In December 2019, Cordelia wanted to spend a few days in Plymouth to catch up with some of her university friends before they went home for Christmas. I agreed to take her in the motorhome and booked us into a campsite to the north east of the city. As I was looking at the map of the campsite, I noticed a named trail running close by - the West Devon Way. OK - that's my weekend sorted and will keep me busy while Cordelia is off doing her thing.
The West Devon Way runs south from Okehampton, along the western edge of Dartmoor, finishing by the coast in Plymouth. The marked trail is not particularly long, but the challenge for me would be that I'd need to get myself to (or from) Okehampton at some point using public transport and being December, sunrise was at 8:00am and it would get dark from about 16:00 onwards. The net result being that my window of walking hours would be somewhat limited. Plan was for Saturday I'd do the path from Okehampton to Tavistock, then on Sunday, the Tavistock to Plymouth section. Both days using buses to get to and from the start and end points. Things did not go as smoothly as I'd hoped.
Day 1
Alarm set for 6am, leaving the campsite at twenty past, catching the first bus of the day to the city centre, then the bus to Tavistock, then on to Okehampton. All went well and I started the actual walk just before nine thirty, leaving me six and a half hours of daylight to reach Tavistock.
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| Setting out from Okehampton, looking fresh |
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| The best view I got of Okehampton castle |
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| Time for a sandwich |
At this point of the walk I was feeling peckish. Fortunately I'd made myself a packed lunch the night before with a selection of yummy sandwiches. I pulled off my backpack for a quick rummage. Gradually it dawned on me that the sandwiches were not there - I had completely forgotten to take them from the fridge. A call to Cordelia confirmed they were in fact still there - to twist the knife, she asked if she could eat them. I'm making good time, so I resolve to stop at the next pub for lunch, which turns out to be the Castle Inn in Lydford. The Inn serves a pretty good pie and mash, so not all badness - but I am slightly concerned about time, so no hanging about for a second pint.
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| Lydford Castle |
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| A quick peek inside |
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| Lydford Gorge |
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| Some church on a hill |
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| First view of Tavistock |
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| Final section into Tavistock as light is fading |
A good first day's walking. Tomorrow should be less time pressure as I only need to get back to Tavistock to start the second section of the walk. A bus back to Plymouth and a well deserved trip to a curry house for the evening meal.
Day 2
The morning is a repeat of Day 1, with the advantage that I should get walking earlier, as I can start as soon as I reach Tavistock, rather than then catch another bus to Okehampton. However, the cunning plan falls apart pretty quickly. I walk to the first bus stop - but having waited there for several minutes beyond the scheduled bus arrival time, I start to wonder what's up. At some point I realise it's a Sunday and the Sunday bus schedule is different. Google is your friend. I discover that the next bus to Plymouth city centre isn't for over an hour!!! Not to worry - with Google Maps I'm able to figure out that I can walk to Derriford Hospital (just over 3 miles) and catch the Plymouth to Tavistock bus which stops there at 8:20 - an hour later than the original plan - but would still see me starting the walk earlier than setting out from Okehampton the day before. I get to the hospital in good time, arriving just before 8:00 and it's at this point that I discover the Plymouth/Tavistock route has a cut down Sunday service too and the next bus is not until 9:20. Kicking myself for not having checked all this BEFORE setting out I retire to the hospital cafe where at least I'm able to get a coffee and read the paper.
Incidentally, it was about this point that, feeling peckish, with horror I discovered I'd made the exact same mistake as yesterday, leaving my packed Lunch in the fridge. You'd have thought I'd have learnt. However - at least the hospital cafe had a range of sandwiches and rolls to choose from - problem solved.
The net effect is that I finally set out from Tavistock at 10:00am - about half an hour later than I'd set out the previous day.
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| Setting out in the rain |
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| The path ahead |
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| Dartmoor ponies |
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| The river Plym |
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| A welcome period of sunshine |
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| The trail follows several miles of disused railway line, including tunnels |
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| The good thing about rail lines - very flat. |
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| This bit - not so disused |
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| Nearing the end |
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| The trail finishes here |
So I reach the end at about 16:20. It was actually darker than the photo appears - some clever camera light adjustment thing I expect. I enjoyed the walk and the varied scenery on route. It would certainly have been more fun during the summer, with longer days and nicer weather, but I'm happy I did it. Also gives me some more guilt free calorific over indulgence - so that's a result.
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