main track does not directly access the cairn, the intervening terrain proving rather hard going. In retrospect, it’s probably a good idea to gain the crest of the ridge sooner, rather than later, in order to minimise this. Or perhaps I’m simply getting old?

As for the cairn:

Despite being aware it is a ‘whopper’ from the distant view enjoyed from the ‘Heap of Sinners’ cairn upon Huntingdon Warren a few years back, I’m nevertheless pretty well overwhelmed upon arrival by just how big it actually is. The views to be had from the summit are far-reaching, the isolated upland vibe exquisite. Historic England notes:

“This monument includes a round cairn known as Eastern White Barrow situated on a prominent ridge on the north eastern side of Quickbeam Hill. The cairn survives as a circular stony mound measuring up to [c85ft] 26m in diameter and [11.5ft] 3.5m high. A secondary cylindrical marker cairn is situated on top of the summit allegedly built by soldiers during the Second World War. In 1240, 1609 and 1796 the cairn was one of the bounds of the Forest of Dartmoor.”

Sites within 20km of Eastern White Barrow

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