Synopsis: It’s taken me a long time to get here, but it was worth the wait. Tucked away in this corner of Devon, Roadford Lake is probably, and unjustly, a much neglected treasure of this county.
(selection of photos from Flickr photo set – use link above to view album)
Walk! Devon
This walk is route 35 from the book Walk! Devon. All the walks are ‘GPS Enabled’, by which is meant that each has a table of waypoint grid references that can be loaded to a GPS unit to facilitate easy navigation. It’s pretty rare to find a book which caters for the GPS navigator. I actually enhanced the route navigation from that given by the book by dropping to Bing Maps and including additional waypoints to give a more detailed route. Since the book’s waypoints have to be manually entered, the authors tend to only give about 20-30 waypoints. To see other walks from this book that I have completed, use the link under Tags to the right.
It is perhaps strange that I don’t know Roadford Lake (also called Roadford Reservoir). This was my first visit to the lake, which is apparently the largest in Devon.
Driving to Roadford I thought to myself, why was my rucksack so light this morning. Then it dawned on me, I’d not picked up my camera, something I never (ok, well rarely) do. All photos are therefore taken using my mobile phone, which I think rose to the occasion rather well.
It had been some time since last I walked a route from Walk! Devon. My last walk being Route 6: Chawleigh and Chulmleigh on 23rd June 2012. I think in part the reason for the lapse has been my focus on doing walks using public transport whenever possible. Most of the walks from this book require a car to get you there. So yes, today I was motoring for a change. An 87 mile round trip from home, which didn’t take that long, since most of the journey was along the A30. I was parked in the Headson Car Park and on my way by 11:30.
I climbed the lane, dipped down, and climbed the lane again, this time, near the top of the hill, I spotted a bridle way off to the left. A quick check of my map told me this would take me to the banks of Roadford Lake, so I decided to take this diversion from my planned walk route. The first stretch along the lake the views were obstructed by a row of trees, but a little further along the views did open up such that it was possible to see the bridge over the lake near Southweek.
Regaining the lane, I crossed the bridge mentioned above. From the parapet of the bridge there are expansive views down the length of this large artificial lake. I find it a bit odd that it’s named ‘Lake’, when really (to me at least) it’s a reservoir, which is hinted at on the Ordnance Survey map, with ‘(reservoir)’ given in brackets, as if we all know that’s what it really is. Perhaps it’s a reservoir with pretensions.
Immediately after the bridge I picked up a footpath on my right that took me through trees and then into fields, rising steadily into the village of Germansweek, entering near the Church of St Germans (Listed Grade II*). Although not far into my walk, a bench in the graveyard looked inviting, and so I chose it as my lunch stop.
Sadly the church was locked, so I couldn’t enter. My guidebook referred to a notice in the porch, so I looked for it, and yes, it is still there. It reads, “Welcome travellers and friends to the parish church of St Germanus. Once we had shops, school, post office and many farms, alas today our church stands alone, maybe much as it did 800 years ago.” And when you look around the tiny village today, one has to conclude, yes indeed, where have they all gone. The old school house can be seen, easily identified by the plaque on its wall that reads, yes, you guessed it, ‘The Old School House’.
And the village has a rather unusual (to me, at least) village green (and church hall?). The green is triangular in shape, severely fenced in by iron railings, for some reason. and on one side sits a chalet style community hall, presumably the church hall.
Making my way out of the village I passed a chapel and then walked down a lane that petered into a track before descending to a stream, or, rather, ‘river’ (sorry!). This rather innocuous looking flow is the River Wolf, the main, rather insignificant looking, water inlet feeding the huge Roadford Lake.
Once across the stream my way ascended a steep hill, that my guidebook promised was the one big ascent of the day. Once out of the trees I found myself in an unexpected landscape, almost a heathland. Following the hedge boundary, lined with young oak trees, I walked till I reached Breazle Farms, a group of two farms. I wound my way past the farm buildings and out the other side. I could make out the odd glimpse of Roadford Lake in the distance.
I crossed a lane and picked up a metalled track that took me down to a car park with superb views out over Roadford Lake. Just one dog walker, a couple enjoying the view, and me walking through. What a quiet peaceful place this is.
My path then coursed along a track that led me through a forest on the edge of the lake. It wasn’t until I approached the visitor centre that I was once again able to catch sight of Roadford Lake. This area has multiple functions, being a large car park, restaurant/café, children’s play area, and picnic site. I stopped and sat momentarily on a bench with lovely views out across the lake.
Setting off on the last stretch of my walk, I came out on a promontory where there is a huge sun dial sculpture and a cob hut. From this point there was a good view of Roadford Dam visible a short distance across the water from where I stood.
The walk from here back to the car park was really enjoyable, affording a number of lovely views out onto the lake. The sun was just beginning to drop in the sky and the light was really lovely. A strong wind was blowing down the length of the lake, providing me with a pleasant cooling effect. I was soon back at my car and able to divest myself of my hot walking boots, a most soothing experience.
Even today, on this warm and sunny summer’s day, there were very few people about. I met a half dozen walkers all day, which is indicative of just how unsought this place is. Once seen, it’s hard to understand just why that is.
Walk Statistics:
Total Distance: 11.5 miles
Moving Time: 4hrs 24min
Stopped Time: 59min
Total Ascent: 388 metres
Maximum Elevation: 221 metres
Buses: (none)
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