Nine set out on 7/7 from Lopwell Dam on a cool, close, humid morn. There was a respectful minute's silence after coffee at the river-side for the events of 10 years ago. But a more cheerful finish thanks to our leader who arranged a delightful insider-visit to the lost gardens of Maristow House where a steadfast and determined lady tenant is, with the help of volunteers, restoring the old walled kitchen gardens and hot-houses of a glorious bygone age when 'his nobs' the third Baronet still had a large enough fortune to grow his own peaches, pineapples and potatoes of every colour. A modern-day task for Sisyphus ..... never to be completed? Lunch enjoyed by all at the Drake Manor Inn at Buckland Monochorum.
