DESTINATION TAVISTOCK BY BIKE

The little lanes across the south west corner of Dartmoor attract lots of cyclists. I wanted to discover some that I had not visited. My first encounter was with two riders on mountain bikes who had just come down an off-road trail from Princetown to the little village of Lutton. Not being on a mountain bike, this needs riding on another occasion.

Starting in Ivybridge I was to discover Drakes Leat, Tavistock Canal, an ancient tramway, an old railway tunnel, several pubs and an Easter market.

Historically, Drakes Leat was built in 16thC to provide Plymouth's water supply from Dartmoor. It still runs in its upper reaches and is in an excellent state of preservation. The Tavistock Canal is also well preserved and links Tavistock with Morwellham Quay on the River Tamar.

I arrived too late in Tavistock to see its Easter market as the stalls were starting to be dismantled. However a flower seller was still busy. An ancient stannary town, Tavistock is always bustling with activity where country people come off the Moor and Tamar Valley to meet townies. 



My journey started in Ivybridge and took me through the quiet village of Cornwood, over the River Plym at Cadover and on to Clearbrook where I met Drakes Trail that comes up from Plymouth. This is now part of a long distance route through France and South West England.  Drakes Leat and the tramway can be found leading north from Clearbrook. Continuing the journey, I stopped for lunch at Yelverton then peddled on and into Tavistock.

The tunnel was quite fun to cycle through as it was tricky seeing cyclists coming the other way due to the low lighting so it took a bit of guesswork to check where they were. To follow what I am up to next, please check out twitter

IVYBRIDGE TO SALCOMBE BY BIKE

It is not an easy ride to Salcombe.  There are hills and there are evils.  Evils are very steep hills.  The cycle route (NCN 28) more than compensates with its deep insite into Devon's South Ham's beautiful countryside and outstanding coastal scenery.

My first encounter was with John.  He loves his bike but loves horses more.  Today John was on route to the hunt alongside other horse riders.  I had just passed the hounds.  John had earlier asked me if I would set the trail for the hounds on my mountain bike.  I foolish said that I might but luckily he has not taken me up on that.

The rural heart of Devon is special.  Bullocks stare as you cycle past lonely farms, buzzards frequently swoop close overhead, people stop to talk, at Aveton Gifford there is a homely community shop and you can stop for a swim at South Milton beach.  The waterside settings and wildlife are all special places and finally the butcher in Salcombe sells superb local pasties.

At Salcombe there is a ferry across the estuary where you can cycle on to Slapton and Totnes.  I turned round and went back the same way. 

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THE CYCLE PATH TO NOWHERE

Despite all the rain that had thrown it down relentlessly for months, I am amazed to see early signs of Spring. The grass is growing, primroses have been flowering for ages and birds are showing early signs of finding mates.

I decided to follow a short cyclepath shown on the OS map that neatly avoids a very busy and dangerous stretch of A379 between Brixton and Plymouth. It comes complete with Millenium Sculpture.

This image shows what should be a well used path about 2.5 miles long. Indeed it started promisingly with a beautiful stretch of wooded former railway track.

However it was not to last. The tarmac ended and it turned to mud but at least it was reasonably level. I arrived at a T junction and met a steep hill.  There was no sign telling me whether to turn left or right. In both directions it was steep and deeply rutted stones not possible to cycle on.

The map said to turn right. When I reached the highway at the end of the path, there were no signs telling me which way to go.

The message for me here is simple. What has gone wrong and what does this tell cyclists about attitudes towards them?

SEASON'S GREETINGS

This is the time of year where I abandon pasties and Yorkie bars in favour of mince pies.  My wife made the most delicious mince pies I have ever tasted this year.  The visitors in our holiday cottage all came back for seconds after she took over a intial batch when they arrived. 

I saw a programme on Channel 4 last night that said pasties make you fat.  They don't!  Proper west country pasties are the best food ever, except for my wife's mince pies. 

I hope that you like our Christmas tree this year.  And the duck?  We found out Bradley Wiggins is to receive his knigthood and Sarah Storey is to become a dame.  We also watched The Holiday and all these helped us to have a happy feel for this Christmas

Have you good Christmas story this year?  For next year, read more on my new website or follow me on twitter

A WEEKEND IN LONDON

How different to my last journey?  I was invited for a weekend in London and  to bring my bike.

London is a completely different experience to cycling anywhere else.  For a start, there are cyclists everywhere.  There are high speed commutors, Boris bikes, easy bikes, couriers and no lots more.  Traffic is vast with buses, taxis, delivery vehicles, bikes and cars all vying for space.

Asked where I would like to go, I ventured cycling along the South Bank to Greenwich.  We peddled off along Bayswater Road past Lancaster Gate and into Hyde Park.  Swimmers had gathered at the Serpentine for their morning dip.  I asked a man with a thermometer what was the temperature.  "One degree" he replied.  My friend who is a member went for a dip.  Ducks, swans and coots looked for friendly humans for food.

Crowds turned out to watch changing of the guard as we passed and then we peddled off down the Strand to cross the River Thames at Blackfriars.  London seemed to be a mighty busy place for builders as there were tower cranes everywhere.   

