I mentioned last time about whispering it quietly, so I’ll say it again, this was another walk without a drop of rain. In fact the sun was out, skies where blue and the world looked stunning. Linda was still away visiting her parents, and without the car I took a bus to Lee Mill, a short 15 minute ride away. I devised a loop back home from there, taking me out first to the edge of Dartmoor and the tungsten mines at Drakelands, before turning in the direction of home via some fine old buildings in Plympton. I started out with a bit of an unintended loop around Lee Mill, looking for the right footpath, after five different starts I started again realising I was right first time! I headed out across muddy fields to Mark’s Bridge and the Stert Bridge, picking up lanes on the way to Sparkwell. I climbed out of Sparkwell to the edge of the moor and the recently constructed tungsten mine. The mine has been here trading on and off (recently mainly off) for a hundred years or so now, its has passed through a number of different companies as well. Currently it sits dormant and a waste of time and a huge scar on the landscape. The only part that is reasonable here is the footpath, which loops nicely around it southern rim between Lutton and Hemerdon Ball. From Hemerdon Ball I dropped down to Hemerdon itself and on into the edge of Plympton. I walked a few lanes splitting industrial and housing estates and soon I was quickly picking up a few groceries, before heading off for Plympton St Maurice and the treasures there. Plympton Castle was an 11th century motte and bailey castle, it was razed by King Stephen around the mid 1100s, and then rebuilt as a masonry keep in the 1200s. With The Plympton St Maurice area acting as a main port during the time, the area and castle was a busy spot. There is even a Barbican Road next to the castle, before the river silted up and the port moved more towards its current place in Plymouth. The church next to the castle (St Thomas’) was visited next, there are records showing a building here before 1300, but the current building is from the late 1400s it would seem. Next up was the Plympton Grammar School, built in 1664, it is a gem of a building and currently up for sale for 1.2 million. Joshua Reynolds was a former artist pupil and his dad was a master. It is named as the Cradle of English Art with other alumni such as Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, the first president of the Royal Photographic Society and also president of the Royal Academy and director of the National Gallery. Turning a corner I headed into the London Inn, a fantastic pub and sat and watched a bit of sport, I obviously got lost as I was in there longer than planned! 😉 Luckily it was a short walk home after a fantastic (pub) outing, as I said keep whispering it!!

Start – Bus to Lee Mill

Route – Mark’s Bridge – Stert Bridge – Sparkwell – Hemerdon Ball – Hemerdon – Stoggy Lane – George Lane – Plympton – Plympton Castle – Plympton St Maurice Church – London Inn – Sherford

Distance – 10 miles   Start time – Bus at 9.15am, walking by 09.30am  Time taken – 5hrs (but there was a long stop in the London Inn)  Highest Point – Hemerdon Ball 212 metres

Weather – Clear skies, sunshine, glorious