Day 3 Tihidy Country Park and Northcliffs

Today we met at Tihidy Country Park

Day 4 Gwithian Beach, Godrevy Point and The Knavacks

This is one of my favourite rambles, as we are able to get from the stoney track straight onto wet sand with the buggies.

Day 1 : National Trust Penrose Estate.

Penrose House and the gardens immediately adjoining the house are private, with the National Trust managing the rest of the estate which is open to the public.

We traveled through the grounds, stopping at the stables for refreshments. We went as far as the gate lodge over looking Loe Bar, which is a strip of sand which separates a fresh water lake and the sea.

On the way back the the owner of the house, invited us into his private garden for a group photo next to the house.

Day 2 : Mining Heritage at Botallack

Todays ramble was on a strip of coastline, owned by the National Trust. between Cape Cornwall and Pendeen Lighthouse. Our starting point was the National Trust car park at Botallack. We headed south to a Quarry which gave lovely views of Cape Cornwall and the Longship rocks off Lands End.

We made our way back to Botallack for lunch, enjoying a lovely Cornish Pasty which was made locally, and fresh out of the oven.

After lunch we made our way to Levent Mine, where we were given an unexpected brief history of mining in the area, by a National Trust member of staff. The tracks we were using all date back to the mining era, with remains of buildings every where you look.

The Eastern side of the lake is a man made embankment, so the natural level of the woodland is a lot lower than the path. So they have put in a U shaped boardwalk, into the canopy with a bird feeder at the end.

During the First World War Canadian lumberjacks were drafted into the army, called the Sawdust Fusiliers. One group were stationed at Stover Woods, with a memorial located near the School.

The track around the lake is a level one, but a short section of track out to the memorial is level two / three. So was pleasantly surprised that the two powerchairs, were able to get to the memorial, although one of scooters could not make it.

As usual Gill and I finished our day off with a meal at the Twisted Oak, with another good meal.

WAGs did our first public ramble of 2022, on the Wray Trail on 25th January 2022.

There are four photographs from this ramble, we spent about an hour having a guided tour of Lustliegh. We then headed north towards Moretonhampstead, but stopped short of the town. After lunch we retraced our route back to Lustliegh, and Bovey Tracey.

The next seven photographs are from a WAGs reconnoitre starting from Challacombe Farm to Warren House Inn. We as a group have done Challacombe Farm to Soussons Wood, several times in the past. But this time we tried to get Warren House Inn, but failed due to a chain across the track adjacent to the road. The gap for walkers, is too narrow for us to access with our mobility scooters.

Even though we were unable to to reach our target, we all enjoyed the day. It is still an option for a future Walking Festival.

The final five photographs are from a solo trip on the Granite Way between Sourton Church and Okehampton Station. The main objective was to establish if we could use the Station car park in future, as they have started running regular trains to Exeter again.

Gill did her first off road trip this week, I will be updating the website in the next few days.

Under clear skies you get lovely views of St Ives, on the other side of St Ives Bay, but not today.

The main purpose of today was to show how Cornwall Rolling Ramblers (CRR), working with the National Trust, is improving access for all. As a group we are starting to work with different organisations, throughout the Southwest.

As the weather had not improved, after finishing the filming with the BBC. Gill & I had a late lunch in the van, before heading home. By leaving early we avoided any delays, on the single track section of the A30.

As per usual we stopped at the twisted Oak, on our way home, enjoying another good meal.

Gill and I decided to get there earlier than the agreed start time, as I wanted to have a quick look at the footpaths west of the valley. Within minutes of us unloading the buggies, the heavens opened. But luckily it was just a short passing shower. We had sunshine whilst we did the mini reconnoitre, it started to cloud over by time we got back to meet up with the group.

The weather forecast said we should get the rain after 1600, by which time we would have finished our ramble. They were wrong!  The rain started about 1300, very light to start with, while we had our lunch in a spot where we were sheltered from the worst of the wind.

After lunch we made our way to the cliff top, where we were exposed to the full force wind and the rain was heavier. Due to the low cloud and rain there were no views to enjoy, so we decided to abandon the ramble and head back down to the car park. Although it is the last week in May, apart from the rain we were all feeling the cold. And that was with our normal extra layers we use in winter.

By time we got back to the car park, it was still heavy rain so we abandoned the plan of following the valley path to Heddons Mouth. So after loading the buggies we headed for home, horrible driving conditions. Gill and I phoned the Twisted Oak, booking a table for an early meal. It seemed strange going there, as its been over 6 months since we last ate there. Life is slowly getting some sort of normality, but I know we will be using our masks for quite awhile yet.

Todays route was exactly 5 miles, which the small buggy coped with fine. The cycle route from the Swan Inn up pass Lympstone Station to the bridge, is one of the steepest bits on the Exe Estuary Trail. We went onto the bridge, just to make sure the small buggy could cope with the hill.

After a coffee at the Swan, we made our way back to Exmouth. We made a few brief stops on the back, to point out things of interest. Which included trying to identify the different wild flowers, on either side of the path.

To the observant reader, they will see all the photos were taken on the return journey. The return trip was a lot drier, than the outward one.

On our return to Exmouth we had a debrief, with DCC’s Natural Environment Officer, on the route and access to facilities etc. After which Gill & I sat in van and had our lunch, before heading home.

We met at Darts Farm to do a short route into Topsham via Bowling Green Lane and the Goat Walk, to Topsham Quay. The Devon County Council Natural Environment Officer wanted to see first hand how different types of Power Chairs and Mobility Scooters can be used.

There were 4 Power Chairs and 4 Mobility Scooters, so covering quite a wide range of capabilities. DCC are going to start listing Accessible Walks on their website, with a lot of detailed information. This will include Refreshments, Toilets, different types of road/path surface etc.

We were stopping every few hundred yards, to discuss different aspects of the route that could be included in the routes description.

The RSPB hide has a ramped access, so is accessible to most types of buggy. But the Viewing platform overlooking where the River Clyst joins the Exe Estuary, has steps so is off limits. Also the circular walk at this point is off limits, due to a narrow footbridge.

We then made our way along the Goat Walk, Gill and I opted to go on the mud alongside the Goat Walk. Gill and I have done this route many times, without any problems. But today I managed to get stuck, in the narrow strip of soft sand at the base of the ramp up to the Strand.

We stopped for lunch in a small public garden opposite the Topsham Museum. I have passed the garden many times and always assumed it was a private garden. After lunch we made use of the WC facilities at Topsham Quay, before following the cycle route back to Darts Farm via Monmouth Street.

Despite the forecast of showers, we were lucky that it stayed dry for us on the day.