SX8077 : Templer Way bridge over Bovey Pottery Leat
taken 7 years ago, near to Brimley, Devon, England
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 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 .