Camel -Teign Ivor's Dream 100

 

Jamaica Inn – Teignmouth

23^rd-26^th March 2013

 

Introduction

Mike was planning an attempt on the 2013 LDWA 100. Success would be his 20^th over at 25 year period, a remarkable feat. But a recce would be of great benefit, especially a recce of the section he would be doing under darkness. So he arranged a four day trip to look at the last 77 miles of the route and invited me to join him. The route was breath-taking in its concept, a coast to coast west-east traverse of Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor from the Atlantic to the Channel coast, from Cornwall to Devon. How could I resist!

Saturday 23^rd March 2013       Jamaica Inn – North Hill

I’m Dreaming of a White Easter

As the snow began to fall, Jill drove me to the station to catch an early morning train. The roads were covered with slush and I was worried about dragging her out on such a morning. Mike was already waiting for me with the train tickets and we were soon off to Birmingham passing through a snow-covered landscape. The east wind was blowing more snow almost horizontally across the fields. As we got further south the snow got thicker. At New Street Station we stood watching the departures board whilst awaiting the delayed connection. But, half an hour late, the Exeter train arrived and on we got. Ten minutes out of Birmingham, however, we ground to a halt. Trees brought down by the combined weight of wind and snow were blocking the line. Eventually we returned to New Street and tried again on the next train, absolutely packed now of course with reservations out of the window and under a snow drift.

We eventually got through the blockage and headed south and southwest to catch a connection at Exeter that put us 2 hours behind our original schedule. So it was nearly 4 pm when we arrived at Bodmin Parkway and 4.15pm when the taxi dropped us at Jamaica Inn. (The driver had been
expecting to put his clocks forward that night – a week early – so it’s a good job we hadn’t booked him for the following day!) There was no snow but at least it was not raining. With seven mile to cover and racing the oncoming dusk, there was no time for niceties. We were off, along a lane and through farmland onto Bodmin Moor. The moor itself was trackless and the traverse was on a compass bearing which was not particularly accurate. We ended up south of our intended target but a wall corner was a superb orientation point and we scampered off the moor and along the lanes into North Hill as darkness descended. The pub was the very last building in the village.

 Jamaica Inn dep. 16.15, North Hill  arr. 18.30,  GPS  7.16 miles in 2hrs 13m 07s

Stayed in the Racehorse Inn. Ate chicken curry, apple crumble and custard and pints of Harbour Brewery, Bodmin, Light Ale  3.7% and Sharps Doombar 4%. The offer of 2 courses for £10 was excellent value.

Sunday 24^th March 2013       North Hill – Tavistock
Turkey Attack

We had ordered breakfast for 8am and were down early. We had a big day ahead of us. So, with a full English inside to keep us warm, we set off at 8.45am down the lane and steep grassy field to the local stream where the owner of the pub was walking his dog.  Then followed a steep climb onto Twelve Mans Moor, the last outlier of Bodmin Moor. Another compass crossing, more accurate this time, led us across trackless moorland onto a huge pile of boulders where the instructions told us to turn left and aim for a 20ft high granite outcrop. This was entirely overshadowed by Sharp Tor and did not become obvious until we had reached it. But we then had the line off the moor down to an enclosed lane and farm track. A granite based tramway took us round the hillside to Minions and our first civilisation of the day. The surrounding hills were covered by derelict chimneys and wheel-houses from old mining works.

It was too early to stop in a café so on we strode along a long tarmacked lane that led to a hill covered with communications towers. Then a grassy descent besides a wall took us down to Pensilva. We met a guy there who obviously knew what we were up to; he had a friend who was a member of the LDWA and was considering have a go at the 100. The next section took us through Scrawsdon Farm where Mike was attacked by a huge turkey, displaying with its colourful tail/ruff feathers. It pecked at us as we crossed the farm yard and then chased us up the track. ‘Better than a guard dog’, said the farmer. ‘Just wait till Christmas’, replied Mike.

As we crossed Kerney Bridge, we were face with a ‘footpath closed’ sign. Undeterred we blundered on, to find the only concern was that a small drainage channel (canalised steam) had lost its footbridge. As it could be crossed with a single stride, a plank would have sufficed. The footpath closure was another example of health & safety madness in action. There was no café open on a Sunday in Callington so we sat on a bench near the church and ate our snacks (and froze).  Then, after a stutter with the route near Tesco we climbed out of town and up to Kitts Hill, supposedly a fine view point but not today. Another missed turned cost us an extra ¼ mile on the way down but the rest of the section was on easy lanes and tracks to Luckett. Another short rest prepared us for the denouement of the day, the muddy exit from the village and crossing of the Tamar at Horsebridge (“leaving God’s own country  behind” said the Route Description). Devon did not initially seem as attractive. A climb through a huge wood was topped by contaminated water signs and an old arsenic works. Then there was much road walking to reach Tavistock over the historic old railway viaduct.
 

We stayed in Kingfisher Cottage beautifully situated on the banks of the river. The owner had just got in after organising the local half-marathon. We might have been better running this. We had walked more than twice the distance. There was no pub in town serving food on a Sunday evening! So we ate in the Tavi Friary, a fish & chip shop (bottled Jail Ale 4%, from Dartmoor Brewery.

