After a week of heavy rain which threatened to strip off the tarmac from the roads, we had a weekend which promised plenty of sunny patches, lots of cloud and showers. That will do me nicely, take a coat and good footwear and you can walk anywhere in that. All around this walk we watched for the showers, and took cover as they whipped overhead, one had hail which meant we sheltered under trees but generally we had dry conditions with some sunshine. This area is a neglected part of Dartmoor, plenty of lanes, some moorland (Plaster Down) and villages dotted around. This area is congregated around the River Walkham as it drops down towards Doublewaters, there are two bridges which makes a nice round walk. Plus the village of Walkhampton has a pub. We planned on eating here and then walking, however the streams in the village had flooded, badly. As a result the pub flooded also, and the lunch service was off. So we drove a mile or so to Meavy and the Royal Oak. We went here 2 weeks ago and again this was a fine meal. If you are around Dartmoor, always choose this place for a fine pub meal, especially now as they need your support, turn up early (midday) and you are guaranteed a table. Our leaders however want these disease infested places to close, really!! The places that don’t have a known case rate, unlike schools and universities that drove the rise in cases since September. No its easier to close pubs and less controversial. Again this is about government reputation and tax money and not health. Thankfully the walk was great, and a bit further than I thought, credit to the boys for getting around before dark, considering we were short of Gipsy Rock by a mile by 3.30pm we did well to get back to the car by 4.20pm. I forget sometimes that we are on the shorter days!!

Start – Walkhampton

Route – Huckworthy Bridge – Huckworthy Common Cross – Sampford Spiney – Ward Bridge – Gipsy Rock – Walkhampton Church – Walkhampton

Distance – 5 miles    Start time – 2pm    Time taken – 2hrs 20mins Highest Point – Sampford Spiney 235metres

Weather – Mostly cloudy, showers and hail then bits of blue sky and some sun