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!