22 November 2011 – Walk: Morchard Road Loop (10 Miles)

Synopsis: A walk undertaken using the train as transport. Travelled on the Tarka Line to Morchard Road. Followed a circular walking route taking in Down St Mary and Zeal Monachorum. Mild, sunny and soggy.

Photo Set – Flickr -:- (Map)

GPS Tracklog Download (.gpx) Microsoft OneDrive -:- Google Drive

 

Tracklog and Photos - Google My Map

Tracklog overlay - OSM – ViewRanger -:- OS – WheresThePath

 

(selection of photos from Flickr photo set – use link above to view album)

A bit of a dash to put this walk together during the morning of the day itself. I had decided on using the train as transport out and back for a change from the bus, my more usual mode of transport. I had originally thought I could have caught the train back from Lapford, but it appears very few trains stop there. A quick last minute modification was required to my route, to turn it into a loop walk, which nearly caused me to miss my 11:10am train out. The planned walk route was to be 8 miles and I hoped to catch the 16:16 train home, so that meant there’d be little time to dawdle.

Down St Mary - Church - carved bench end showing man with whip

I climbed steadily out of Morchard Road until I came to Down St Mary where I noticed the church of St Mary unceremoniously clad in corrugated steel. Obviously some major restoration work under way. I decided to look in, and I was very pleased I did. The church interior is charming.

The first interesting thing I noted was how splendid the bench end carvings are. These are some of the finest that I’ve come across in Devon. Cornwall has a number of churches noted for their wood carvings, but they’re not so common in Devon. There’s one particular carving of a man wielding a very nasty looking whip, and it’s right by the door; perhaps a timely warning to those entering the church.

Down St Mary - Church - interesting and unusual marble wall surrounding altar

 

 

 

Other noteworthy things in the church include a very ornate pulpit, unusual marble work around the alter table, and patterning in the roof and arches. There was probably more, but I was in rather a hurry.

Sunlight sparkling on the River Yeo

 

 

From Down St Mary I travelled through very typical mid-Devon countryside of verdant rolling hills. The day seemed to be brightening and the sun, though struggling, was putting in the occasional appearance, which it was doing to great effect.

Zeal Monachorum - Lunch stop on Jubilee Bench

 

 

 

I intended to make Zeal Monachorum my lunch stop. I discovered a very pleasant Jubilee bench in the sun just below the church which made a perfect place to hastily devour my meagre rations.

 

Zeal Monachorum - church

 

The interior of the church at Zeal Monachorum is rather stark, which considering it’s setting in such a pretty village is perhaps surprising. The font looked rather interesting, having markings that suggest it is of early origin, although it has been scrubbed up brilliant white.

From Zeal Monachorum my path took me out the back of the village, over a hill, down across a stream and then up over another hill. This is where my path was at its soggiest, but then, I wouldn’t be much of a walker if I weren’t prepared for such conditions.

This was when something happened that has been the saddest thing to happen to me in all my years of walking. I stumbled upon a fallow deer, probably sleeping just a matter of a few metres from where I walked. Of course the deer was alarmed and darted away from me up the hill in the direction in which I was walking. I knew I had to cross a road ahead and hoped the deer would turn back into the woods rather than attempt to cross it, but it darted into the road just as a car came rushing by. I heard a thud, and feared the worst, although I couldn’t see what had happened. I stepped into the road and there the deer lay quite still. There was little sign of injury but it’s neck must have been broken by the impact. I could do nothing more than drag its body back into the woods where I let it lie on the forest floor. A sad end for such a beautiful animal.

Approaching Morchard Road - sunset over a fishing lake

 

 

 

On my approach into Morchard Road the sun was already beginning to set. How short the days are at this time of year. The setting sun cast a lovely light across a fishing lake that I walked by.

 

 

I made good time and just arrived at Morchard Road railway station in time for my 16:16 train as planned. Ten brisk miles walked in just over 4 hours. I felt well exercised, and being out in the quiet countryside had rejuvenating effect on me.

