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Today’s walk divided into two halves. In the morning, we had more Devon hamlets and churches, and a lot of hills, in ever increasing heat. In the afternoon we entered Exmoor, and followed the pretty river Barle. It was another 14 mile, seven hour walk. In the first few hours, we passed through the villagesContinue reading “Walking across Devon (and part of Somerset) from coast to coast: Day 8”

The sun re-emerged today after two days of hiding and lit up the Devon countryside as we began our walk this morning. I think that’s why I enjoyed the walk today much more than yesterday, despite the fact it was around twice as long, at some 14 miles. After a lovely stay at the MitreContinue reading “Walking across Devon from coast to coast: Day 7”

Mentally, passing the half way point of a walk is the point at which you appreciate what you have taken on – you know that you have ahead of you no more than you’ve done already. Unless of course all the tough terrain is saved to the end! Last night we passed the half wayContinue reading “Walking across Devon from coast to coast: Day 6”

Overnight the weather had changed completely and we awoke to an eerie, misty morning with just a touch of drizzle. Very different from the days up until now. We set off from Chagford, heading back down to join the Two Moors Way at the River Teign below. The next part of the walk was, forContinue reading “Walking across Devon from coast to coast: Day 5”

Forecasters had warned that today could be the hottest ever June day in Britain. So we were quite relieved to find that when we were dropped off back at the top of the hill above Widecombe to resume our walk, there was a fresh breeze. In fact, for about the first seven or eight milesContinue reading “Walking across Devon from coast to coast: Day 4”

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 weContinue reading “Walking across Devon from coast to coast: Day 3”

Today we started on the Two Moors Way proper, after yesterday’s introductory day on the Erme-Plym trail. Within ten minutes of leaving Ivybridge, we passed an inauspicious stone marking in the bushes indicating the start of the Two Moors route, and shortly after entered Dartmoor national park. We climbed up onto the moor, and immediatelyContinue reading “Walking across Devon from coast to coast: Day 2”

There’s more to Devon than cream teas, pasties, fish and donkeys on the beach. I’ve always been conscious of that, but up until now, I haven’t spent a huge amount of time there, to get a true flavour of the county. With two national parks, Dartmoor and Exmoor, and miles of glorious coast line, notContinue reading “Walking across Devon from coast to coast: Day 1”

When you are about to embark on an undertaking like a big trek, it seems an ideal opportunity to raise some money for a good cause that has particular meaning to you. Now there are many different charities I could have chosen, but I wanted to pick something urgent, less high profile, and perhaps henceContinue reading “The plight of the pangolin”

The end of April, I have heard from several people this week, is one of the best times of year to visit the Lake district. It certainly seemed so this year, when I encountered four days of dry, sunny weather, pleasant but not too hot temperatures, and modest but not overwhelming numbers of visitors. FourContinue reading “Fells, lakes and the kindness of strangers”