BACK TO BUCKFAST

FARM JUST OUTSIDE OF OKEHAMPTON

BY MELDON VIADUCT

TURNING OFF THE GRANITE WAY AT SOURTON

THE QUIRKY HIGHWAYMAN INN IN SOURTON

SIDE VIEW OF HIGHWAYMAN INN

SERVICE AT THE HIGHWAYMAN INN WAS DEAD SLOW

TAVISTOCK'S PANNIER MARKET

THE PLUME OF FEATHERS IN PRINCETOWN

OUR MOORLAND HOTEL

AHHHHH!

LOOKING ALONG DART RIVER FROM DARTMOUTH CASTLE

Alan, the landlord of the Fountain Inn, prepared us an excellent breakfast. We departed Okehampton, refreshed after our comfortable night, and proceeded in a south-westerly direction. Our first port-of-call was Meldon Viaduct, which we reached by leaving the official Dartmoor Way route and climbing through a wood beautifully carpeted with bluebells.

The intricate steel framework of Meldon Viaduct was impressive. We walked across it, effectively joining a cycling route called the Granite Way. We decided to stay on this easy-going tarmacked path for a couple of miles until we reached Sourton to rejoin the Dartmoor Way. At Sourton we came across this incredibly quirky pub called The Highwayman Inn. The front entrance was like a horse-drawn coach and the side of the building looked like a huge shoe. Indoors, one room was decorated like a wooden ship and the other rooms were stuffed with all manner of strange objects. The bars were made of driftwood with coins stuffed into the cracks. The only disappointment was that they charged a whopping £3 for a pint of lime and soda, three times what other pubs had charged us, and they didn't put enough lime in it either.

From Sourton we continued to Lydford where we had hoped to walk through the famous gorge. We hadn't realised that it was run by the National Trust though, and we weren't going to pay £9.80 each just to stroll through. We did get glimpses of what it was like from Lydford Bridge though.

Shortly after, we reached Gibbet Hill, just north of Mary Tavy, and after a brief search of the southern slopes found a suitable place to camp. The location was excellent but it was cold again and Rubi didn't get much sleep.

In the morning we picked up some supplies from the friendly people in Mary Tavy's Post Office and General Store, and continued south to Tavistock. Rubi was walking noticeably more slowly after, what was now, our seventh consecutive day of walking. Thus, on reaching Tavistock at around 1.00pm, we agreed that it was time for a break and we booked into The Queen's Head, the local Wetherspoon's pub, for the night. This meant that we could wander around pretty Tavistock in the afternoon without heavy rucksacks on our backs. We particularly liked the so called Pannier Market and Rubi, as usual, couldn't pass a charity shop without going in.

Our room in the Queen's Head was superb and we had one of our most comfortable and restful nights so far.

Next morning we made our way out of Tavistock via the cricket ground and golf course. We followed the Dartmoor Way through Sampford Spiney onto the moorland of Walkhampton Common beyond. By crossing open moorland and following the route of a dismantled railway, we eventually reached Princetown, home of the infamous Dartmoor Prison and the famous Dartmoor Brewery. Naturally, I felt it my duty to visit the Plume of Feathers Inn and partake of a pint of Dartmoor Brewery's Jail Ale.

To reach a suitable wildcamping site we needed to continue our walk eastwards for a couple more hours. After crossing the River Swanscombe we once again left the official Dartmoor Way to go 'off piste' again. With no path, we were forced to step over rough tussocks of grass as we climbed up Down Ridge. On the eastern flank we found a suitable site to place our tent by an old stone cross and a cairn. Apparently, these stone crosses are ancient navigational aids to help folk cross the bleak moor.

Yet another cold night was ahead of us, but at least this would be the last one on this trek. In the morning, I decided that to minimise climbing we should initially head south to Skir Hill before continuing east across the moor to meet with the Sandy Way track. This was really barren moorland, almost featureless, and walking across the rough pathless terrain was slow going. However my navigation was good and eventually we descended into the village of Michelcombe without incident or injury.

From there, we quickly regained the Dartmoor Way just south of Holne and repeated a section of the walk that we had previously shared with our Hampshire Walking Group pals. This took is all the way back to Buckfast Abbey. The car was still there.

Shedding our rucksacks, we had a last look around the Abbey and purchased a bottle of the famous Buckfast Tonic Wine before driving down to Dartmouth for a weekend of rest. This was particularly well-deserved in Rubi's case as she had never attempted a long distance walk like the Dartmoor Way before.She said that her feet were still aching when we visited Dartmouth Castle on the Saturday.

DOING THE DARTMOOR WAY

FOLLOW THE BLUE LINE (ROUGHLY)

BURNT OUT CHURCH NEAR CHURCHILL'S FARM

BY HAYTOR ROCK

BRIDGE OVER BECKA BROOK

FARMER WITH A SENSE OF HUMOUR

OXENHAM ARMS IN SOUTH ZEAL

TOUGH WALKING - ONE OF US MIGHT NEED THIS SOON

RUBY MAKES FRIENDS EASILY

Just outside the gate of Churchill's Farm is the burnt out shell of the Church of the Holy Trinity, apparently destroyed by an arsonist. Stories of evil and devil worship are associated with the church, which may explain why it was attacked. Only the tower and spire have been restored, but the church is still consecrated and useable for open-air services.

