River Erme at Ivybridge Woods

After weeks of heavy rain we anticipated the river Erme at Ivybridge would be looking spectacular.  And we were not disappointed.  The water was rushing down over boulders at speed.  There was definitely white water!  There was a lot of water running off the land either side of the valley making streams and waterfalls as it ran into the river.

One of the stream running down to the river

Ivybridge - Puffing Billy walk

We had found it difficult to follow the route of our last walk, and afterwards we were more tired than usual.  We therefore wanted an easy walk today and so were pleased to see there were no steep climbs on this walk and the way was very obvious.

The instructions regarding the starting point on the BBC website were very clear (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/outdoors/walks/puffingbilly.shtml).  The lane off the B3213 was very narrow and I was glad I did not meet anyone coming in the opposite direction.  At the top of the lane I was surprised to see so many cars parked.  There was space for about 8 cars and there were already 6 there.

As promised it was easy to find the track of the Redlake Tramway and we were soon walking along.  Unfortunately there was a mist, or heat haze, in the distance and the visibility  was not good.  This was a pity as there were extensive views in all directions, but there was no point in photographing them.  As we walked along there were plenty of livestock, cows, sheep and some horses.  The first flock of sheep we saw were all black, but later we came upon white and speckled ones.

There were quite a few other people walking in this area, some on the same track as us and others on paths that led off it that either went down to Ivybridge or up to nearby tors.  After a while the track became part of the Two Moors Way and some were obviously walking this route.

The track goes on for 7 miles to Redlake, gradually going uphill, but never steeply.  You really felt as if you were in the middle of the Dartmoor wilderness.  We knew we would  not be able to walk all the way to Redlake and back so stopped after walking an hour.  Although it was a linear walk and we had to return the way we came we noticed different things on the way back, such as a row of stones.

This was a very pleasant walk which would have been spectacular if it had been a clear day.

Longtimber Wood, Ivybridge

With the temperatures still in the high twenties, we needed to find another woodland walk, where we would keep cool as we walked.  We have been out to the woods above Ivybridge several times and thought it would make an ideal walk in the shade.

We parked the car under the railway viaduct and walked straight into the woods.  The path took us down to the edge of the River Erme and we walked along this for about half an hour.  The path was good until the last section and it was lovely walking by the fast running river.  There were lots of small waterfalls as the river rushed over large boulders.