Sheepstor Cross

Sheepstor Cross stands on the village green at Sheepstor on Dartmoor in England's westcountry.

A number of ancient Ways traverse the treacherous marshes and mires of the moor, most notably the Abbot's Way which leads from Buckfast Abbey to Buckland Abbey. In the northern part of the moor are Cut Lane, King's Way, and the Lich Path. Other named tracks are Church Way, Drift Lane, Dartmoor Path, Lydford Path and 2 Black Lanes, as described in detail in Crossing's Guide to Dartmoor.

Each of these track names serve to tell us something of their history - and the two "Black" lanes are particularly interesting in view of Alfred Watkins' researches relating to place names in The Old Straight Track, where he concludes that the words black and cole / coal in place names may indicate a geomantic origin.