Team Charlie

Following the last training walk, the weather has improved immeasurably and North Devon is showing signs of having a cracking early summer.  The bluebells and wild garlic are out in abundance, primroses and wood anemones are peeping through and, incredibly, there are still some late daffodils around.

All this nice weather means it’s full-on flying lesson weather, so the training walks have been put on hold.  However, we agree it is a good idea to complete a mini-walk in half term, at the beginning of June, so we set about planning this and booking accommodation.  We decide on a three-day walk, covering part of the South West Coast Path, from Westward Ho! to Bude.

Norman has been recovering well from his operation and agrees he will accompany the rest of Team Charlie on this walk, which will be a very good test and will give us a good idea of what we are all capable of and where we need to train further.

Accommodation is limited in choice to places which welcome dogs, but at the first stop, in Clovelly, we find Donkey Shoe Cottage, which is in the heart of the village.

The next stop is Hartland, where we find the nearest B&B which will take dogs is Greenlake Farm, some two miles or so inland.  Luckily, the landlady also offers a pickup service.

Or Subtitled, All Are Bored!

We decide to walk some of the Tarka Trail, as this is very easy, due its relative flatness.

We pack up a picnic, don our wet weather gear as it’s raining (again!) and catch the bus to a stop just north of Torrington, near the Puffing Billy.  We have measured the walk back to Dolton as roughly ten miles, which will be a good test of our fitness.  Charlie has never been on a bus before, and we wonder whether we will be able to persuade him to get on.  No need to worry though, he just sees it as a large car and is on before anybody else.  We buy our tickets, including a “Rover” for Charlie, which costs 50p.

The journey to Torrington passes smoothly, and amazingly, by the time we alight, the rain has stopped.

We set off on our way back towards Dolton.  The going is very easy, despite a small hill near the start.  Soon we encounter some other walkers who also have a dog called Charlie, which causes some confusion.  The other Charlie is a Labrador, somewhat larger and denser than our dainty collie, and he manages to bowl Charlie over.  For a moment I think that our walk is finished almost before it’s begun, but Charlie gets up and recovers quickly.  Phew.

On we go, admiring some daffodils growing along the verges – very late this year, of course, because of the severe winter.

In a while, Alice starts to ask how long it will be until lunchtime.  Oh dear, we have only been walking for about twenty minutes.  We tell her we will stop at one o’clock.

Alice asks what time it is.  It is 11.30am.

Alice is getting hot, and needs to remove her raincoat.  We stop so she can do this, and pack it in her rucksack.

Alice asks what time it is.  It is 11.45am.

Alice is hungry, so she gets her peanuts out to keep her going.

Alice asks what time it is.  It is 12 noon.

Alice is hot, so we stop so she can remove her fleece.

Alice asks what time it is.  It is 12.20pm.

Eventually we decide to stop for lunch, as we have encountered a handy bench.  We eat our sandwiches and, feeling refreshed, we walk on.  Or rather, trudge, and dodge the cyclists.  We have come to realise that the Tarka Trail is ideal for a lovely cycle ride, as there are not too many challenging hills and, of course, no traffic, making it very safe.  It is, however, rather tedious for walkers, as there is no challenge in walking straight, through very similar terrain all the way along.

Alice is getting tired and we hope the cafe at Yarde will be open, so we buoy her up with the idea of a nice hot chocolate.  When we reach Yarde, however, it is closed.

We carry on… and on ….. and on….

Time is getting on and I have to work in the evening, so once again we call on the taxi services, and are collected at Petrockstowe.  So we did walk about 7.5 miles, not bad I suppose, but not good either, as we need to be able to walk an average of 15 miles per day.  Still, there’s time…

Saturday 6th March and the plan is to walk a trail around Bradworthy.  A good choice, we think, due to the possibility of stopping for a pub lunch halfway through.

A spanner in the works though – Adam has the chance of a flying lesson at Eaglescott.  He has waited all through the winter for this opportunity and due to the exceptionally bad weather has not been able to realise his dream of taking flying lessons – until today!  Therefore a hastily restructured plan is hatched – a turn about the woods (Halsdon).

The morning is beautifully clear and warm(ish).  We set off and soon it is apparent that certain members of the party would rather be anywhere than walking around the countryside.  Alice is acting like a prima donna and is creating the biggest fuss about going across a small stream.  Unfortunately my lack of parenting skills show through at this point – my only emotion is one of anger that she is being so pathetic about stepping over the stream – I try the gruff approach with her and tell her to get on with it, but to no avail.  Adam is infinitely more patient and does his best to persuade Alice that to cross the stream is very easy, but in the end we must find an alternative route which involves a little trespass.

