Devon 11 - The End

Following the previous post I spent a few days at The Manor Hotel near Okehampton with the TOGs, I didn’t doo much, just one craft activity, Lino Cut printing. It’s a new activity there, and something that interested me as I was thinking it should be possible to 3D print the stamps. You trace an image onto the “lino”, which is softer than the floor type, then carve out the non-printing bits with a curved chisel, unfortunately they didn’t have an image of my signature Badger so I did a fox instead. It was good fun, even though I was the only participant, and I was happy with the results. 

Would I 3D print the stamps? Yes, but only for specific purposes as I think the hand-carved look is part of the result. My plan for next year* is to take my own badger image and have another go. Apart from that one activity I spent most of the time chatting to friends, although I did also provide a quiz for the Saturday evening entertainment which contributed to the fun. I drove home through the Cotswolds as I find motorway driving boring. 

There are a few conclusions from the trip:

I’m not saying the Inn I stopped at for the first part of the trip was a mistake, it was pleasant and friendly and the room was comfortable enough (although it could do with a bit of maintenance) but I should have checked the sample menu more closely. The food was fantastic but the choice was very limited (you can get bored with steak) and it wasn’t cheap; if it had been in a town with alternatives that wouldn’t have mattered but I never feel like driving out on an evening and there was nothing else in walking distance. Breakfast could also have been an issue if I’d needed to get out early, it was supposedly between 9:15 and 10:15, which was late enough, but on one day the lady doing it didn’t even show up until about 9:25 and it was getting on for 10:00 before the food arrived. 

Hiring a bike for a day just about worked, it was certainly easier than having the bike rack on for the whole trip, with the attendant security risks. The only issue was that I have my bikes set up how I like them which you simply can’t do with a rental. I’ll reserve judgement on that for the future but I think if it hadn’t been for having the PA kit in the car for a quiz I’d have been better taking the folding bike. It was interesting to try the later version of my own bike, but as it’s really no different functionally I certainly won’t be upgrading. 

Putting the electric coolbox in the boot didn’t work - it took up a lot of room for very little benefit; a smaller box or bag on the floor in the back will suffice and free up boot space. 

Don’t get a sciatica attack when you go on holiday! 😊 I need to see how things work out in the next couple of weeks before I consider some options for the next trip away; one thing I’m really pleased about is that I bought an automatic car, when you’re left leg isn’t functioning well not having to operate a clutch is a bonus. 

*I say every year I probably won’t go again, I always do. I thought I’d been just about everywhere I’d want to go in the South West but from this year’s explorations I’ve added the Stover Canal and Morwellham Quay. 

Devon 11 - Day5, No Railways

No railways but I go to prison and end up in a police station! 

Rain and sciatica affected the day’s activities a bit but I still achieved the main aims. 

I’m writing this bit sat outside the former dairy at Dartmoor Prison, now the Prison Museum. There’s a lot I already knew about how it was used to house prisoners of war from both the Napoleonic era and from the War of 1812 (which the Americans still believe they won - they didn’t!) The part I didn’t know is that in 1917 it became a work camp for conscientious objectors who’d previously been held in prisons. The difference is that the cell door locks were removed and they were free to associate at all times; the emphasis was on them carrying out essential work rather than on being punished. 

I was aware that the Prison itself is currently closed and had seen some reports questioning why it is still staffed and considered operational.but the guide at the museum gave me the simple answers; the buildings are currently undergoing major refurbishment, scheduled to finish in around three years time, however due to the overcrowding elsewhere they are keeping accommodation for 200 prisoners and sufficient staff available at all times in case of a major incident requiring inmates from elsewhere to be relocated at short notice - for the moment it’s the best prison in the country to work at! 

From the prison I drove into Princetown itself, the machine in the car park wasn’t working but the app was one of the ones I have on the phone (I have a separate folder for these as there are so many, but the Government have said they’re going to force them all to share so you just need one app wherever you park). I did have a bit of a wander but it was raining and I was struggling so after a quick look round the visitor centre I had lunch at The Old Police Station Cafe, my second pasty of the trip, delicious if just slightly too peppery for my taste. 

