Synopsis: A mishap starting out means I’m on the wrong bus, but the day works out, as I do my intended walk in reverse. A hot and humid mid-summer’s day.
Even when I'm wearing glasses I still manage to get on the wrong bus! Ah well, just another mystery tour. I'd intended to catch the express service to Plymouth, number 38, with my planned drop-off point being Buckfastleigh. I get suspicious when I do a tour of Bovey Tracey and Ashburton, whereupon I realise I'm on a number 39 bus. Ok, all is not lost, as I'm headed for Newton Abbot. There's a slim chance I can connect with a bus to Totnes, and walk from here to Buckfastleigh (so, ok, it's the reverse of what I had intended, but hey!). And yes, I did finally get to Totnes.
I had hoped to walk along the River Dart but the nice people in the Tourist Information Centre tell me that's only possible for a short stretch out of Totnes. On the fly I work out an alternative route that looks to take me through some nice countryside. A quick weather report: this turned out to be a hot and humid day with little breeze. This may not have been a long walk, but it proved very tiring.
Week - thatched cottages
My first stopping off place was Dartington, where I took a break and spent a little time browsing the glassware shop, careful all the time of my rucksac!
From Dartington I headed towards the small hamlet of Week, about 0.5km beyond Dartington. I instantly found myself in chocolate box Devon, with lovely thatched cottages lining the lanes.
Looking towards the River Dart
The fields are lovely this time of year, with the corn well grown and ripe, swaying in what little breeze there is. Much of the walk is in lanes, but these are very quiet. There appear to be the odd little gypsy like communities dotted here and there.
On approaching Buckfastleigh I noted a small grove by the river. I dropped down to the river bank to eat my lunch. Steam trains passed me by. Time for a cuppa.
Buckfastleigh Railway Station - train about to pull out of the station for trip to Totnes which takes about thirty minutes.
After lunch it was a short hop into Buckfastleigh, under the grotesque main road bridge which carves it's way through the town. I made my way to the station, where I noticed some cars of a vintage not too dissimilar to mine! I wiled away some time around the quaint old station. The station controller (fat or otherwise) was having fun on the Tannoy, probably bored. I doubt he would get away with that at Paddington!
I caught the 16.10 express (yes, number 38 this time!) out of Buckfastleigh for a quick journey back to Exeter. Doing the walk in reverse from what was intended was no bad thing, as I was able to wile away time pleasantly at Buckfastleigh Railway Station, and the bus out of here was faster than those that depart from Totnes.
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