We continue in to the woods, nobody feeling their happiest.  When we reach the River Torridge (a mere half mile or so from the entrance), Alice has had enough and tells us that her feet hurt.  I despair and probably rant at her for a while, along the lines of “You will never be able to walk 15 miles or so on Offa’s Dyke day after day if you cannot manage to do the training”, “You committed to doing this when we bought the walking boots and whatnot, so you have to carry on”, etc etc.  In the end I give up and ring for a taxi (Richard).  This means we have to escort her back to the start of the woods, by which time our hearts aren’t really in it and so we complete a very shortened walk.

Well, at least we did some walking!

Saturday 27th February and the planned route is the Sheepwash Trail – again!  However, this time we will include the extra loop to make the walk 7 miles long.

Norman has started his training by walking the length of the breakwater in Brixham Harbour.  This means he has walked about two miles!  This is excellent considering his operation was only ten days ago.

It’s raining when we set off to Sheepwash.  We leave nice and early so that we have plenty of time to do the walk and get to the pub for lunch again.  It takes about 20 minutes to drive there from Dolton; on approaching the outskirts of Sheepwash I suddenly realise that I have forgotten to bring any money.  This is quite an important omission due to the necessity of having lunch in the pub after the walk.  We scrabble around in the car and in our pockets and manage to come up with about £11.  Not enough for three hungry walkers so, with resignation, we turn around and drive back to Dolton to pick up some more.

Looking on the bright side, when we finally set off along the lane we notice that it has in fact stopped raining and the sun is coming out.  There is, however, still plenty of mud to plough through.

The walk obviously follows the same route as previously, but goes somewhat more smoothly as we know where we are going this time.  Somehow, though, we still managed to take longer and therefore, once again, did not add on the extra loop as this would have meant missing out on our pub lunch – a much deserved reward, especially as Alice had not yet experienced the delights of the Half Moon Inn panini.

Friday 26th February.  We are going to walk part of the Tarka Trail after school as it is nice and flat.  This will give us the chance to build up our stamina for walking one day after another, as tomorrow (Saturday) we will be going for a longer one.

Norman came home from hospital on Tuesday and is recovering well.

Today we have an honorary member – Richard (the Big Boss) has consented to join us.

We meet Adam from the bus in Meeth and head to the Tarka Trail car park near Petrockstowe.  We have decided that we will walk for one hour and then walk back again (no circular walks unfortunately).  We cannot afford to do more than that due to failing light at this time of year.  Richard is impatient and heads off down the track while we get ready with boots and rucksacks.

We set off in the direction of Meeth, with the village of Petrockstowe visible on our right.  The track is refreshingly clear of mud and is very flat, and there is but one direction to go in (unless you turn around of course).  This does make it a very easy walk to do and you feel like you could walk for miles and miles and miles …. but there isn’t too much to say about – no ups and downs, no danger of slipping and sliding in muddy patches, no chance of getting lost.  The landscape, too, is very similar all along; the path is edged with trees which provide much stick entertainment for Charlie.

After about a mile, the track turns right, with an option of taking a footpath straight ahead towards Dolton.  We resolve we will go this way another time, to find out where it comes out.  The track takes you past an ominous sign “Quarry workings and slurry pits – do not stray from the path”.  Oooh, maybe we will meet Red Riding Hood?

No, we don’t come across Red Riding Hood, but we do come across some strange wooden structures.  Are they benches of some kind?  We aren’t sure but they serve that purpose very well!

Further along the path, we find another one!

Adam (the nerd) is sure that the camera on my phone can be set on a timer, so we can have a group photo!  We set the camera up balanced on my rucksack.  Charlie would rather be playing with his stick.

Not the best photo in the world – the light was in the wrong place – but better than the other attempts which took some lovely shots of the sky!

Our hour is up, so we head back, still full of beans and ready for our longer walk tomorrow.

Saturday 20th February.  The day dawns cold, damp and dull.  I think of days like this as ‘Tess’ days (after Tess of the D’urbervilles by Thomas Hardy – the winter day when Tess, once again living in poverty, plucks up the courage to meet her in-laws for the first time; she leaves her muddy, scruffy boots behind a hedge and approaches the house but at the last minute her courage fails her (what has Angel Clare told his family about her, what will they think of her?).  She turns away and goes back to retrieve her boots, only to find somebody has nicked them!).