I was trying to decide what to have for dinner, and was leaning towards having the fish and chips, when the boss chef made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, the Rib Eye for the price of the Rump, well it would have been rude to turn it down! It’s probably a sign of the quality of the meat served that they don’t have steak knives - you simply don’t need them. 

The cook station is the old fireplace - this is not a place for vegetarians! 

The steak was gorgeous, I generally prefer it slightly more cooked but it was incredibly tender and full of flavour. 

Before coming up to the bedroom I did take the time to thank the manager/head chef in case I don’t see him in the morning, he’s really looked after me this week, as have all the staff. 

People are strange! I’ve put a couple of posts this week on an Industrial Locomotives group on FB. One of them was about the granite tramway and was, strictly speaking, against the group’s rules as there’s no locomotive so to make up for it I posted the pictures of the three Quarry Hunslets from yesterday. Guess which post has attracted the most comment and attention? Yep, it’s the first one! I guess it was something different and it is interesting if you own an anorak! 😊

Devon 11 - Day 4, A Small Railway

It was back to an actual working railway today; The Launceston Steam Railway isn’t strictly a heritage line as it’s narrow gauge running on an old standard gauge track bed. It opened in 1983 as a home for some privately owned locos and stock; over the years its expanded from the original 1/2 mile of track and counts in my top few favourite railways. 

The weather was fairly grim first thing, with heavy rain and high winds, but the forecast suggested it would clear and was, for once, correct. A late breakfast (the person doing it today didn’t arrive until nearly 9:30) and a road closure that wasn’t picked up by TomTom, and that had no warnings or diversion signposted, delayed my arrival so I missed the first train; with an hourly service that didn’t matter - it gave me time for a mug of coffee. 

The railway is very scenic if not the smoothest of rides, our haulage for the day was Lilian, slightly to the surprise of the guard given the earlier weather as they tend to use Covertcoat, which has a cab, when it’s wet. 

After the first trip I raided the book shop and bought a railway cartoon book and a hard back on Garratt locomotives, a type which are of particular interest to me; there was 50% off second hand books so they cost me under a fiver - I’m not complaining! 

I had a cheese and onion baguette for lunch before a second trip, at one point we slowed to drop one off the helpers off as apparently they’ve had an issue with sheep on the line so he was going to see if he could find and block up the hole in the fence. I was lucky enough to snag a quick tour of the engine sheds after the trip so managed to photograph the other two steam locos that are regularly used, although they’ve got an issue using Dorothea. 

Lilian and Covertcoat have both had tenders added, principally so they can be fired (stoked) easily; as built, due to the very cramped footplates, the only practical way to fire them is to stop, get off, then stand behind the loco and open a couple of sliding doors at the back for access to the firebox and the coal beside it. In the quarries this wasn’t a problem and indeed it hasn’t been too much of an issue at Launceston until recently. 

They usually use decent quality doubles (smallish coal which I used to use in the boat stove) but the last load delivered was Polish trebles, even smaller lumps which aren’t burning very easily and are generating a lot of smoke so they’re finding it difficult to do the whole 3 1/2 mile run up the line without having to stoke the fire. Kay (one half of the husband and wife team that own the railway) was saying that they’ve had some advice from another heritage railway about how to build the fire which is helping but it’s a learning experience so for the moment Dorothea isn’t getting much running. 

Back at the Inn it was a limited menu with the main offering being Steak on a Stone, otherwise known as cook your own dinner! I’ve done similar things before and I love it as I like my meat hot and cooked through so it’s good to be able to control it myself. 

I forgot to take a picture at the start so was about half way through the steak at this point, and I’d had most of the chips. The last slice of steak was probably around six ounces on its own! Delicious but really it was too much. 