Walk Statistics:

Total Distance: 10.0 miles
Moving Time: 3hrs 47min
Stopped Time: 31min
Total Ascent: 443 metres
Maximum Elevation: 164 metres
Train Journey Time: 45 minutes each way

Buses: (none); Trains: Digby/Sowton to Morchard Road, on the Tarka Line (£6.50 – off-peak day return)

19 November 2011 – Trip: Bicton Park Botanical Gardens (3.9 Miles)

Synopsis: A garden full of lovely vistas and tints of winter colour. A nice walk for a winter’s day. The farm and country museum is fascinating and well worth seeing. And there was cake too!

Photo Set – Flickr -:- (Map)

GPS Tracklog Download (.gpx) Microsoft OneDrive -:- Google Drive

 

Tracklog and Photos - Google My Map

Tracklog overlay - OSM – ViewRanger -:- OS – WheresThePath

 

(selection of photos from Flickr photo set – use link above to view album)

It’s my birthday, so I fancied a trip out. I suggested to Mum we go to Bicton Park Botanical Gardens in part because I had some Tesco Deals vouchers to use before the end of the month. I hadn’t visited this place for about thirty years, so perhaps it was time for a revisit. I was aware gardens in November are not at their best, and the day was rather dull and overcast, but it was warm and dry and I felt we’d at least get some exercise and fresh air. In fact I was pleasantly surprised how lovely parts of the gardens looked.

We were rather late starting out from home, arriving just after midday. Our first objective was to get something to eat. The old orangery has been converted into two eating halls with tables that look out over the gardens. It’s hard to imagine a more splendid eating place, except for one thing. It was so noisy, as the place was full of families, and the stone floor seemed to bounce sound all around the room. I had not imagined that this venue would be so popular with families. I understand it’s possible to purchase an annual family ticket for Bicton Park and sister attraction Morwellham Quay, and parts of the grounds have been set aside as play areas, so I suppose it makes for a good alternative place to allow children to burn off some of their boundless energy. To be honest, the noise was really my fault, as who would choose to have a birthday on a Saturday?

Mum and I enjoyed our meals, which included treating ourselves to cake. Well, it was my birthday. My daughters Helen and Laura had told me how they’d had a big bag of English cakes the other day, which is perhaps unusual for Germany. They described this delicious biscuit, caramel and chocolate cake they’d had, and there was a slice of it in front of me, so I had to have one.

Mirror Lake with fountain and St Mary's Church in the background

After we’d eaten Mum and I set off on a tour of the gardens. One of the main features of the garden, usually seen in photographs of Bicton Park, is the Mirror Lake and the fountain that is at the centre of this. It is a very sleek and elegant fountain that looked stylish in the subdued winter light of today. In the background of this photo can be seen St Mary’s Church, in the grounds of the park.

Vegetation of warm winter tints

 

 

 

 

The garden is really nicely planted with numerous vistas that are very pleasing to the eye. On the day of our visit I particularly liked the warm winter colours of the vegetation set against the deep cold blue of the water features.

 

The museum - East Anglian wagon c.1890

 

 

With a little time to spare before Bicton Park closed, we had just time enough to explore the museum. This was a marvellous addition to our visit, as it is a building packed full of wonderful old farm and country equipment through the ages. This wagon brought to mind The Hay Wain by John Constable. There are a number of photos in my photo set (link above) taken in the museum, but the light was low so some camera shake will be visible in these.

 

A thoroughly enjoyable visit and delightful way to spend my birthday. I think I shall be visiting Bicton Park again; perhaps a summer visit next time.

Walk Statistics:

Total Distance: 3.9 miles
Moving Time: 1hrs 40min
Stopped Time: 1hr 18min
Total Ascent: 74 metres
Maximum Elevation: 52 metres

06 November 2011 – Walk: Blackingstone Rock and Three Reservoirs (10.9 Miles)

Synopsis: A walk in the forest this autumn time. The mixed woodland that I walked through was full of colour. The walk includes Trenchford, Tottiford and Kennick reservoirs, north of Bovey Tracey.