The route to Greenwich followed the Thames Path and a cycle route.  After passing under the end of Tower Bridge, we were immersed in narrow alleys surrounded by converted warehouse buildings, many of which are now restaurants.  The river banks were a fascinating mixture of architectural styles with Canary Wharf on one side and housing of all types on the other.

I had two favourite places.  The first was a Lebonese restaurant at Greenwich that served a fabulous lunch for £7.50 and the other a visit to Brunel Museum at Rotherhythe where we were lucky enough to arrive on the first day that the South Shaft was open to the public. The museum celebrates the first bored tunnel in the World designed by Marc Brunel and supervised by his son, Isambard.  It is said to be "the most rhymed about, danced about, sung about and painted about construction site in the World". 

Returning after dark, the lights of London glistened ostentatiously.  Tower Bridge was especially resplendent with the Shard behind.  Crowds were gigantic as seemingly everyone had come out to walk the South Bank.  Those not on the South Bank were at a fair by the Serpentine.  This ride was far removed from cycling Exmoor just two weeks previously.

EXMOOR

Wild, wet and windy.  This describes my buddy, Andy and my ride across Exmoor and into Somerset.  The rain brought the trains to a standstill while motorists struggled with the floods.

This was a four day ride, the first of which was bright sunshine on Dartmoor. As we cycled up Devon's C2C to Barnstaple a kingfisher darted out, then flocks of starlings performed wheeling and turning at our sides. We passed the ancient mint at Lydford and saw a splendidly restored train at Okehampton.  I was glad of my new powerful LED lights that lit up the Tarka Trail for the final 12 miles into Barnstaple.

The remaining days were as dramatic as the first was pleasant.  The rain lashed down and at times the wind smacked into our faces.  We peddled along the ridge road to Dulverton and on to Bampton.  We could see the moors looking forbidding and did not envy the sheep and wildlife that lived on them.  I imagined that reading a book in front of a roaring log fire might be preferable to this.  The minor roads were torrents of mud and stones.  The following day was the same as we came off the hills into the Levels of Somerset.

Beyond Bridgwater, the rivers were not able to take the rain away so we peddled through floods.  The most extreme was at Bawdrip where we found a water spout at the end of a cycle path.  Having navigated that, we cycled up river with bow waves either side of us.  Around here fire engines were hard at work pumping out flooded properties and attending to accidents.  Journey's end was Yatton where we planned to catch trains home but the adventure was not over.  The rail service had collapsed.  Most buses had given up as well.  Huh, this is too difficult to tell here

On the way, we discovered some of Somerset's secret gems.  Our cycle route took us into an ancient river bed set in a gorge.  The soft red sandstone had been eroded into a gorge during what is believed to be the Triassic Period when Somerset could have been a desert near to the Equator and subject to flash floods.

At Appley, we discovered the best little shop ever.  Despite the rain, we could hear the sound of children playing even though we were in countryside.  The little shop seemed to be a primary school, post office, shop and cafe all in one.  Moreover the coffee and cakes were delicious. A bouquet of wild primroses were on the counter giving a hint of spring although still 6 months off.

We followed National Cycle Network Route 27 to Barnstaple, Route 3 to Cossington, an unnumbered route to Winscombe and Route 26 to Yatton.  The gorge is on Route 3 just west of Nynehead and Appley is about 4 miles further west.

IN SEARCH OF A MINI-FARMER

Yesterday while out on my bike I saw a sign that made me laugh.  I wished that I had my camera with me.  I decided to return again this morning with my camera.  It was cold but the sun was shining brightly.  Earlier the fields had glistened with a heavy frost.

I peddled through the little lanes south of Ivybridge in Devon.

When I reached the tiny hamlet of Westlake, the road was blocked by a Landrover.  The driver said "Hello Graham. Sorry but you cannot come this way as we have a herd of cattle coming.  Can you go another way?"  I realised that it was one of my farming neighbours. " No" I replied "I am searching for a mini-farmer and I am told that he is this way."  " You would be right. There is a mini-farmer this way.  He is not far" said my neighbour.  " How many cattle have you got?" I asked.  "Ahh, it is about 90 bullocks.  We are driving them about 6 miles along this road.  We are lucky.  We have lots of helpers".  At this moment, a fresh faced young girl appeared wearing a tight fitting sweater.  It was emblazened "Need New Boyfriend".  She did look like a cattle drover to me but then what do I know?  This cattle drive was getting interesting.

Along came the cattle, all 90 of them.  I took out my camera and took position for what I hoped would be a good photograph.  Four more drovers appeared and just as I was ready for the shot, one of the drovers came over and asked me to block a house entrance from the cattle.  There was no time.  I did as I was told but it was not a great position for a photo.  There was too much sun so apologies for the bleached out picture.

The Landrover had gone and so had the girl in the tight fitting sweater as well as all the other drovers.  I pedalled off to find the mini-farmer.  It appears that there may be more than one.

If you like me want to find a mini-farmer, follow National Cycle Route 28 and they could be lurking about 3 miles east of Yealmpton.   The next cattle drive will sometime in the spring.