Leaving Churchill's Farm, we drove down to Northgate House car park. The hotel had kindly agreed that we could leave the car here for a week as we walked the Dartmoor Way.

The Dartmoor Way is a 90 mile long-distance circular walking route that visits many of the towns on the edge of Dartmoor National Park as well as passing through many moorland areas. Rubi and I would undertake this route in an anticlockwise direction over a period of a week, taking a tent and wildcamping on some nights.

We started our walk by passing through the grounds of Buckfast Abbey, crossing the Dartmoor Bridge and heading north to Ashburton. Near to Ashburton we met a couple who were navigationally displaced so we guided them to the town centre where we took our first break.

The route of the Dartmoor Way assumes that you will need a B&B at the end of each day, and the next stop was Bovey Tracey. Rubi, however, suggested that since we would not be staying there we could perhaps improve upon the route by going somewhere more interesting. Thus, we changed our direction somewhere around Sigford and headed straight for Haytor Rocks. I was pleased to be off the roads, farm tracks and footpaths and into open moorland at last.

It was starting to get late by the time we reached Haytor Rocks, but we continued on past Haytor Quarries to reach the north side of Haytor Down where we were permitted to wildcamp. Rubi found a nice flat spot protected from the wind by gorse bushes.

It was rather cool overnight so we were pleased to be greeted by the sun streaming into the tent in the morning.

We had departed from the 'official' Dartmoor Way and now had to rejoin it, which involved a difficult trek down Black Hill and through the scrub of Trendlebere Down until we found a linking path in Houndtor Wood that took us to a bridge over Becka Brook.

Lunch was enjoyed on the village green North Bovey, but were unable to replenish our water. We continued on to Moretonhampstead before deciding that suitable camping sites near Chagford, our target for the day, would be unreachable in daylight. Thus, we decided to forego the section of the Dartmoor Way that took us past Castle Drogo and instead walk more directly to Nattadon Common, just south of Chagford, where we were able to settle down for the reasonably comfortable night.

In the morning we took the short walk into Chagford to replenish our food stocks, then followed the Dartmoor Way north-west to charming South Zeal, famous for the 840 year old Oxenham Arms and the Methodist Chapel located in the middle of the road, and on the Sticklepath where we ate lunch and enjoyed a pint each of lime and soda at the Taw River Inn.

The afternoon walk between Sticklepath and Okehampton via Belstone was particularly pleasant, especially since we were under no pressure, having booked a night in Okehampton's Fountain Inn. Absolute luxury after two nights in the tent! Also, having existed on cold food for two nights, we were pleased for the opportunity to pig out at the local Wetherspoon's. Rubi had a large mixed grill (but she did share much of it with me).

HAMPSHIRE WALKING GROUP IN DEVON

WHOOPS!

AMAZING BUCKFAST ABBEY

INSIDE BUCKFAST ABBEY

HAMPSHIRE WALKING GROUP

TREE NYMPH

TREE MONSTER

HAMPSHIRE WALKING GROUP ON SHARP TOR

THIS ONE MUST HAVE JUMPED OVER THE FENCE

The week didn't start that well. I gave the car some cosmetic surgery by scraping the passenger side doors against a post. Sadly, the procedure was unsuccessful as it didn't improve the car's looks. On the positive side, the car is still fully functional and safe to drive, and the chances of anyone wanting to steal it had diminished somewhat.

Anyway, having got over that little trauma, on Thursday (the day before Good Friday) Rubi and I headed down to Buckfastleigh to join other members of the Hampshire Walking Group who were gathering there for an Easter long-weekend of walking. Many were staying at 'Churchill's Farm', the local campsite, and Rubi assumed we would be camping there too. As a surprise, however, I had booked our first night at Northgate House, a superb hotel located in the grounds of Buckfast Abbey.

We arrived just after 10.00am, giving us time to look around the Abbey before the first group walk at 1.00pm. The Abbey is suburb, and the story of it having been built on the foundations of an earlier one by 6 monks who dedicated 30 years of their lives to the task is incredible, especially when only one had any previous building experience.

At around midday we strolled down to Buckfastleigh village centre where we joined the other walkers at The Globe Inn. The walk itself was a little over 8 miles and took as alongside the River Dart before heading West to Holne. Our return route followed a part of the Dartmoor Way, which was coincidental because this was the long distance path which we were planning to commence on Saturday. I'll explain more about that in the next post. Anyway, after a shower and supper (the latter prepared and eaten in Buckfastleigh village car park) we rejoined the walking group in the Globe.

The following day, after enjoying Buckfast Abbey's excellent breakfast, we paid our bill and drove to a car park at New Bridge, just north of Holne, to join another group walk of nearly 10 miles. The route followed the River Dart north as far as Dartmeet, then looped back across Yartor Down and Sharp Tor before returning to the car park via the Two Moors Way.

On our second night we car-camped at Churchill's Farm. Richard, one of our fellow walkers, invited us and another walker, Fiona, to join him for a barbecue, which was definitely a superior option to spending the evening in the local pub. Richard's generous G&T's provided excellent lubrication for the evening's conversation.

In the morning we arose in time to bid farewell to our friends as they departed for their third day of walking. We, however, had our own plans.