Norman must undergo a further operation on his knee today, due to bad swelling, copious bleeding and much pain.  The surgeon must open it back up and have a look at what has happened inside.

We have acquired some ‘Ruby Country Walks’ leaflets, which have walks of various lengths generally around the area we live (north of Dartmoor).  The plan is to complete a 5.5 mile walk around Sheepwash, which includes an option to add a loop of about 1.5 miles.  An added advantage is that Sheepwash has a pub; having learnt our lesson on Dartmoor, it is not quite the weather yet for outdoor picnicking.

Unfortunately, Alice has decided she is not going.  We try persuasion, pleading, begging, force, anger, disappointment; everything we can in fact, but she will not budge – it is too cold.  Despondent, we go about preparing for a walk without her.  It is very apparent that preparation is an area where much improvement is needed as it takes up most of the morning, due a lot to the fact that we have to keep going to the shop to get supplies (for those of you who don’t know, we own the village shop in Dolton so we do not have far to go; however we need to streamline our requirements so we only make one visit).

Eventually we set out.  Luckily Sheepwash is only about 15 minutes away and Nagging Nora the Satnav guides us safely there.  We arrive at about 11.30 and set off.

The route takes us out of the village and through several fields which, predictably enough, are rather muddy in places.  In one field in particular, the footpath goes straight through the middle and so very soon our boots have acquired a fetching skirt around them and rather a lot of weight.

We head upwards towards a farmyard, where the cows are munching hay in a warm, covered barn (are they Ruby cattle by any chance?  Not sure – certainly they are all either black and white or pale brown, so I guess not?).  They watch us as we pass by as though we are creatures from another planet – who on earth would want to be walking around outside on a day like this?

Leaving the farmyard we cross the lane and head up an old grass-covered lane which, we are informed by the leaflet, was once a road, included on the first Ordnance Survey map of 1809.  At the top of the hill we duly look back at the view of Sheepwash with Dartmoor in the background, as instructed to by the leaflet.

Eventually we reach a farm where it is not clear from our directions which way to go.  I suggest it might be where the Ruby Country Trail marker is heading but, of course, that cannot be correct, so we follow Adam’s interpretation further along the lane.  After a short while it is apparent that the other way is the right way so we turn around and go back again.

The lane takes us through some more mud and a very small hamlet then opens into a lane where, we are informed, an old mill leat is situated.  On along the lane, then some more discussion about which way to go.  There are times when we do think the directions are a little vague (or downright inaccurate actually); however we make a decision and set off.  This time it is the correct one and we reach the road which takes us up to Buckland Filleigh.

The path then takes us through the lychgate into the churchyard and over a stile into the field beyond.  Oh joy of joys, there are lots of ducks in the field – Charlie takes off in hot pursuit but sadly for him they all reach the safety of the pond well before he gets to them.

Another discussion about the right way to go and we are on our way.  When we reach the road, we find we are at the point where we could add the extra loop to make a 7 mile walk.  Our eyes meet – “Great Minds Think Alike” – the lure of the pub lunch is too much and we know it shuts at 2pm.  It is decided – lunch is too important.  We will do this walk again and next time we will definitely do the extra bit!

After a short distance along the road we turn into the wood where the path is generally either muddy or under water.  Then out into fields again.  As we are walking I notice an amusing thing at which I smile inwardly – a stile set into the hedge, with a large gap next to it!  We reach the end of the field where we find that we should have turned at the stile!  What joy; we have to retrace our steps – uphill!

After some time, we reach an airstrip which is lovely to walk on – springy turf and no mud.  This takes us down the hill to a field containing two llamas, where we discover that Charlie does not like Llamas.  The feeling, however, is mutual.  After this field we reach a road which takes us up the hill and back to the village of Sheepwash.

We have made it just in time for lunch at the pub, the Half Moon Inn, which is very welcoming to walkers and dogs.  We both opt for a panini (with a portion of chips – well we have just walked 5.5 miles!), very tasty.

Then it’s home to wash the boots and the water bladders and unpack rucksacks, both of us agreeing that the extra loop would have been too much today.

It is the middle of half term, 18th February.  The forecast is for snow and so naturally the four fit and healthy members of the party head off to Dartmoor.  The fifth member is recovering from his knee operation.

