Today’s walk was the most varied of the trip yet. We had ‘chocolate box’ villages- Scoriton, Horne, Jordan, Widecombe in the moor. There was the wooded Dart Valley around New Bridge. There were climbs and descents, wooded paths, and open moorland vistas.
It’s been another hot day with temperatures in the mid 20s, so we were quite glad it was a shorter this time, around eight and a half miles and a fair bit in the shade.
For me the highlight of the day was seeing a shepherd and his dog driving a herd of sheep along the road. Everyday rural life round here I’m sure, but still fascinating to see.
Up on the top, near Aish Tor, after briefly losing the trail, we found ourselves on ‘Dr Blackall’s drive’, a wide level track looking out over the hillside, apparently created by a local resident for his wife in the 1870s when she was too infirm to walk. Presumably they managed to get a horse and carriage up here so they could continue to enjoy the views over the moor together.
Later, there was the incongruous sight of some llamas, brought up to the car park in horse box. Apparently you can do walking tours with llamas if you are so inclined, although I’m not sure that I would have fancied doing today’s walk alongside a llama, even if it carried my bags.
Anyway, the day ended with a steep 1 in 5 hill down, losing almost all of the height we had gained during the day in one short stretch. There was time for a Devon cream tea at Widecombe, before we were due to be picked up to be taken back to Scoriton by the landlord of the pub at which we are staying. It turned out he originally hailed from Ilford but had given up a career in IT for a life in a Devon village. Sounds like a wise move to me. Although writing this blog and posting these photos I’m not sure what an IT expert makes of the shortcomings of English rural ‘broad’ band.
Across the Alps to the Adriatic 