Wednesday 25 September

Sleep was not too bad despite multiple wake ups due to the rock hard mattress. I think we have wound down and the exercise and significance of yesterday helped me get as much sleep as I did, but broken sleep is never as refreshing.

Breakfast was to order from a simple but tasty mostly organic local produce menu. This time the full breakfast had some ‘hog sausage’ slices which is a light coloured semi course pork sausage with notable pepper flavour. Note it is not the same as white pudding. Followed with homemade bread (toasted) and chunky strawberry and apricot jams to complement.

It was raining softly but very wetly and forecast to clear later in the day, so we went into Tavistock first for a quick look. Sir Frances Drake was from here apparently. It was very busy with so many people out for a cup of tea. Apparently that is what you do when it is too wet to do otherwise. We tested our full wet weathers and they worked well for our short walk around town.

The weather did lighten as expected so headed off with much excitement to find wild ponies, clapper bridges, burial stones, and stone circles. It was only about 10 minutes down the road before Vern got his first “stop the car” and a group of ponies were photographed.

We generally planned to head to Chagford which is on the northern part of Dartmoor. Princeton is sort of middle lower. On the way we called into a reputed pretty village called Widecombe-in-the-moor. It had a nice old pub which seemed like the perfect spot for a cuppa and light lunch.

We ordered a couple of entree sized meals – the house pâté and a cauliflower, gorgonzola and cheddar soup. As a soup queen I am a bit fussy, but this was honestly the best cauliflower soup I have ever had the pleasure of eating. The pâté was nice, and the serving obscenely huge in a full sized ramekin. The soup came with a warm wedge (from a large bun loaf) of grain bread that was crunchy on the outside and soft and moist in the middle. I am not a big bread fan unless it is sourdough or very good, and this met the very good category with honours. This particular pub dated to the 1700’s.

Across the road is the largest church on the moor, also dating back to around 14th century. It has a 120 foot tower and simple but interesting mix of pagan and Christian art adorning the inside including decals of the green man and other like symbolism. The leaning grave stones in long grass make a classic photo with the backdrop of Tor topped high moors in the background.

We continued our journey north, over a high pass area before descending to a valley below. There is a real charm being is such open spaces, with clean air breathing in the history that surrounds. Here on Dartmoor we feel like we are in a very different space, where Mother Nature rules and the local inhabitants know the rules of the relationship. It is a place that you want to stay and ignore the modern and busy world, it feels both timeless and going back in time.

The general scenery is varied, with a fair amount of farmland and the dreaded small lanes when you get to the lower areas. There was one tiny village where we experienced something new called a ford bridge. Basically you cross a controlled little ford where the river/stream crosses the road. How cool. There are a lot of beautiful and tiny villages on the lower regions.

First ancient stones we saw was the Spinsters Burial chamber. It was funny trying to find it as it was in a farmer’s paddock, behind a hedge on a narrow lane. Our nav got it right, we just couldn’t see it at first, or rather didn’t expect it to be in the paddock.

Next stop was the Tolstone and Nav got that one wrong, landing us in a tiny narrow village after some hair raising lanes. The village was so pretty we really didn’t mind. It makes us wonder what all these little villages were built for, with the big churches, in the middle of nowhere so to speak. They are not easily accessible and would service a small area of farms around. It had the feeling that if you lived there you would not go anywhere else…

As we had taken a relaxed pace all day it was late in the afternoon and we felt there was not enough time to do the stone circle at Chagford even though it was only about 20 minutes drive away. The walk to the stone circle would likely take a good 40 minutes each way. We were also over the lanes and wanted to get back on a main route towards home (and dinner) which was about 40 minutes drive.

On the way home we visited a clapper bridge at Postbridge, circa 12th century. The more modern bridge built to replace it was built 1720. They believe the granite stones would have been brought somehow from 1.5 miles away. We enjoyed walking over the bridge, the water flowing underneath and the soothing green surrounds.

Two bridges posh hotel was just round the corner – 5 minutes drive and despite our hearty lunch we were ready for dinner. They were fully booked, however, we must have looked like we needed feeding so they graciously offered us to have a drink if we were prepared to wait for 40 minutes. No problem, and one cider and a paddle of local beers later we enjoyed the comfort of f the big leather couches in front of the fire place and chatted with an elderly couple who were also waiting for their table.

The lady was in her 80’s and was on a special weekend with her toy boy as she referred to him (probably in his early to mid 70’s) that her 5 daughters had paid for them as a treat. They proudly announced they did not want to get married, as they had been there done that, but were very happy being together. So cute.

Two Bridges Hotel was built in 1794 originally as a coach inn and now is beautifully restored and decorated with antiques and pictures of royalty and upper class throughout the ages, including our current king as a young prince. The menu we got given was not the same as in house guests, which was a shame as I was looking forward to a splurge night. Regardless it was absolutely delicious. We had a chicken breast dish with a wine jus, broccolini and mash, and a local Devon sausage ring, with cabbage, black garlic mash, and gravy. We go half and half on meals most of the time unless I have a seafood dish. The ambience of the hotel oozed history, refinement, and a cosiness of Victorian fireplaces where the flames held many stories and secrets.