Tramping The Moors

A rural type of day spent in the countryside of Devonshire. We decided to spend the day tramping through the Devon Moors - well at least part of it, but first we had to take the M5 south west past Exeter, though we did use one of it's service centres off the M5 for morning tea.

Went past the Glastonbury turnoff. The 4 day Glastonbury festival, renowned for annually turning into the world's premier mud festival, but still adored by the 150,000 people who attend it each year, starts today and, wouldn't you know it, we got the only shower of rain for the whole day just as we went past the sign. Just to give you an idea of the profile, this year's line up includes Stevie Wonder, Shakira (who has flown back from the World Cup for her performance), Willie Nelson, Rolf Harris, Snoop Dogg, Scissor Sisters, Jackson Browne, Jack Johnson, Slash, Norah Jones, the Pet Shop Boys, and a surprise performance by Kylie.

From Exeter we headed off into the Dartmoor National Park on a couple of B class roads - single lane and very windy. The road gangs have great big tractors with what looks like harvesters attached to the front. They are actually huge grass cutters when in the horizontal position, and trim the grass on the road verge (when there is one). However, they can also be turned vertically to cut the bushes on each side of the road to form a smooth edged tunnel like road. Kind of like a hedge trimmer on steroids.

Had to get off the road a few times for oncoming vehicles, but eventually made it to Moretonhamstead, where we had a walk through the stone town, and bought some lunch for later. Lots of sheep actually sitting on the road made the going slow, as did the frequent herds of Dartmoor Ponies grazing on the verges of the roads.

Went as far as Postbridge before turning off into the Bellever Forest for a walk across the moors, and lunch beside a gurgling stream, watching the wild ponies graze. The road after lunch took us over the top of the exposed moors, past lots of Tors (exposed piles of layered granite rocks), while dodging the sheep, ponies and all oncoming vehicles.

Made a brief stop at the craft market in full swing at Widecombe-in-the-Moor, before heading out of the park through Newton Abbot to Torquay. Sat in the large garden at the back of the hostel in the sun late in the afternoon, reading and listening to the differing voices of the English birds.