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The Templer Way is a long distance path that approximates to the route by which granite quarried at Haytor on eastern Dartmoor was transported by tramway to the Stover canal near Teigngrace, thence down the River Teign to the port of Teignmouth. Recommended. The distinctive logo on waymarkers combines a tramway wheel with the tiller and rudder of a barge. Link

The National Nature Reserve at Yarner Wood, now part of the East Dartmoor Woods and Heaths NNR, was created in 1952, making it one of the first National Nature Reserves in the country.

It lies in two steep wooded valleys on the edge of Dartmoor together with the ridge in between them, and consists of 150 acres of mainly oakwood with some birch, conifers and heathland. This valuable habitat includes 33 species of butterfly and 650 species of moth, among numerous other animals, and over 300 species of lichen.

The wood is first mentioned in the C16. It was formerly extensively coppiced. It contains several historical features, including the site of Yarrow copper mine, operation in the mid-C19, the Bovey Tracey Pottery Leat which fed a pottery near the town, and several charcoal hearths.

Until 1963, when it was opened to the public, the reserve was used only for ecological research. Permits were still required by the public until 1973. It is now access woodland.

To celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of the reserve in 2012, a number of posts and branches were carved by Reece Ingram and David Brampton-Greene, two professional carvers, during a series of workshops, and these have now been installed around the wood.
Link

The Haytor Granite Tramway was built in 1820 by George Templer to transport granite from quarries at Haytor on Dartmoor to the Stover Canal and thence to Teignmouth docks (the canal had originally been built in 1792 by his father, James, to transport clay).

Most of the tramway's course can be traced using the Templer Way footpath Link , which also follows the canal and the Teign estuary to Teignmouth.

The tramway drops 400 metres in height during its 16 km route. Its use of flanged granite setts is unusual. The gauge was 1.3 metres. Oak points were used at junctions. The wooden iron-wheeled wagons were typically run in trains of twelve, hauled uphill when empty by a team of 18 horses, which also provided, together with wooden poles, the only means of braking on the downhill journey. "Accidents were not uncommon" Link .

The quarries fell into disuse by 1858 and the tramway closed Link .