Snowdrops along the River Dart

It was a bright, albeit chilly morning so we decided to see the snowdrops along the banks of the River Dart near Dartington.  We parked the car at Dartington Hall and walked down the hill towards Totnes.  We turned off the road and through a kissing gate to the path that went along the banks of the river.  To begin with the path was very muddy, but once we had got past this section the path was OK, although muddy in places.

The river was glimmering in the sunshine and looked wider than normal.  At one point I saw a flash of blue - was it a kingfisher?  It went too quick to be sure.

Afte walking for some time we saw snowdrops on the other side of the river and then along the path we were walking.  There was a barbed wire fence around them - was this to protect them?  It could be as I understand that in the past there had been more there.

We followed the river along to Staverton Bridge.  We crossed this then walked back on the other river bank to the village of Staverton where we stopped for lunch at The Sea Trout.  After being refreshed we walked back to the bridge and continued walking through woodland to make our way back to Dartington Hall.  However, we missed the path leading down to the Dartington Craft Centre and ended up walking round in a circle and ending up back at Staverton Bridge 40 minutes later!  We made our way back up the hill through the trees and at the top when there was a choice of paths there were some dog walkers so we could check which was the correct path!

Once past Dartington Craft Centre we walked along the hill until we came to Dartington Hall Gardens which we walked through back to our car.  The gardens were looking lovely with snowdrops, primroses and crocuses out.

This walk is in the AA book of walks, they reckon it is 5 miles and should take 2.5 hours.  We must have done at least 6 miles as we were walking for over 3 hours.

Snowdrops by the River Yealm

As snowdrops were now out we decided to see what the display of these flowers was like by the River Yealm.  We parked the car at Puslinch Bridge and started to walk towards Yealmpton, but it was very muddy.  There were snowdrops out along the river bank but after photographing a few clumps we decided it was too precarious walking so turned back.

 We then crossed the bridge and walked a short way down the other bank of the river, looking at the snowdrops this side of the river and viewing the larger clumps on the other side.  This path soon runs out so we returned to the bridge by the road.

It was interesting to compare the conditions with what we had found last year (5 February 2011).  Today there was a lot more water coming down and there were no stones to be seen in the river.  The river level was also much higher at the bridge.

We then crossed over the road and walked along the river parallel to the old railway line.  We chose to take the lower path next to the river and saw more snowdrops.

Last year when we came the tide was out, but this time it was in so it was a prettier walk.  The path was narrow and there were a lot of tree roots, so it was not particularly easy but it was not too muddy.  Eventually we made our way up a bank to the old railway line and walked along this until we could go no further without scrambling down a steep bank.   We turned back and decided to walk the whole way back on the railway line path.  However as we neared the road it became quite muddy and the lower path had been better.

Lostwithiel and Eden

We  parked outside the Lostwithiel Community Centre.  As this includes a tourist office I decided to ask if they had any maps of local walks.  The assistant was very helpful, telling me about lots of local walks, showing them on maps and making notes for me.  We had decided to walk along the river Fowey and she reassured me that it would not be too muddy. I also left with notes on future walks.  (Some are outlined @ http://www.lostwithiel.org.uk/local-area/walks-and-paths/)

We were very pleasantly surprised by Lostwithiel town.  In the past we had only seen the A390 that goes through the top of the town.  But by the river there were lots of interesting shops , like bakeries, and historical buildings.  It was particularly pretty by the river.

We continued to walk along by the river until we went under a railway bridge and into Coulson Park. For  the walk we were attempting to do we should have gone under the next railway bridge and walked the other side of the railway line, but the path by the river was so pleasant we decided to go further along here.  We then came to Shirehall Moor, a nature reserve.  We continued to walk through this but gradually the path became muddier and eventually boggy and there were streams across our path so we turned back.

After a delicious lunch of a pasty from the local bakers we drove on to the Eden Project.  Many of the daffodils were out, but there were more to come and when all of them are out it will look spectacular.

As usual there were lots of lovely things to see in the domes.  They had cut some of the bamboo that had grown very tall and it was interesting to see the hollow stalks.  By going to the Eden Project in January we had been able to get a local's annual pass for £5 so we will be back again another time to see what delights are there.

Saltram Snowdrops

It was a bright sunny winter day,chilly but nice for a brisk walk around Saltram Gardens.

The snowdrops were out around trees in front of Saltram House.  Elsewhere in the gardens we saw a few crocuses and daffodils.  The bright yellow aconites we just coming out and some of the camelia were also making a colourful show.

Looe to Mildenreath

We caught the train to Looe, a very pleasant train ride with beautiful views out of the carriage all the way. As we approached Looe there were many birds in the river - herons, egrets, curlews as well as gulls and ducks.

After walking around Looe and having some lunch we followed the South West Coast Path towards Mildenreath.  There was a long steep climb up from Looe town, but the view from the top of the cliff over the beach to Hannafore Point was worth the effort.

We continued walking around the coast.  There was a proper path all the way, and we were often on quiet roads between attractive houses.  After we had gone down to Plaidy Beach we had to go up another hill and then down a long hill with steps to Mildrendeath.

We then turned around and walked back to Looe.  It had been an ideal walk for a winter's day when other paths would have been muddy.

Parke and Bovey Tracey

We parked the car at the National Trust car park outside Parke.  We walked down to the river Bovey, crossed the bridge and then walked up the river.  It was flowing fast and at times had burst its banks.

At the end of the path we climbed up a small slope to the old railway line which quickly led on to the road.  We followed the road up a long hill.  Half way up there was a gate signposted to Parke, but the walk description told us to continue up the hill and take a later path.  We followed this instruction, but the climb was punishing and having looked at the map back at the car park we wished we had taken the first path.  When we left the road we walked through some woodlands.  It wasn't a particularly interesting walk, although there were some views to the distance.  Perhaps it would have been better when the leaves were on the trees.  At the end of the woods we had to go across a field and then through some more woodland and back to the car park at Parke.

We wanted a longer walk so continued on back to the river, but this time turned right and walked down the river towards Bovey Tracey.  After walking around the town and having lunch we then walked back.

Although it was January it has been so mild that there were primroses out at Parke.

Cothele

There had been frequent heavy showers all day so we did not want to walk far from the car, but wanted to get out into the countryside after over a week of wet miserable weather.  As we drove down to Cothele we saw primroses in the hedges.  We parked by the river and started to walk on the path towards Calstock.

After the Calstock lookout that gave us a wonderful view down to Calstock and the bend in the river, we took the path up to Cothele House.  When we got to the House we discovered it was closed so we followed the road back down to the river and our car.