Synopsis: A river crossing by Lopwell Dam which I was lucky to make. A quick tour of Buckland Abbey and then out to Great North Wood for my return route to Bere Alston to pick up my train home.
** This walk contains a health warning! ** I say that because, unlike me, if you are considering walking this way it is important to check the tide times prior to setting out, as I explain below.
This has got to be ridiculous! getting up at 4:30am to do a walk! I set my alarm the previous night wondering if it could possibly be enough to get me out of bed the following morning. Well, it was; there’s dedication for you. I was down Sowton and Digby, my local rail station, in time to catch the 6:29 train on the first leg of my journey to Bere Alston. The journey involved two changes, one at St David’s, Exeter, the other at Plymouth. I was at Bere Alston on schedule, ready to start my walk a little after 9am, which I thought was pretty good going.
Train journey: Exeter to Bere Alston - approaching Teignmouth
As always, I enjoyed the train journey itself, because I got to relax and watch majestic views stream by my carriage window. I particularly like the stretch down the Exe Estuary, along the coast, and up the Teign Estuary. The sun was sending out shafts of light from behind the clouds as I travelled.
Train journey: Exeter to Bere Alston - Bere Alston Railway Station
The train journey from Plymouth up the River Tamar is also delightful, with views of the naval docks, the bridges that span the river, and the countryside through which the river flows. It took me just a little while to find my way upon leaving the station, which appears to sit in the middle of nowhere, just a little beyond the perimeter of Bere Alston, and this was rather disorienting. My walk route was immediately adjacent to the car parking area; it was simply well hidden behind some vegetation.
I dropped into a small woods then picked up a footpath towards Bere Alston, upon which I was set upon by a couple of dogs, paying absolutely no heed to their owner’s attempts to call them back. There they were snarling and showing their teeth in an aggressive manner. Their owner told me they were ‘strays from the dog sanctuary’, as if that excused their nasty behaviour. I really do think if people are to own dogs they should be able to control them. Anyway, after a few cross words with their owner, I, thanks to a fence between us, was able to proceed into Bere Alston none the worse for this encounter with these rabid dogs.
Views of the River Tamar
I was soon through Bere Alston village and headed out along a lane into the countryside. The sun was shining and the day was already warm, and, believe it or not, it felt like summer. There were some fantastic views of the River Tamar to be glimpsed through the trees that lined the lane, but it was very difficult to get a good shot of the view.
Path leading down through woods to the crossing of the River Tavy at the tidal ford at Lopwell
It wasn’t long before I turned off left from the lane and was descending into a wooded valley. At this point a rather startling sound accosted my ears, which rather brought to mind the sound to be heard at Niagara Falls. Ok, it wasn’t quite on that scale, but there was a definite sound of rushing water that left me rather daunted. Would I, or would I not, be able to cross the river at Lopwell? I have always known that there is a considerable span of stepping stones to cross the river at this point, but was not sure quite what form these would take.
Lopwell - ladies crossing the tidal ford, one requiring some encouragement
When finally I emerged from my rather muddy woodland track Lopwell Dam and its stepping stones become visible, whereupon I see for the first time the crossing I must make. Four ladies are making this same crossing but in the opposite direction, one needing to be coaxed across by being led by one of the other ladies. I asked if I might get similar assistance across, but it was clear I was on my own. To be honest, the crossing is very easy, as the ‘stones’ are continous, and although wet after a high tide, are wide and steady, and it was little different to crossing a footbridge.
Lopwell - my mid-morning resting place
My ‘health warning’ that I mentioned at the start of this blog post is simply this: the crossing at Lopwell is tidal and it’s very important to check tide times if you intend to use this crossing. I was lucky, high tide, as I could see from the train, had been at 7am, therefore I reached the river crossing on a tide that had well receded, by the time of 10:40am when I had arrived at the crossing point. The stone walk way was still wet from the morning’s high tide, and the water mark on the wall indicated all too well just how high the tide had been earlier that morning. I was plain lucky, as this could all so easily have been where I did an about turn.
If you should get it wrong, ‘Caught by the tide!’ could be you.
Forget the fact that I’ve been wittering on some, as the crossing place at Lopwell is in fact a beautiful and tranquil place, and I stopped for a quick mid-morning break on this bench (see photo above), just to soak up something of the atmosphere of the place.
I then picked up a path, through a woods. At this point I was not too sure of my direction, since my first ‘speculative’ intention had been to follow a track that was barred by a rather formidable set of locked gates attached to the dam. The path I entered on was just 5 metres from these gates, but precisely where it would lead me was uncertain, but it was in my general direction. A sign welcomes me into the woods at my point of entry but gives no further information.
My course along this path started out fine but a little way along it it did become decidedly muddy, but I ploughed on regardless. I then stumbled upon what I presume to be a grouse hatchery as there were a couple of feeders around which there were dozens of the birds. A sign suggested progress from here was unwelcome, but I could see I was only a short distance from the lane and there was a track of about a hundred metres that would get my up onto it, so I chose to follow that.
