6 to 8 October 2026 - A Trip to Devon

Tuesday 6 October 2026

And so to Devon, where Sue and I first of all met Isabel and Brian at Trevallick's Farm Shop for a two hour catch up. Isabel was my first lodger when I bought a house in the mid 1970's at a time of high mortgage interest rates that meant I needed help with the mortgage payments.  I remember her first few rent instalments going towards the purchase of a large wardrobe that was subsequently taken to bits and then rebuilt every time I moved house, right up to the sale of my last house a few years ago. It was good to meet Isabel's second husband and to recall times with her first husband, Gary, who sadly died recently.

From there it was an easy drive to the striking Kit Hill, that has seen much mining in the past, one of the chimneys from which is now adorned with an assortment of 21st century apparatus. Fine views from this summit.
 

On to Princetown, to nice accommodation at 'Ramblers' Rest', where Sue is pictured in the hot tub, and good food at the Prince of Wales pub, where Tom is pictured with his 'Free Beer'.

Wednesday 7 October 2026

The view from our bedroom window didn't exactly inspire us to go out and explore Darmoor.

However, whilst others (Tom, Keith, Carol and Julie had also extended their break to do some walking on Dartmoor) went off to bag some summits, Sue and I enjoyed a 12 km circuit from Princetown, that included a visit to the rocky summit of South Hessary Tor, 

On the way to this windy summit we passed irrigation canals, an assortment of fungi including some huge specimens of Fly Agaric, two groups of twenty strong squaddies, some cyclists, some rainbows (the rain was elsewhere, perhaps following Julie's 'bagging' crowd), some interesting marker posts, a lost village, and some friendly girls on the last day of their DoE gold expedition.

We returned to admire the old hotel that has been turned into a visitor centre and gift shop. By the end of our stay we felt so sorry for them - they appeared to have very few customers - that we spent quite a bit before leaving the town.

Here's our route - 12 km with 200 metres ascent that took us a little over 3 hours.

Then we visited Plymouth. Driving was a bit of a nightmare but it was worth it to admire the boats in the harbour and to see Lyn, one of Sue's former colleagues, who has been enjoying work setting up a Pharmacy School in Plymouth (linked to Bath University where Lyn is a Pharmacy Professor)..

Lyn's aim is to increase the numbers of pharmacy students in the south west, where more pharmacists are needed. This new school seems to be doing just that.

After a lovely meal at Rockfish, by the harbour, Sue and I drove back to Princetown, where Sue lazed in the hot tub and I joined the others for a beer.

Thursday 8 October 2026

A huge mast towers over Princetown, next to a trig point that marks the summit of North Hessary Tor. This is an easy walk from Ramblers' Rest and when extended to Hollow Tor it generated a circuit of a little over 5 km. Sue and I enjoyed this morning stroll in more fine weather on a sunny day.

Returning to Princetown past the church, we noticed lots of neatly placed stones with inscriptions that suggested they were in memory of deceased inmates of Princetown prison. The prison remains an eyesore over the town. It is temporarily closed, having been evacuated and shut down in July 2024 due to dangerously high levels of radioactive radon gas.

The church, which is home to some lovely stained glass windows, is no longer used for worshiping.

Here's our 5 km route - with ascent of 140 metres. It took us an hour and a half.

The reason for our short morning walk was that Sue and I had a 12 noon appointment at the Two Bridges Hotel, just a short drive from Princetown. Here we met Richard and Jenny and their hosts in Totnes, Paul and Helen - who used to live nearby us in Hale.

After a jolly good lunch, the six of us wandered up a track to Wiseman's Wood, where visitors are encouraged not to enter the wood, so as to preserve the ancient rainforest and its delicate inhabitants.

Here's another 5 km amble, with 75 metres ascent and a duration of 2 hours, given the arthritic joints and poor eyesight that slows some of us down.

Then we returned to Princetown for final sessions in the hot tub and in the Prince of Wales, before heading north to the subject of the next posting.

1 to 5 October 2026 - A Trip to Cornwall

I've taken a short break from composing this on-line diary. After 19 years and over 5000 postings it was welcome. Some 25 of us had excellent accommodation at Boswinger Youth Hostel (approx £100 per person for five nights), but it soon became clear that the sparse WiFi and lack of a phone signal would provide a good excuse for this break.

I now find  myself with a backlog of several entries, as well as over 500 photos that I have indexed but which are far too many to replicate here. So I've edited them down to about 100 images, to be displayed in this and the next four postings.

The weather in Cornwall, and later in Devon, was superb. The youth hostel, pictured below, has been sold by the YHA and is now YHA affiliated accommodation with room for 40 guests. That meant with only 25 of us all the couples were able to enjoy private rooms.

On arrival, after we had unloaded lots of communal milk, butter, etc, Sue found Jenny and went for a swim in the nearby, allegedly warm, sea.

