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.