Devon 11 - Day 3, No Longer a Railway

The day started with a slightly unusual breakfast, the remains of the cheese and biscuits from last night’s snack! 

As long time readers will know one of my frequent holiday activities is cycling along old railway lines. The route this time was the Granite Way from Lydford to Okehampton, formerly part of the London and South Western Railway’s Exeter to Plymouth line. 

I decided for convenience that I’d hire an eBike rather than bring one of my own (because of kit for later in the week I couldn’t fit the folder in the boot) so I’d booked one from Devon Cycle Hire. The bike itself was a later version of my own, with the same Bosch drive, the only functional difference being that it was a step through. The chap at the hire place kindly loaned me a pannier to save carrying the rucksack and to carry the fairly weighty lock. 

Most of the route is tarmac apart from a short section which is privately owned, that was narrow and rough but manageable. Other than the two ends it’s all off road, one of the reasons I like these trails. There’s some fairly spectacular scenery in a few places, including two viaducts. 

Lake Viaduct 

The hire place is roughly in the middle of the trail so I decided to go to Lydford first then back along the whole trail to Okehampton. In practice I didn’t go into Lydford itself as there didn’t seem much point. At the Okehampton end I decided it was coffee and cake time so locked the bike up and headed into the station buffet. 

Carrot Cake is healthy, isn’t it?

I’d visited that end of the trail before when we went walking on one of the activity weekends but back then there was a volunteer led heritage service from the station to Meldon Viaduct, with an excellent and very welcoming buffet coach stationed at the end. Sadly the coach was badly vandalised one winter and the service ended around the time mainline services to Oakie were restored. At one point there was talk of reopening the whole line as an alternative route to the coastal track through Dawlish but in the end they decided to move the sea (literally, they built a new sea wall further out to protect the line). 

The line is still there but is very overgrown

The last remnants of running trains beyond Oakhampton

The highlight of the route has to be Meldon Viaduct itself, built in 1874 and widened to double track 5 years later. It closed to most traffic in 1968 but was still used for some shunting from the nearby quarry until the track was removed in the 1990’s. 

On top…

And underneath!

All that remained was for me to ride the mile or so back to the hire shop and return the bike - I’d paid for a whole day to give me some flexibility, in the end I’d have just about got away with a half day’s hire but the difference in cost wasn’t that much. 

As I was sat outside drinking a bottle of Coke I got chatting to a couple of ladies, as you do, who’d been putting the world to rights, a pleasant interlude even if we didn’t entirely see eye to eye over how dreadful things are nowadays compared to the 1960’s, my view is that it’s not so much there’s a lot more bad things happening, it’s just that we hear about them (I know that’s being simplistic). One of the ladies reckoned she’s visited every county in England except Durham and Northumberland so I had to point out that in that case she’s missed the best bits! 😊

I’ve made a change to the SatNav settings for this week, putting it on quickest route rather than eco, The later generally works well but in Devon it tens to send you down mostly narrow lanes which don’t even have a decent view thanks to the Devon Banks (field boundaries tended to be raised backs of earth with a laid hedge on top). I still had to do a couple of reverses today to let cars get past but I’m not complaining, yesterday everyone ended up getting out of my way! 

I rounded the day off with spare ribs and a portion of chips, the ribs were supposed to be a starter but it was definitely a man sized portion. 

Devon 11 - Day 2, Not a Railway

Going for a walk on Dartmoor when your chronic sciatica is bad probably isn’t advisable but I’ve been trying to visit Hay Tor for several years, last time I tried you couldn’t even see from one side of the car park to the other as there was thick fog so walking on the moor was not a good idea. 

Having parked at the visitor centre and paid (I don’t mind as it’s supporting the National Park) I set out, the walk up to the Rocks is steep and I’ll admit I was in some pain to the point where I wasn’t sure how far I’d get but after I’d sat for a few minutes just below the rocks I felt better and didn’t have any significant problems for the rest of the walk. 