North Hill dep. 08.45, Tavistock arr. 18.15, GPS 27.92 miles in 9hrs 26m 30s.

Monday 25^th March 2013    Tavistock – Ashburton
Jail Ale Rock

It promised to be a shorter day, even though we were attempting a complete traverse of Dartmoor. So a more leisurely breakfast and start time led to me ringing Rachel as we climbed in bright sunshine steeply onto and over the golf course. It was soon too cold for messing around and we donned cagoules over the already well-covered torsos. The wind was penetrating five layers of winter walking gear. We thought that we were aiming at the tops of a series of high rocky tors and felt cheated when our route took us round and down a long series of roads. Eventually however we got up high to contour round Ingra Tor on an old railway track. A series of right turns then took us up again to a wide track which curved and contoured for miles through the moor to Princetown. It was on this section that we met more walkers than at any other part of our journey. A Duke of Edinburgh party of girls, then dog walkers, all were out walking towards us. We were the only ones attempting the trip into the bitingly cold wind. The route entered town passed the brewery that had made last night’s beer, Jail Ale.

The Old Police Station Café was open in Princetown so in we went and ordered our soup, apple pies and coffee. It was tempting to stay in the warmth for the rest of the day but it was eventually time to venture out again onto Dartmoor. The section over to Huccaby Farm was described as easy and so it was except for the bleakness, bogginess, straightness and pathless nature of the route. It was a blessing when we crossed the River Swincombe and climbed into farmland and civilisation. Huccaby Farm is in a lovely spot opposite an old church. The next mile was far from lovely, first climbing a field of deep vehicle tracks, then dropping through ankle deep water to another hamlet before emerging on the road at Dartmeet. Then an ultra-steep climb on tarmac and a narrow trod which cut off a corner of the road. The trod continued a few yards to one side of the road, a poor attempt at keeping walkers off this busy highway. A wall was followed over almost trackless access land before we finally dropped onto a quiet lane which led us round to Dr Blackall’s Drive.

Then followed some of the finest walking on the entire route. The drive became an undulating track clinging to the edge of a long ridge and overlooking the wooded valley of the Dart, 500ft or so below. It could have been Scotland and Switzerland for that magnificent few miles. All too soon we were dropping down and down back to river level, this time to cross the Dart again at New Bridge. A late climb led over another ridge and down to the Dart for the last time at Holne Bridge. A long road section took us through the narrow lanes and into the outskirts of Ashburton.  

We stayed in the Old Coffee House next to the church. Across the road, the Exeter Inn was in the Good Beer Guide. (Dartmoor IPA 4.0%). But not the Good Food Guide so we went up the road to the Royal Oak where we got free puddings with our main course, (Teignworthy Reel Ale).

Tavistock dep. 09.00, Ashburton arr. 17.45  GPS  22.76 miles in 8hrs 4m 31s

Tuesday 26^th March 2013     Ashburton – Teignmouth

Dash for the Train

We had the usual breakfast at the usual time. Mike ate all the carbs, I waited for the full English. Jack Sprat (or am I his wife?). The sun shone again as we headed north and then east through the woods and up to Owlacombe Cross. Along the road to Sigford, we picked up a dog; or rather an overweight Labrador picked us up. Whatever we did we could not rid ourselves of this dog. We tried climbing stiles and shutting gates in its face but it still found a way through. Three miles down route, and way from its home, we came across another farm where the farmer agreed to tie up our companion and ring the number on its collar (muttering “there might be a reward” under his breath).

On our own at last we climbed over the next hill and round the back of the houses in Liverton The next section was close rather suburban, including dog walkers. One in particular was most interesting. As we crossed a wooded parkland, we got into conversation with a guy exercising two pointer dogs. He was a police dog handler, a dog psychologist, and these dogs could take down an escaping criminal or sniff out drugs. A microchip in each dog reveals that they cover 45 miles each working day, beyond even our scope as long distance walkers.

There was a horrible section of flooded tracks and boggy heathland before we got to Chudleigh Knighton, a one-street town. Here we came across the River Teign, sure signs that we were reaching the conclusion of our walk. A long section of road took us round Ugbrooke House and its vast estate. The lead-in track to Larcombe Farm was also flooded, this time in shin-deep reddy mud and water. After a brief stop for a bite to eat, we set off from the farm in the wrong direction. This cost us almost
15 minutes and put us back on a very tight schedule to catch the train. So we had to concentrate hard now on the last big climb, a mile-long bridleway over the last ridge before the sea. At last though, we were racing over Teignmouth golf course and down Shepherds Lane into town.
 

The whereabouts of the school was pretty obvious. Hundreds of students were spilling out of college as we made our way through the town. The stream of children led us to the footbridge across the main road which would be the end of the 100. We then turned away from the school and headed for the station. We arrived with minutes to spare and were soon on our way to Exeter and then Birmingham. We missed the direct train connection at New Street so had to wait for a train to Stoke. Here we parted, me to jump on a fast train to Macclesfield and Mike to wait for a stopper to Congleton. Mike was met at the station whilst I got the dubious opportunity to make our 78 mile walk a round 80.

Ashburton dep. 08.45,  Teignmouth Station arr. 15.25    GPS 21.14 in 6hrs 44m 43s.