Day 8, Easter Sunday. Another sparkling morning and I really cant believe our luck as last year was awful at this time. Elaine Norridge, our host in Windsor House gave us a big breakfast and also contributed £5 to the charity - a sweet lady (follow her lead on www.justgiving.com/johndrinkwater). There was mist in the river valley below, but we were in bright sunshine, the air crisp and cold. As we walked north-eastwards our of Torrington, we saw a hot air baloon rising into the blue. The air was still so it travelled slowly and at one point gently disappearing down into the mist behind the town before rising again.
This was to be a very long day - 24 plus miles and climbing up onto Exmoor at 1,500 feet, so a lot more up than down. The first few miles to Newton Tracy were past farms and fields, but now with the distant view of Exmoor and none of the deep coombes you find further west. Wild flowers continued to be plentiful: the primrose would be our flower icon for this trip as they are on every lane and sometimes in profusion, but there are also lots of violets, stitchworts, daisies and occasionally swathes of wood anenome. We had to walk down a main road for a while, which can be alarming as the cars go very fast and you feel very vulnerable. We take care to be as visible as possible but keep such occasions to a minimum. We returned to the lanes and wound our way towards Bishops Tawton and I was navigator for the day. I was in a dream world somewhere I think, but I was used to John following and didn't think to check as I took a couple of turns on very small roads. He in the meantime had stopped for a natural break and lost sight of me and had no idea where I'd gone. I was waiting for him at the top of the hill and soon realised there must be a problem so had to retrace my step, steeply downwards, for about 600 yards to a cross roads, where I saw him approach. It was a relief as we had no mobile reception at all.
We joined the A377, crossing the River Taw, and were relieved a mile later to enter the village and leave the main road once more. The weather was almost summery, with a cloudless sky and clear air as we joined the Tarka Trail which climbed Eastwards then down to a stream, which it followed pleasantly, and also through an aggregates quarry which was less so to the village of Landkey. We ate our lunch sitting on a wall by the church and overlooking the valley we had climbed. The afternoon started with a very steep climb up through a field of sheep to a farm, where we got great views back over where we had come and Northwards to Barnstaple and the Bristol Chanel. Soon we went steeply down again to Chelfham, where there was an enormous viaduct over the buildings below with no apparent use now or at any time. It was impresive but peplexing!
Thereafter the climb up to Exmoor began, and we walked steadily uphill for the next 3 hours. It was mostly steady, through Bratton Fleming, but as we rose further there were a few big ups and downs designed to test weary limbs. However the countryside looked really lovely in the evening sun. As we approached Challacombe, I encountered a yew and 2 lambs on the road and stopped off at the nearest farm to alert them. I got barked at severely by a dog but the an did thank me for my pains.
Arriving in Challacome at last at 5.45, the pub wouldn't open till 6, so we clumped on the last 10 minutes, steeply uphill to our B&B at Twitchen Farm. Here we were greeted by a pair of yapping jack russells owned by a Korean guest. I wasn't in the mood and nearly barked at him - at least I must have looked fearsome as he avoided me from that moment on.
It was a relief to get into our room and relax and clean up, the sun still streaming through the window and on the scene spread out before us. We still had 2 more walks to do - that 10 mins down to the pub for dinner and back again, but we managed it, I called home, standing under a brilliantly starry sky before falling into bed.
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