Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd April 2024
I hardly got any sleep during the night before this walk and in the morning I was feeling so rough and tired I didn’t think I’d be able to do the walk ahead of me even though the weather was fantastic with the sun shining on Cranbrook Down where I had camped in the middle of an Iron Age hillfort. Very slowly, I packed up my tent and carefully made my way down the hill onto the track that carries the Dartmoor Way and this descended increasingly steeply into the Teign Valley until eventually I reached Fingle Bridge. From there, the Dartmoor Way climbs the northern bank, but with hindsight I wish I had stayed at the bottom of the valley and walked beside the river as I didn’t have the energy to climb up the bank, even though that is exactly what I did. I was trying to keep to the course of the Dartmoor Way which relentlessly climbs the side of the hill and in my weakened state this was a severe trial. I stopped many times during the ascent and soon came to the realisation that I wouldn’t be able to walk all the way to Okehampton this day. Eventually the path levelled off and afforded me with views across the tree-clad valley for a great walk along the terrace above Sharp Tor and around Castle Drogo before finally descending into a side valley that led me down to the mouth of the Teign Gorge.
A short walk beside the river brought me to the main road at Dogmarsh Bridge where I hoped I would be able to catch a bus, but that was not possible so I kept beside the river soon passing through lovely woodland decorated with wood anemones, but plagued with muddy paths. Grassy fields beyond led me to a road where I climbed wearyingly into the market town of Chagford just as it started to rain. The good weather at the start of the day had not lasted long and I didn’t have the energy to continue so I found shelter in the market house in the centre of the town and waited several hours for a bus that eventually brought me into Okehampton where I was booked to stay at the youth hostel. The following morning I still didn’t feel very well, so the wisest thing to do would be to rest in the youth hostel and wait until I had recovered, but the bus back to Chagford only ran on a Wednesday so I caught it back to the market town and set off again on the Dartmoor Way. The weather was no better than it had been when I had arrived in Chagford the day before with light showers and no sign of the sun, which left me longing for the weather on Monday when the showers had been interspersed with sunshine. The first stage this day was a mixture of road walking and woodland paths, with the latter filled with green plants but nothing flowering and the most interest provided by Blackaton Brook.
The weather slowly began to improve with the rain easing and occasional breaks appearing in the clouds though strong winds kept things feeling cold. I had a terrible time while traversing the byway Deave Lane as it was horrendously muddy and prolonged so I was very thankful when I eventually reached a road and even more thankful when I saw a sign beside the church in Throwleigh that to a person in my condition felt heaven-sent: toilet. After using the facilities in the church I continued on a path that was heavily churned up by cattle, so I was thankful again when I reached a street that heralded the start of a prolonged section of road walking. Eventually I reached the village of South Zeal and after that the village of Sticklepath where I remember parking in 2007 for a walk that started through Belstone Cleave, the wooded valley of the River Taw, and now I followed in my footsteps. At the time the wood was filled with bluebells, but unfortunately they were not in flower at this early date, though the path was very good, mostly on rock, which made the walk immensely enjoyable, especially compared with the muddy conditions that I’d previously endured on this holiday. However, half way along the valley the good path seemed to climb out of the valley while the continuation of the Dartmoor Way was considerably muddier until eventually the good path seemed to come back down into valley to cross the River Taw and climb the hillside into the village of Belstone.
With stunning views down the valley I made my way into Belstone, where I had parked in 2020, and now I followed my footpaths again climbing wearyingly onto the open moor for what felt like the first time in many days, probably since Haytor Rocks on Sunday, so it was great to experience the moors of Dartmoor again and see the outcrops of Belstone Tor to my left and in the distance many more. Unfortunately I was not destined to reach them as I soon swung right into the valley of the East Okement River where a pleasant walk beside the rapidly flowing river eventually brought me underneath the A30 dual carriageway and the railway line, and finally led me into Okehampton. After a poor start the weather was quite good on this walk which helped me enjoy it despite not being in the best of health, so I was glad that I had not wasted the day and I particularly enjoyed the scenery towards the end of the walk which made up for the muddy conditions getting there.
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