If you have been following these posts from one day to the other,
you might have been holding your breathe for the outcome of our mechanical
woes. Alas you would have been disappointed for the lack of drama. The matter
is resolved, or at least in theory.
We set the alarm this morning to make sure we were organised for a
day’s absence and at Richard Walke’s workshop on or before 8.30. (The fact that
I have actually named this commercial enterprise serves to suggest we were
happy with their service). The Chief-Wallah suggested we return in a couple of
hours, so we headed up into the centre of Tavistock on foot, along the banks of
the River Tavy, and into the centre, emerging near the Guildhall and entering
the Pannier Market. While there were a few stalls selling fresh fruit and
vegetables, today’s market was all about “crafts and mixed market”.
We poured through a wonderful stall full of good second hand
books, looking particularly for books on English trees and wildflowers.
Animated conversation regarding the ease of identifying sighted samples in any
of the many publications on offer ended in a decision
that this was all too
hard, and should be left for another day. Instead I purchased four new jacket buttons
from one of the many haberdashery type outlets in the town. We wandered up one
of the main streets and found an excellent hardware and homeware store where we found a Victorinex paring knife like one we have back home and a
replacement for the perished rubber mat in our circular caravan sink.
There we had an interesting conversation with the sales assistant,
after requesting the “Thursday over-60s 10% discount”. Apart from identifying
us as over 60, she had to identify that we were over 18 because we were
purchasing a knife. Apparently you have to be over the age of eighteen to purchase
knives and glue. I further quizzed her when she placed our purchases in a
plastic bag, knowing that stores are not allowed to “package” their sales in
plastic bags without charging for the bag. Apparently shops with employees
numbering under a certain level can do so, however it has been our experience
that they operate the same way as larger businesses. But, it is a
requirement that knives and plants must be sold with wrapping or a shopping
bag. Hence we left with a “free” retail plastic bag and amusement about the
complex rules for retail outlets.
Tavistock is a World Heritage Site and is the 1542 birth place of
one of England’s greatest heroes, Sir Francis Drake. The town is the largest in
west Devon and grew up around the Benedictine abbey founded in 974. In 1281,
Tavistock became a stannary town, the administrative centre for the tin mining
industry based in Dartmoor. It also developed into a prosperous woollen centre.
From the 1790s until 1901, when the seams were exhausted, some of
the largest copper mines in the world were worked just outside the town. Those
copper deposits were discovered in 1844, hence the main town owes its
distinctive Victorian appearance to the building boom that followed. Today Tavistock
is an agricultural town, market centre and touring centre for Dartmoor. Our
reference materials also report that the River Tavy which flows through the
town, is one of England’s fastest flowing rivers.
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| Tavistock's River Tavy |
The town is lovely to walk around, although nothing defies the
above description. I was looking for a cheap haircut, having seen prices
elsewhere for a simple off the street job for just under £10, but here there is
a hairdressing cartel; most were £15 and some nearer £20. I will have to remain
a bit scruffy for now, although there will come a time, sometime soon, that I
will be happy to pay whatever is asked. A woman is like that with her hair.
By the time we walked back to the garage, we had been away for two
and a half hours. The mechanic on the job had headed off to buy a new fuel
filter, and soon returned to tell us this was his diagnosis. The fuel filter in
the car was “a bit rusty” and was probably the cause of the stalling. He had
been on the phone to the Kia dealers so was not entirely speaking off the cuff.
After another hour catching up on Hollywood and other like fluffery published
in women’s magazines, we were presented with the key and the bill, which we
duly settled. We were free to leave.
We headed back to camp, neither of us entirely happy that the
solution necessarily met the problem, however we travelled without event. After
lunch we headed off again, this time to Peter Tavy, which has one of the two
nearest eating establishments recommended by camp management. We took the
access road from near our camp, an extremely narrow, high hedged road, a road
so vehicle-unfriendly that we had to reverse for some distance three times
before we reached our destination about three miles away. Neither of us
considered this an easy-access dining spot for next week when we will celebrate The Driver’s
birthday. We were relieved to escape onto the main thoroughfare between
Tavistock and Okehampton, that travelled yesterday.
We headed the five or so miles north, before turning off into
Lydford, and on to the Lydford Gorge, situated in the Lyd valley, on
the edge of Dartmoor. The river has carved away the underlying rock into a
uniquely steep sided gorge as it plunges then gently meanders down the valley.
The land acquired by the Trust now covers an area of approximately 132 acres.
The gorge is a mainly deciduous oak wooded valley with towering rock faces and
fast flowing river sections, home to a wealth of wildlife species including
some rare species of plant and animals.
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| The River Lyd: a more gentle section |
We set off from the main entrance at the western end, upriver, and
walked along the top edge of the gorge, within the sound of bleating sheep on adjacent
fields. This part of the track is fairly easy, a few ups and downs, punctuated
with interpretative panels telling us about primroses, Herb Robert and several
other threatened species of wild flowers. Arriving at the eastern end, we could
hear the rush of water, and assumed we had arrived at the White Lady Waterfall.
We had arrived at the very top of the River Burn, and it was not until we
descended steeply into the gorge on the shorter track, rather than the more
gentle longer route, to where this stream converges with the River Lyd, that we
found the falls. The River Burn falls in two long narrow cascades after a
series of smaller ones. It is indeed very pretty, and the scene at the bottom
could well satisfy the traveller. In fact it did for many who came here as part
of the alternative “Grand Tour” when the Napoleonic wars made a European
version in the early 19th century
less than safe. Perhaps modern terrorism has brought a repeat of history
these days?
In 1865 “Lidford” (renamed “Lydford” in 1897) station was opened,
and by 1874 trains were travelling direct from London Waterloo, until 1968 when
the line closed. The train made Lydford a popular Victorian day trip with a tea
room and the White Lady Waterfall being the main attraction.
But this is very tame in comparison to the wonderful walk back up
the south side of the River Lyd, the paths rocky, and only for the sure footed.
The scenery is absolutely splendid and this was the crown in the jewel as far
as we were concerned. At the top of the regular walk is an area called the
Devil’s Cauldron, and here the water has cut through the rock so forcefully,
the paths and viewing platforms are precariously situated out over the bubbling
waters. There are emergency posts along the entire walk, however if someone was
to fall into the ravine, there would be little call for any rescue.
We saw many small trout, swooping and twerking grey wagtail birds,
blackbirds, thrushes, to name but a few of the marvellous wildlife along the three
and a half miles path. We both agreed that this was a thoroughly wonderful walk,
but we were now ready to put our feet up, we would have to miss the castle.
Heading home, we detoured to the Morrison’s superstore on the
south side of Tavistock, filled with diesel at the superstore fuel depot and
returned home to relax and plan our itinerary for the next day, taking into account
the weather forecast. The Sorrento was still behaving; we would look forward
positively toward further touring.
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