Photo Set – Flickr -:- (Map)

GPS Tracklog Download (.gpx) Microsoft OneDrive -:- Google Drive

 

Tracklog and Photos - Google My Map

Tracklog overlay - OSM – ViewRanger -:- OS – WheresThePath

 

(selection of photos from Flickr photo set – use link above to view album)

The thought of autumn colour suggested a walk in a forest somewhere and the terrain around the three reservoirs just north of Bovey Tracey sprung to mind. With no walk prepared I had to sit down and quickly plan a walk route the morning of the walk. Thankfully this is a really easy job to do using the relatively new Getamap service from Ordnance Survey. It wasn’t long before my GPS device was loaded with a ten miler and I was on my way.

Blackingstone Rock - in the midday sun

I parked my car under the impressively looming granite outcrop of Blackingstone Rock. This huge rock really does seem to have a presence all its own. There are steps up the side of it, so you can climb it if you wish, but no time for me to be doing this. It was now nearly midday and I had a ten mile walk to complete, and the days are not so long at this time of year.

 

 

 

Path through the woods of Wray Cleave

From Blackingstone Rock my walk took me on a descending trail towards the A382 road that links Moretonhampstead with Bovey Tracey. This is a beautifully scenic road to drive, but today I thought I’d do it on foot, in that I was walking the valley shared with the road. I soon picked up a path along the edge of a mixed woodland that was full of colour, illuminated by the acute rays of sun shining across the valley. I spotted a couple of roe deer on the track ahead of me. I was able to stop, watch them for a while, and even get my camera out, but as soon as I moved a twig snapped underfoot and they were gone. You might just see them if you look closely at this photo.

Trenchford Reservoir

Of course there was going to be a price to pay for losing all that height, and yes, it was time to regain some of it on my approach to the three reservoirs. I’m unclear if there is a collective name for these three reservoirs, but individually they are named: Kennick, Tottiford and Trenchford. I would walk in the vicinity of all three today, but my first objective was Trenchford. I was soon on the path that skirts the reservoir heading towards the car park, which was much too busy and noisy for my taste, so I walked on to lunch sitting on the bank of the Trenchford dam which was warmed comfortably by the sun.

Of the three reservoirs it is Trenchford and Tottiford that are designated public access, with Kennick being primarily designated for fishing. It is possible to walk around all of Trenchford and Tottiford reservoirs, but only parts of Kennick are accessible to the public in this way. Today this reservoir area was very popular with visitors, with Trenchford car park nearly full. I believe these reservoirs serve Torbay.

Tottiford Reservoir - water levels very low

After lunch I skirted further around Trenchford Reservoir and then picked up a path that took me up to a road and then on a footpath through trees towards Tottiford Reservoir. My path through the trees was scented with the smell of the pine trees which I always find so appealing and fresh. This path led to a point on Tottiford where there is a footbridge across the reservoir. From here it is very evident how little water there is in the reservoir. I believe this is not a concern at this time of year as we’re through the busy tourist period and entering into the rainy season.

 

I stumbled upon, whilst checking out Divine Dartmoor Walks web site, the fact that the Channel 4 Time Team were here on Tottiford during August 2010. They investigated a number of Bronze Age remains including stone rows and a stone circle. Because the water is so low at present I believe these are visible once again, as I think I saw them today. Although I was unsure what they were, it did occur to me that I was looking at a prehistoric stone row.

Kennick Reservoir

My path took me deep into the forest circling east of Kennick Reservoir which I then briefly clipped before my path joined a road. From here it was simply a matter of following the road back to my car. This was rather a circuitous route, but there were no paths to be found that would have shortened my trek. The calm of evening was by now descending, visitors having gone home for their tea, leaving me to watch the sun setting as I approached my car.

It was good to be out walking again, after a period when all my work commitments had rather curtailed my exploits. And this was an exceptionally fine walk to be doing at this time of year, so one to remember for future autumns.

Walk Statistics:

Total Distance: 10.9 miles
Moving Time: 4hrs 6min
Stopped Time: 38min
Total Ascent: 449 metres
Maximum Elevation: 346 metres

Buses: (none)