Grand Western Canal

 We caught the train to Tiverton Parkway then a linking bus to Tiverton town centre.  We walked through the town and were surprised by how many historic buildings were around, and lots of independant shops.  It is definitely somewhere to come back to to explore more.  We made our way to the Canal basin and started to walk along the canal.  One of the horse drawn barges was moored ready to take people up the canal, but the horse was still in the field at the side.

It was a very pleasant walk along the canal.  It was a good flat walk all the way.  There were not many boats there, just some moored, but there was plenty to see, flowers, butterflies, insects, ducks and swans.

Along the way there were noticeboards telling us about the canal and its history and giving us maps showing how far we had walked.  When we got to the bridge at Tiverton Road we left the towpath and headed down the path to Halberton.  Initially this was a footpath separated from the road by a hedge.  At the outskirts of Halberton we had to walk along the road, but there was a pavement.  We stopped at the farmshop for a wonderful lunch of frittata and salad.  Afterwards we wandered around the village, while we waited for the bus back to the railway station.

There were road closed signs in the village, although traffic was still going through.  The bus was scheduled to arrive and the stagecoach website had nothing about any diversion, but it did not come so we had to return to the canal and continue to walk to the next village, Stamford Peverell.  We left the canal to get to the bus stop but when we arrived a local told us the bus was not coming through the village because of the road closure at Halberton.  He told us where to catch it at the edge of the village.  We walked there and waited but the scheduled bus did not arrive.  We then decided to walk on to the train station, another 20 minute walk!  On the way the bus passed us!  The walk was much longer that we anticipated (7.5 miles) but it was very pleasant and we will return to walk more of the canal another time.  

Roborough to Lopwell Dam

This was a new walk for us.  We had often seen the gatehouse and drive at the edge of Roborough Down but had not thought to investigate where it went.  A post on social media told me it was the driveway to Maristow House and led all the way to Lopwell Dam, so we decided to investigate.

To access the path you have to walk over a cattle grid, which needed balance, but after that it was a wide path all the way down.  Just past the gatehouse we saw a stone which had 2 miles carved into it.  We were not sure why 2 miles, but guessed it was the distance to Maristow House.  Initially there were far reaching views to the River Tamar.  We could just make out the Tamar Bridge in the distance.

The path gradually went down hill, past fields and woods and farms.  There were a few gates to open but no obstacles.  At times there were views and other times nothing much to see.  It was a fairly straight path so not very interesting at times.  We crossed a couple of small roads and eventually came to the road that leads round the corner to Lopwell.  It took us just under an hour to get there.  This last bit of road was the only steep hill, and it was not very steep.

It was a pity the cafe at Lopwell was closed and obviously up for sale.  So we just had a short break before heading back to the car.  Although it was uphill all the way it was not too strenuous.  It was an interesting quiet walk.  For the whole time we were walking (2 hours) we saw only one other group of 3 men, and it was obviously their first time on this path.

 

Par to Polkerris

 In 2013 when we were still new to Plymouth, we walked from Par to Fowey.  In my blog in Walking the South West Coast Path I finished by saying this was one of the prettiest walks we had done.  More than 10 years later I wanted to see if it was really that good.  However, I knew we would not manage to walk all the way to Fowey but we planned to just walk to Polkerris then catch the bus back to Par.  But in the end we walked to Polkerris then caught  the bus to Fowey before returning to Par.

As before we caught the train to Par then walked down to the sand dunes and along the coast path to Polkerris.  In Par the walk was flat, but the coast path went up and down.  There was a long string of steep steps leading down to Polkerris and we didnt fancy climbing them to walk back.

After a brunch overlooking the beach and wandering along the beach and harbour we walked up the road,  to catch the bus back to Par.  This was a steep long hill.  There was nowhere to stand at the bus stop and cars were wizzing past.  We tried walking down the road on the other side but the pavement ran out. When we got home we discovered there was a stile leading to a path through a field but we did not see this. We returned to the bus stop and decided to catch the bus in the opposite direction and go into Fowey.

The bus could not go all the way into the town as  a road was closed, we therefore had a steep walk down to the harbour and shops. After an icecream we climbed up the hill and caught the bus to Par then train home

Polkerris was as pretty as I remembered. But I don't think I would want to do this walk again as there were so many steep hills

Burrator

 We parked at Burrator Dam and walked along the road to the Information Centre.  Along the way there were rhododendrons and azelias, which looked beautiful with the reservoir in the background.

Just after the Centre we went through the gate marked permissive path.  This led us to a walk around the reservoir and we did not need to walk on the road again until we came to the other end at Norseworthy Bridge.  There were bluebells along the way and  other flowers as well as views of the reservoir, then river that fed it.  

The path was not as good as in the past, rain seems to have washed away soil leading to stoney areas and lots of exposed roots.  We stopped for lunch st Norseworthy Bridge and admired the irises growing at the side of the river.

After a short walk along the road we were able to go back inside to the area around the reservoir.  There were more bluebells on this stretch.  When the reservoir is low you can walk right along the shoreline but this was not possible to today and at one point we had to return to the road for a short stretch.

The views from the end of the reservoir were lovely and I was able to experiment with the panaroma setting on my camera.  It was then a short section back to the dam to take more photos and and have an icecream.  The end of of lovely walk.

6.211 km, 11134 steps  1.52 minutes walking

East Portlemouth to Gara Rock

 Salcombe is a favourite place for us to visit.  We catch the train to Totnes then bus from the railway station to Salcombe.  Usually we just walk to North Sands, but today we thought we would do something different and caught the ferry to East Portlemouth and walked to Gara Rock.  It was a number of years ago that we did this and it made a lovely walk. (June 2011)

Because the tide was out we were able to walk along the sand to Millbay before picking up the South West Coast Path.  To begin with this was an easy track, just having to watch out for tree roots.  There were wonderful views across the estuary to Salcombe and we could see North Sands and South Sands.

As we walked further on the path became more difficult with rocky sections and at times very close to the cliff edge.  There were lots of ups and downs.  Once we were out of the estuary the view of the sea did not change, but there seemed to be more flowers around, bluebells, gorse, foxgloves, thrift etc.  

Eventually we came to Gara Rock and turned inland walking back on a good footpath then bridleway that went grandually downhill to Millbay.  There were bluebells in the woods at the sides, but more of a haze than a carpet.  By the time we were back at Millbay the tide had come in so we had to walk down the road to the ferry, not such a interesting walk as along the beach.  

We got back to the bus stop tired but feeling we had had a lovely walk and day out.

Stats, taken from Map My Walk,   6.63 km

Gardens around Plymouth in May

 May has continued like April with warm dry weather, where we have been able to get out and view the beauty of nature.  Photos of bluebells are on a separate blog, but below are photos of other plants showing their splendour.

Central Park - 5 May

Buckland Abbey -6 May

Gardens around Plymouth in April

This year (2025) we have had a very dry warm April.  We have taken the opportunity to get out and walk around as many gardens as we can.  They have been full of beauty and colour.  Many also have bluebells, but any photos of these I have put on a separate blog but below are photos I have taken in April.

Tulips in Saltram  - 3 April

Cherry Trees in Pounds Park  -  10 April

Lost Gardens of Heligan - 11April

Mount Edgcumbe  - 16 April

Lanhydrock - 26 April