The time to go to Dartmoor is when there's a heatwave and the weather is guaranteed for a week ahead. And the time to set off is 04.30 am. On a Sunday morning with not a car around.

So at 7.30 am we arrived at Okehampton, the centre of the north part of Darmoor, and walked up and down the empty street looking for a well-deserved breakfast. Yes Weatherspoons was open and yes after only a few minutes the full English arrived to make the day ahead a certain success.

After studying the map, by half past eight we were out on the sunny moorland, soft and dry underfoot, looking for the Pools the book said were 'just near the bridge'...Pushing through a friendly herd of highand cattle cooling their hooves in the stream, we heard the cries of children and suddenly saw the pond with a few bold swimmers diving in. 

It all seemed fine and so made for a lower isolated pool and pushing aside the bracken and seeking a handy shadey tree, walked into another pool below an icy tinkling waterfall. So nice. So energising and still only 9.30 ! 

Surrounded by the quintessential Tors that could only be Dartmoor we went in three times and looked at the map to see if there mightbe another handy swimming point.  Read on.....