Too wet to wade

Our November plan was modest – to get from Salcombe to Bantham. When we set off in January we did not carefully review where the “seasonal ferries” are. Well lots of them are in Devon and November is definitely not seasonal in their terms. So it looked as though we would only manage 13 miles … Continue reading Too wet to wade →

Swirling bunches of cirl buntings and another 23 miles

For the last fifty miles or so of our walking cirl buntings have been the ghosts at the party – invited but never present. At the end of October they decided it was time to talk to Martin after all and they feted him throughout the walk. Our journey was from one great sailing river … Continue reading Swirling bunches of cirl buntings and another 23 miles →

Sampling Torbay and finding Dartmouth

In our walking we missed August and perhaps August missed us. But restarting in September meant that the angry heat had gone and normal British weather was restored. We had two days in which we saw and left Devon's "Riviera" and arrived in deep Devon. It is quite a contrast. We also had to accommodate … Continue reading Sampling Torbay and finding Dartmouth →

Steep, stiff, strenuous, severe – which is which when applied to a coastal climb?

In our second weekend of walking in July the old engineering adage “In emergency read instructions” was apt. We did not do our due diligence very well. We were a threesome again with Martin rejoining. When we arrived at Starcross we made the startling discovery within a couple of minutes that Martin is a railway … Continue reading Steep, stiff, strenuous, severe – which is which when applied to a coastal climb? →

Going again – but hot

We did no walking in June, so were doubly keen to get going again in July. But by the middle of the month the hot spell had started. So the plan was modified to two short walks. Anne and Richard had celebrated their 40th anniversary the previous weekend and Anne said she wanted to celebrate … Continue reading Going again – but hot →

Devon – and 100 miles achieved

The weekend of the royal wedding loomed and the sun came out. It shone on Harry and Meghan and there was plenty left over for us too. It was perfect weather for walking, sunny and clear with a light breeze and moderate temperature. But we were down to two: it’s well known that walking in … Continue reading Devon – and 100 miles achieved →

Escaping British politics

May 4 was the day after the local elections. Time to turn away from Plymouth, Barnet, Dudley, Westminster and from Jeremy Corbyn, Theresa May and all the other participants in the squabbling stasis that is today's politics in Britain. It is like a large elephant stuck in deep mud thrashing around and trumpeting but making … Continue reading Escaping British politics →

We make faster progress when it’s flat

Our Portland weekend was the week after Easter. The holiday weekend had been a cold washout, but the next weekend the temperatures were thinking of increasing. More importantly the rain decided to take a break. But on the way down we saw lambs wrapped up in little blue jackets which said that spring had not … Continue reading We make faster progress when it’s flat →

Spring looked possible as summer time arrived

Our walking weekends have neatly bracketed the arrival and departure of the Beast and the Mini-Beast, although the Micro-Beast still looks possible for Easter. Martin had done some reconnaissance on the Friday and declared the going better than expected in spite of all the melted snow. It then rained hard all night, but even after … Continue reading Spring looked possible as summer time arrived →

Beating the ‘Beast’

On 23 February the “Beast of the East” had been named and was beginning to work up enthusiasm for cooling the UK. But in its advance we had two wonderful walking days. Ambition was limited in part because of our competence and in part because significant Westward progress was blocked by the Lulworth ranges being … Continue reading Beating the ‘Beast’ →