Postbridge to Bovey Tracey
After a good night’s sleep, I set off from Postbridge, ready for another day walking. Today also marked the start of a new Leg: Leg 04 from Tavistock to Sidmouth. Sidmouth will be my next rest day, and I’m really looking forward to revisiting somewhere that we used to go on holiday as a family.
I started my walk by following the bridleway through the woodland.
The woodland is a forestry woodland, so some of the trees on the map have been felled since it was printed, but the path was nice and clear. The woodland was really peaceful and gave me a quiet start to the morning.
I reached YHA Dartmoor then followed the road, up and over the moor to Lower Cator. The moor was beautiful, with views over Dartmoor and the rain was just about holding off.
I then followed some lanes into Widecombe in the Moor.
Widecombe in the Moor was a lovely little village I had a quick look round a national trust building, which is a gift shop supporting the Dartmoor Pony Heritage trust. There were some beautiful paintings inside, which really captured the feeling of being on Dartmoor.
I then stopped at the local cafe for lunch. The steak pasty, chips and salad were delicious! The cafe was busy, and definitely a stop for cyclists, bikers and adventurers alike.
With a full tummy, I set off up the road onto the moor. It was a steep climb, but I got into my rhythm and was soon rewarded with views of the nearby Tors.
The rain was a bit on and off, but nothing too heavy and nothing could dampen my spirits: it was wonderful to be up in the hills. I first crossed Top Tor.
Then I headed onto Saddle Tor and Haytor Rocks. The rock formations were massive and reminded me of some that we have in the Dark Peak, although these were definitely bigger!
The views from the top were beautiful. I felt so lucky that the weather had just about held off.
After crossing the Tors I dropped down into the woodland and followed the Dartmoor way. The woodland was beautiful, the leaves on the floor were still crisp and rustled as I walked along the footpath. As I’ve been walking along, I know that I’m really enjoying myself, when I break into song. (It’s one of the perks of waking by yourself as nobody else has to suffer!) So far, there’s been a mix of songs from the Lion King, my own version of James Blunt’s You’re Beautiful and today some songs from the House Martins were added in too.
As I continued the footpath got progressively muddier, however the footpath was the route of an old Victorian tramway. Two lines of stones still remained, so these provided some relief from the mud. I enjoyed walking along the top of the stones and it made me realise just how much my balance and proprioception have improved. About a year and a half ago, I started the transition to barefoot footwear. I originally made the transition to help prevent worsening of a bunion, but I’ve found so many more improvements than just that. One of the massive improvements has been in my proprioception. Two years ago, I would have a funny gait walking over cobbles, but today I could walk along the top of these stones with ease!
After leaving the Dartmoor way, I followed some lanes into Bovey Tracey and I officially crossed the National Park border. It was amazing to think that I had crossed the National Park over two days. It was a great experience, and I have truly enjoyed my traverse of Dartmoor!
On the way into Bovey Tracey there was a thatched roof, with those thatched ducks, they made me smile.
After a quick stop in the tourist information (in case they sold badges), I checked into my room for the night, unfortunately badgeless but feeling great after another lovely day.
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