After our morning trip to the Finch Foundry we head back to the caravan for lunch before heading out for a walk with the dogs. Once back in the warm Lynnie confirms that the weather does not warrant her venturing outside again and a couple of hours peace and quiet is what she hankers for.
So I don my wet weather gear and head out with the dogs. Frankly, the thought of Lynnie humming or singing Widdicombe Fair as we trudge around the countryside would have probably been too much for me. Hopefully she will have hummed it out of her system by the time we get back!
Lynnie says she always has a tune going around in her head, sometimes it is played on mute, at others there is volume which, can be slightly irritating. However, I appreciate that half the time Lynnie does not realise she is humming or singing away, so she is not deliberately winding me up (or so I believe!). Fortunately, I am a tolerant chap and blessed to be free of any irritating habits myself!
Perhaps it is because I walk in silence that I see Puma’s, whereas Lynnie’s singing alerts them to her presence!
My walk starts by turning left immediately I leave Lydford Caravan and Camping Park and then within a few hundred yards I turn right down a bridleway, at least that’s what the map and the fingerpost indicate, but today it is doubling as a stream.
At the bottom of the hill I cross a stream and turn left onto Fernworthy Down and follow the West Devon Way.
My route is well defined and after leaving the downs becomes a broad track.
After crossing a road and then passing cottages and old barns at Little Crandford I continue downhill.
Taking the footbridge across a stream I soon meet a tarmac lane where I turn right crossing the A386 and taking the track opposite besides the Bearslake Inn. This track crosses a stream.
Around the corner I am suddenly struck by the image of Lake Viaduct, I am almost under it and it appears from nowhere. Through the mist it is an impressive sight. Just the other side of the viaduct I go through a gate onto Dartmoor and take a track to the right. Starting to climb onto the moor I quickly doubt the wisdom of my actions. It is very misty, visibility soon decreases to less than twenty yards, the ground is very wet and boggy and whilst I try to deny my advancing years I have a dodgy knee and turned my ankle yesterday.
I stop to weigh up my options and then resume climbing for a few hundred yards. Then thinking about the Puma’s roaming the moor my mind develops a scene where I have fallen and lie prone, therefore, at the total mercy of a Big Cat (or killer sheep). The lack of visibility and isolation is playing tricks with my mind! Long ago I recognised that I did not have the stomach to be an intrepid explorer. At this point common sense prevails and I turn around and head back to the Viaduct.
Instead of going under the viaduct I take a track on the left leading up onto the Granite Way and follow this route back to Lydford. I come across some sheep on the path, one of which takes an ominous position above me on an embankment. She looks to have evil intent, so by way of self-preservation I take a photograph. If she does attack at least I will be able to pass this on to the authorities so they can identify her!
Wandering along I start to worry that perhaps it is me who is turning a bit odd and not Lynnie! All this talk of Big Cats and Killer Sheep probably indicates something, but I don’t know what! It is probably getting close to the time for my medication, so I stride back to the caravan to take some of Arthur Guinness’ magic elixir.
My little wander has covered just over six and a half miles and despite the failure to get onto the moor has been a thoroughly enjoyable jam about.
18th March 2017
[To follow our walk you will need Ordnance Survey Outdoor Explorer Map OL28 – Dartmoor.]
© Two Dogs and an Awning (2017)