This quickly became a transport walk. Several people
had to divert because the Gulworthy road was suddenly closed, so they had to
revert to the Crowndale road from Tavistock. So slightly late, seven of us set
off in slight drizzle through the straggling housing (and excellent blackberry
bushes), down through the woods to Tuckermarsh Quay (interesting topiary) and
our usual beach for coffee. On the way down, we were buzzed by a helicopter
that seemed to follow us.
We continued in dry weather along the Tamar foreshore
(part of the Tamar Discovery trail). A lovely wooden double kayak caused Amber
to sigh as it floated past – no lifting for her so no kayaking at the moment,
sadly. This was followed by a small fleet of sailing dinghies, which turned out
to be Weir Quay Kadets on their annual upriver camp. With my crib notes in
hand, we talked about the construction of the amazing viaduct in 1904-7, at
which point the helicopter hovered above us and just cleared the viaduct!
After noting the chapel in the woods above Cotehele,
we walked through fields and stopped for a rather wet lunch by the river as the
mist came down. Undeterred, we plunged through Braunder woods and started the
steep incline to Braunder farm, assisted by further blackberry picking. More
transport delights occurred as we went under two railway bridges and coincided
with the Bere Alston train doing its usual shunt.
It was Colin and Amber’s last walk before their next adventure – good luck! Everyone seemed to enjoy the 6 mile or so walk and the company was excellent!
Liz R