After what had seemed to be weeks of walking in
mist, rain, wind and general murkiness it was almost with disbelief that we
happily set out from Boulter’s Tor quarry carpark under cloudless blue skies
and brilliant sunshine - even if the temperature barely two hours before had
dropped to -5 Celsius. Up the track we
went, passing Boulter’s Tor to our left and the ruin of Twist farmhouse to our
right, brooding behind its screen of trees.
Then down the hill, boots crunching the frozen molehills. At Cudliptown we began the 2km steady climb to White Tor - and
unsurprisingly no-one complained of feeling cold whilst on the move in a chilly
east wind. The panoramic views on a day
like this, enjoyed especially during the obligatory coffee stop, were stunning.
Descent was past Wedlake, along the boundary wall, then across the pastures to
Great Combe Tor. The route now took us
down past the former open air swimming pool, long officially closed. But wait, what was this? An enormous digger busily excavating in the channel that
normally feeds water from the stream to the pool. Was there a plan to reopen the pool ? (This was not without interest, for several
of our group enjoy a bit of wild water swimming.) Was it all part of The South West Water
Master Plan? Sadly an enquiry provided
no enlightenment. So on we went, but
before we began the final climb back to the quarry to collect cars and seek
refreshment at the Peter Tavy Inn, at least one of our group quite properly
took advantage of the swing suspended from the bough of a tree. For me, at least, it had been an enjoyable
outing even if at times I felt a little
like the Grand Old Duke of York.
Peter