We pack our rucksacks with our water bladders, and suitable packed lunch items (including peanuts for energy) and a packet of Schmackos for Charlie.  Going on past experience there is no point in lugging dog food around as generally he isn’t interested during a walk.

We are going to complete a 10-mile walk which Adam has had experience of several times before through school, so we are confident we can safely complete it without getting lost.  We head off to Okehampton and park in the car park between Simmons Park and Okehampton College, and set off on our way through the park, up the hill and over the A30.  We are now on Dartmoor.

The weather is rather dull and drizzly with a lot of low cloud. 

We have already stopped several times for Alice to adjust her clothes, her walking poles, have something to eat … I am beginning to despair that we will ever complete this walk, never mind Offa’s Dyke.

Eventually we reach the edge of the military firing range.  The red flag is flying.  There is a very helpful man in a hut who checks our route and confirms that we are able to continue our walk.

The low cloud has thickened to a light fog.

We trudge along the lane which continues to climb.  Adam seems unsure where the turning is, but eventually comes across a track he recognises, which we duly turn along.  The track follows a stream which falls quite rapidly and I am sure is very pretty in clearer conditions.

It has started to sleet.

We continue along the track, imagining how beautiful the surrounding countryside must be if only you could see it.

The sleet has stopped but the fog is now very thick.

I am glad we are following a well defined track as it is not obvious which direction we need to go in.  It is now one o’clock and Alice is hungry (I guess the kitkat and the peanuts have now worn off).  We start looking for somewhere suitable to stop for our picnic but this proves rather difficult due to the remote location we are in and the fog preventing us from seeing very far.  Eventually we settle for a hummock and Adam spreads his waterproof rucksack cover on the ground and sits down, ready to get his lunch out.  A water bowl is filled for Charlie to take a drink.

Slowly we become aware that we are not alone…

A group of Dartmoor ponies has decided to join us for lunch.  We are surrounded and they close in, nosing at us and our packs, and also Charlie’s water bowl!  Charlie is most perturbed and tries to sniff their bottoms, from which we try our utmost to deter him – we do not want to have to call Mountain Rescue for a dog with broken ribs!  It is very soon apparent that lunching amid a lot of greedy ponies is far from the best idea and so we decide to move on.

Luckily the ponies do not follow us – they are content to lie in wait ready to ambush the next unsuspecting tourists.

After about a mile, we begin to see some ominous shapes looming through the fog – is it more ponies, ready to snatch our sandwiches?  No, merely gorse bushes, scattered thinly on the moor.  We find another hummock and wait a few minutes – no ponies, so we are safe.  Lunch is unpacked, the soup in our flasks barely warm.  Charlie proves us wrong and is ravenous; he eats the whole packet of Schmackos in seconds and then makes very light work of our crusts.

Very soon we realise that it is freezing cold, so we pack up and move on.  The rest has chilled us to our bones and it is now hard work to keep going.

We reach a crossroads.  Adam stops and stares and wonders which path we should take.  It is now quite apparent to the rest of the party that he doesn’t, in fact, know this walk as well as we thought he did and we re-christen him “Annoying Adam the CrapNav”.  Adam then admits that he has tried to take us along the walk in the reverse direction to that he is used to, as he thought that the start of the walk the other way round is harder!  We all agree it is best to just turn around and go back the way we came.

It is now snowing heavily.

The flakes are big and are settling.  I am getting a little anxious that the snow will settle deeply and obliterate the track we are following.  Imagine the shame of having to call Mountain Rescue on our first outing (and probably finding that we are within half a mile of civilisation)!  We try to hurry but Alice is so cold (and tired) that she has slowed right down and is not very happy.

We trudge along, Charlie turning white along his left flank.  In time, we reach the road and heave a sigh of relief.  We stop for a brief rest and a group hug (mentally if not physically – it is not easy with rucksacks) and then discover we have lost the dog.  We call and call to no avail, so Adam climbs to the top of the hill to the right – ensuring us he will not lose sight of the track – and calls him again.  Eventually Charlie appears; he is looking very pleased with himself.  Hmmm.

The snow has stopped (hurrah).

With the party complete again, we trudge on.  After what seems an eternity, we reach the edge of the firing range, from where it is only about 20 minutes back to the car.  As we did not manage to do the walk we had set out to do, we decide that we have actually walked about 8 miles, which is not bad for our first attempt.   Obviously we need to improve on our navigation though.