Hay Tor Rocks

The main aim of the walk was the remains of a tramway that ran across the moor; tram usually conjures up images of big electric vehicles running on rails in town but this was very different, wagons, running on granite blocks, were hauled up the line by horses and ran down carrying stone under gravity to the Stover Cansl. The wheels weren’t flanged like more modern railways, they ran on the flat part on the outside of each piece of stone. 

This isn’t the only extant piece of stone tramway in the country but it’s one of the most extensive. I walked along it for a reasonable distance, which included finding their equivalent of points where a spur or branch joined. 

I was quite pleased, as I walked back to the car, to see an ice cream van in the top car park. One medium (an understatement, it was huge) cone with flake later and that was lunch sorted! I wisely didn’t want too much given that I’d booked Sunday dinner at the pub for 3pm. 

Just a small dinner - flame grilled rib eye with all the trimmings

The food was delicious, but I couldn’t finish it all, it was telling that lots of doggy bags were in evidence (some of them even had accompanying dogs). 

Given the early dinner, and the pub closing at 6pm, a small complimentary snack has arrived at my room for later, I may yet struggle! It’s a good job I’ve suspended my diet for this week. 

Devon 11 - Day 1, Trains

I’m on my way to the TOGs’ annual activities weekend in Devon, hence the title, but I can’t believe this is the 11th time we’ve been there. As I’d got a few places I wanted to visit I’m taking a few days on Dartmoor before we assemble at the hotel. 

I made an early start as I wanted to visit the South Devon Railway again, it’s been quite a few years since I was last there. The drive down wasn’t too bad but I still ended up rushing a bit to get sorted and get a ticket before the first train departed. I opted to sit in the Autocoach, although it wasn’t being used as such; these have a cabin at the front where a driver can control the loco via a system of rods and cables to avoid the loco having to run round the train at termini. I have been on them when they’ve been in operation and it’s a slightly odd experience but this time the train was too long for it to be used. 

The driver’s cabin

It’s a pleasant run from Buckfastleigh to Totnes, with much of it by the river, although the view is slightly spoilt in places by a sewage works and water treatment plant. 

Typically the weather, having been fine all morning, turned to drizzle just as wet got off the train but it didn’t last for too long. I had a quick look round the small museum and the model shop but opted out of the tea room in favour of the refreshments hut by the car park - when in the South West it’s compulsory to have a pasty (and very nice it was too, plenty of meat and just peppery enough). I had a further wander, the miniature railway was supposed to be operating but there was no sign of any action so I guess they’d gone to lunch but there were a few people operating trains at the garden railway club. 

I took a photo of this tank engine which bore no makers plates as it could have been from our namesakes, Peckett and Sons of Bristol, but it turns out it was built by Hunslets in Leeds. 

The train crossing over the car park entrance

The drive across Dartmoor to my accommodation for the next few days was interesting in places, at one point the rain came on so heavily I had to slow right down and much of it was on single track roads but I got here safely. The Dartmoor Inn is a gastropub with the emphasis on the gastro but it seems pleasant enough. One oddity is the breakfast is complimentary but not necessarily served every day as it depends on staffing - in practice there’s only Monday where it may be an issue and there’ll be juice and pastries available.  Meals aren’t cheap, and are mainly flame grilled steaks, so I might not eat here every day but I’d booked for this evening and tomorrow. The burger I had tonight was excellent, and the triple cooked chips were perfect, but for £21 it should be good!

I was lucky enough to score a room upgrade, I’d booked the smallest and cheapest room but as they’re not full he’s given me one of the larger ones - all I’ll say is that the other room must have been tiny! 

End of an Era

Given that I only managed 5 nights away in the campervan this year, and not many more last year, I’ve sold it. It’s the first time in many years that I’ve not had a boat, tent, folding camper or campervan. It’ll also bring to an end 37 years of Caravan Club membership (not all mine - I’m a joint member with Dad). 

The blogs will continue with more adventures in Suzie Too.