Later, another Jenny celebrated her 60th birthday with some fizz and a chocolate cake made by Sue. There were lots of candles, but the matches didn't work and nobody had as much as a lighter. However, the cake was delicious.

Friday 2 October 2026

20 of us set off from the youth hostel on a walk around Dodman Point, returning via Gorran Haven, Portmellon and Gorran Churchtown. Just a 16 km circuit with 450 metres ascent.

We soon reached the local beach, where an assembly was held before we stretched our legs on the ascent towards the large stone cross at Dodman Point.

Near the cross, a Watch Shed must have provided protection from the weather for 'off shift' members of the watch team.

We made our way steadily over easy ground past clumps of Hogweed, eventually dropping back to sea level at Gorran Haven, where Sue and Jenny stripped off.

Lunch was taken on the beach.

More lovely cliff top walking took most of us (a few turned for home at Gorran Haven) to Portmellon, where there was more stripping off, and beers outside the Rising Sun.

After a very long break, our walk resumed by way of pleasant woodland paths that took us inland to Gorran Churchtown, most of the height being gained on a very short section of path that some people took ages to by-pass via some zigzags.

Here we are, waiting for those trapped by the zigzags.

A little further on, part of the group missed the fact of a stile that crossed to the other side of a hedge, which meant that when they finally made it back to Boswinger the teapot had just been re-filled.

Here's our 16 km route with 450 metres ascent. We were out for five and a half hours.

Then a communal meal to the usual high standard:

Sue: garlic mushrooms, lentil and aubergine moussaka.

Pete: bruschetta.

Sue W: paté.
Keith: chicken korma.

Richard: fish curry.

Julie: beef chilli

Plenty for all 25 of us.

Saturday 3 October 2026

Half the group started with either the Eden Project parkrun or the Lost Gardens of Heligan parkrun. These are covered on a separate posting. So we skip to the lovely meal all 25 of us enjoyed at our local hostelry, the Barley Sheaf, in Gorran Churchtown (near the church, as is everything in Gorran Churchtown).

 

Service was a bit slow; food was tasty when it arrived; portions could have been greater; duck was perfectly cooked; fish and chips was a good option.

Sunday 4 October 2026

Several of us drove to Carne Beach and walked back from there. Others walked in the opposite direction and brought the car back.

The seaweed on Carne Beach didn't seem to put off the swimming contingent.

It was another day of fine clifftop walking, with occasional drastic ascents and descents.

Arriving at Nare Head, we admired the bunker that played a part in protecting the port of Falmouth during WW2. Special effects systems, scattered strategically across the headland, were controlled from here by four Royal Navy crewmen. German air crew were fooled, with special effects designed by British film studios giving them the impression of success.

Beyond Nare Head, we passed above Kiberick Cove on our way to a lunch stop at the pretty village of Portloe.

Here we met the other group, heading for Carne Beach and a squashed ride back to Boswinger.

More good coastal walking took us to Porthlune Cove, near Caerhays Castle, where pheasants, live and dead, were scattered along the road.

Sea Campion and Bell Heather adorned the path, which was apparently in an area of fearsome sheer drops.

 

Porthlune Cove would later be utilised for some paddleboarding.

We passed through a nice wooded section on our way back to Hemmick Beach, soon followed by refreshments at Boswinger.

Here's our 16 km route, with 700 metres of ascent. We spent a leisurely 7 hours over this gentle stroll.

Later, we were joined for dinner at the youth hostel by Sue's nephew Jacob, his dad Alex, and his girlfriend Ellie.

Monday 5 October 2026

Some of the group went for a ride on a ferry.

Others went to a National Trust car park at Porth, for a circuit around the St Anthony peninsula.

Various artifacts at St Anthony held the group's attention for some time.

An elevenses break was taken.

The cormorants were not so good at sharing their perches.

The houses of Falmouth caught the sun across the bay, and seals and dolphins frolicked close to shore.

Place House was a very private spot, apart from the church, which was open to visitors, who would no doubt admire the stained glass windows.

The church spire is the one on the left, as we look back to Place House.

A good spot for lunch was found by the small ferry from near Place House to St Mawes.

After returning to Porth along pleasant cliff top paths, some of the group ended their walk whilst others took an inland track towards Gerrans, returning to Porth along a lovely well worn path.

Some found the last bit of the walk through seaweed and rock pools a little challenging. I went ahead and grabbed a comfy chair.

Here's our route - 16 km with 370 metres ascent, taking five and a half hours.

Meanwhile, Sue, Jenny and Richard had returned to Porthlune Cove with their paddleboards.

That's it for now from Cornwall. Some of us enjoyed Richard's excellent chefing before packing up in readiness for moving to Devon on Tuesday morning