Milton Combe - the Who'd Have Thought It Inn - Who'd have thought what, I don't know
The lane I then followed led me into the rather pretty village of Milton Combe. A single street village, and that street being narrow and twisting, was lined with a mix of old cottages and modern bungalows. There’s a rather oddly named “Who’d have thought it?” Inn in this village which looks rather quaint, but I didn’t enter as time was limited for me.
Buckland Abbey (NT) - my lunch stop
It’s rather a steep climb out of Milton Combe but once at the top of the lane I picked up a footpath which guided me down a gentle slope in the direction of Buckland Abbey. It was by now mid-day, so I sought out this bench in the shade looking towards the south side of the Abbey and enjoyed the view whilst eating my lunch.
Buckland Abbey (NT) - Thought to represent Amicia, Countess of Devon, who founded the Abbey in 1278
There is this sculpture that, whilst subsequently chatting with a lady in the chapel, I was told that it is thought to represent Amicia, Countess of Devon, who founded the Abbey in 1278. I did a quick tour of the abbey, allowing myself an hour, just time for a sampler but not to really do the house justice. I had a train to catch at 16:05 from a station four miles away which meant I needed to be headed on my way by 14:00 allowing only an hour to look around the house.
Buckland Abbey (NT) - second floor at level with old church vaulting
The abbey is unusual in that what was the church was converted into living accommodation by the Grenvilles in the 16th century. The conversion required the insertion of two floors, which is interesting, because when on the second floor you find yourself amongst the roof vaulting of the old church, as can be seen in this photograph.
Buckland Abbey (NT) - kitchen
The colour of the Buckland Abbey kitchen is, perhaps surprisingly, authentic apparently, made from a mix of ox blood and lime wash, so I was informed by the National Trust steward. At the time I had no means of verifying the likelihood of this being the case, but I have since read on the English Buildings web site ("Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire"), referring to a pink building, that "Not everyone likes this, but it was certainly an approach taken by some house-builders of the late Middle Ages and was achieved by mixing animal blood with the infill material." The author of this blog, Philip Wilkinson, goes on to say, "it wasn't all monochrome in the Middle Ages". Evidently not, as this kitchen at Buckland Abbey testifies.
Buckland Abbey (NT) - chapel
In the chapel there is, left on going down steps, what was described to me as a store for the valuable liturgies of the church, being told it was an ‘armarium’. Having done a little research I found via this Wikipedia article on Scriptorium, mention of: “Thus each monastery was to have its own extensive collection of books, to be housed either in armarium (book chests) or a more traditional library.’ The Listed Buildings entry for Buckland Abbey speaks of two piscinas, but, in my untutored opinion, that would seem unlikely, because why two? And Pevsner speaks of an aumbry, which seems credible to me. All interesting but very confusing.
As I was about to leave Buckland Abbey I stopped momentarily in the shop to enquire of a young steward how I might find the Great North Wood and a course on foot to Bere Alston. I was kindly given a leaflet on estate walks and informed a path to my right to be found shortly after entering Great North Wood would lead me down to the road. I thanked the young lady and set off for the wood. All the information I was given was very useful and most correct, however I was not prepared for a rather tall gate which I found to be locked. I was within sight of the road and so wasn’t about to turn back, therefore I had to scale the gate, which at about 1.8 metres high, was only achievable by virtue of the fact that I am quite agile. Some means for a person to let themselves out would have been helpful. I’ll provide some feedback to the National Trust on the matter.
Denham Bridge
I walked down the lane to Denham Bridge which was where I crossed the River Tavy. A chap I spoke with at the bridge informed me there was a path on the opposite bank that took one down river to a little beach which was locally a popular spot. I made a mental note to explore on another visit.
From Denham Bridge I followed lanes that eventually took me down to a small group of farm dwellings from where I picked up a path which led me back to Bere Alston. The route was easy to follow and I made good time, arriving back at Bere Alston Station about 20 minutes before my train was due.
Whilst waiting for my return train at Plymouth I noticed that the train currently waiting at my platform consisted of a string of old Royal Scotsman coaches being pulled by an old diesel named ‘Exeter’. I checked the information board and saw that this was a private charter headed for Paignton. Obviously a bunch of train enthusiasts, loaded with their cameras and videos and looking about as happy as one could be. It may be a simple pleasure, but I can’t help feeling there is a lesson to be learned there, as I gazed at the faces, hardly able to contain their joy. I just had to give them a mention here in my blog post.
This was a lovely day out, made all the more enjoyable by being sunny and warm. Quite arduous walking as I had been dipping down into valleys and climbing out again several times which, when combined with needing to make good time, meant a steady pace was required to complete the circuit and return home in reasonable time. But all-in-all, the outing demonstrates what can be done in a day, and all without a car.
Walk Statistics:
Total Distance: 13.7 miles
Moving Time: 4hrs 33min
Stopped Time: 1 hr 34min
Total Ascent: 508 metres
Maximum Elevation: 161 metres
Buses: (none)
Train: Digby & Sowton / Bere Alston (Off-Peak Day Return £9.50)
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