So, how do you get a group of
volunteers with no form of transport from Cerenety into the rugged
wilderness of Dartmoor? Well actually it isn't that difficult. After
a little planning and preparation we simply hopped on the X9 bus
towards Exeter with the aim to disembark at Crockernwell.
It was to be a 20 minute walk from
Crockernwell to the start of our Dartmoor ramble. Once on the bus
however, we made friends with the jolly driver who offered to stop
the bus that little bit earlier on the A30 so we could simply
meander down some country lanes for 10 minutes and arrive at
Drewsteignton, where our walk was to begin.
To pass the time along the lanes we
invented a competition. To win, each must find something along the
roadside of note, and the winner would be decided at the end of our
adventure. Ben found a flower... this was later to be discarded due
to his ambitions for a higher prize.
Next, James caught sight of a cave in a
neighbouring field. We climbed over the fence, battled through some
brambles and entered the cave.... Later we discovered that this was
an area with many old lime quarries so we deduced that this cave was
possibly utilized in the process. Not being a materialistic group, we
allowed James to contribute the memory of this find as his entrance
into the competition.
After a while we came to Drewsteignton
where we met up with Jess and Jakob who had driven by camper van.
This was an exciting reunion as they had been away for over 24
hours...
Now that the group was all back
together, we started our journey by walking to the famous Castle
Drogo. The walk there was quite pleasant, however it is not, in fact,
a castle. It is a large house built in the 20th Century,
for which the national trust would like to charge everyone £8.50 for
entrance. Needless to say we did not think that this was a good use
of our money, despite the fact that the helpful lady informed us that
the current scaffolding was the largest in Europe. Instead, we headed
down the delivery entrance and saw it for free. We still felt that
this was too expensive, however the scaffolding was impressive....
for scaffolding.
Next we ventured down the side of
Fingle gorge, through oak woodland and along leaf strewn paths. The
colours of the forest in Autumn were spectacular and the view, with
your back to the castle, stupendous.
We passed Piddledown Common, went
through hunters path and towards Fingle Bridge. We walked along the
stream and when we came to the picturesque Fingle Bridge, we stopped
on one of sandy beaches on the bank of the river to have a picnic.
Whilst we sat in a circle, devouring our sandwiches and fruit,
feeling like something out of an Enid Blyton book, a robin kept us
company. It was so perfect, some might finding it a little
nauseating!
In need of tea, we entered the Fingle
Inn and were very excited by the cosy wood burner and sofas in the
corner. After teas, coffees and a peruse of the 'Shooting and
Conservation' magazine, we continued with our walk. Over the bridge
we found lush meadows, mossy boulders framing a flowing river,
gnarled trees to climb and an undulating path which lead us to a
small suspension bridge. I found a magician's staff which I presented
to James as a souvenir and we played a jolly game of 'poo sticks'
over the river. It's a stunning area which I would recommend to
anyone to explore.
Finally back in the tiny village of
Drewsteignston, we settled down in the Drewe Arms, where the food was
delicious and the locals played the fiddle and mandolin to accompany
our meal. We read about Aunt Mable, the longest serving bar lady in
the whole of the UK, she retired at the age of 99 in 1994. The pub
still held the atmosphere which Aunt Mable worked so hard to create.
On the walk back to the bus stop, Ben
found a pair of fur lined gloves in the hedge, which he decided to
enter into our competition. When we arrived home he gave them to Jess
and the look of happiness on her face at the thought of warm hands
whilst cycling to work, was a competition winner.
The moral of this story is that it is
possible and rewarding to visit Dartmoor from Cerenety and definitely
worth the trip, whatever the time of year.
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