A day of sunshine and a little perspiration
Well, actually, yesterday was hot and windless, and I sweated buckets. Why do I choose a day like this to go for my last training walk? The answer, of course, is that I left it too late and today was the only free day. So I kept it simple and just did the walk from Okehampton to Tavistock again. Truth told, it's a really good route through forest paths, across a golf course and some good bits of moorland, along old railway routes and with a couple of nice villages thrown in. Nothing flashy, just OK for a superannuated codger looking to add on a bit more muscle and a bit more lung power. Which it did. Phew!
Speaking of golf (which I rarely do) there was yesterday a lady member of the Okehampton golf club whose ball was mired in some horrible rough, some way from the hole. I wasn't so discourteous to stand and watch her shot which was pretty beefy - a sort of desperation shot. The ball skidded across the green and into the hole. An inch either side and it would probably have rolled most of the way back to Okehampton. I gave a discreet cheer and she looked so pleased. I think her partner, also rough-bound, was less lucky. Just shows what a passing stranger can do for one's game.
I walked under Meldon Viaduct again and, in the sunshine with all the moorland blossom and flowers in full flow, it looked splendid. But I was not on my usual path and ahead was the dam of the Meldon reservoir. Up close, a dam is a formidable bit of engineering and my OS map (£3 in a jumble sale some time ago) was not sufficiently up to date to show all the paths and how to get past the reservoir. For some time I messed about trying to cross a river but then decided to confront the dam head-on. Don"t tell South West Water but I climbed a fence and then the steps up the side of the dam, then another
fence to escape at the top. Bad choice - it's an awful lot of steps up the side of a dam and I was somewhat knackered for the next mile or two.
On I went, getting a bit sunburned and a good deal more thirsty, greeting walkers, a lady runner, happy cyclists (including a baby in a cycle trailer, seeming unfazed by being towed across very bumpy moorland), and a car driver who wanted directions to Tavistock - she was very grateful but may now be in Manchester for all I know. This time I did not sit on my favourite bench in Lydford, partly because it was in full sun and partly because I got to a better one first. I did promise to go back on a cloudy day.
There's not a lot more to say about the walk, save that I coveted an old cast iron sign on a house gate. But the house had a dog and I had no screwdriver.
It's now back to the final preparations for Monday's departure. The rucksack feels very heavy, partly because of the camping gear and food that I have to take for the Scottish Highlands which I'm determined to cross this time. But I'll eat the food (gradually) and then send the tent, sleeping bag and other gear home when I get to the Central Belt in Scotland. I really don't want to camp in such a small tent any more than I have to - done that long ago.
Blog posts may get a bit sparse next week - I have a device that's supposed to connect me to the Internet via 3 or 4G but I don't entirely trust it. I actually start walking next Wednesday and, although the first part of the walk is across the wilds of Caithness, I don't expect it to be too demanding. So keep on the lookout for the next post.
