We left Lifton Farm Shop and started walking at 7.30am and it wasn’t until we were in among the houses and bungalows at Liftondown that Eddie even thought about doing jobs he should have done before leaving home. Thankfully I didn’t have far to go to find the appropriate bin and continue. The road is a bit of a rat run for traffic wanting to avoid going through Launceston town and at this time of the day it was particularly busy but I had thought about this and fastened a high visibility yellow tabard over my rucksack which made me feel a little safer. After a couple of miles we got onto the main Holsworthy to Launceston road and then had to walk beside the road but at least the verge was wide and well mown. Once away from the main road it was very quiet and rural with so much vegetation growing in the ditches and fields everything was bright green or in full flower, wild roses, campions, buttercups, ladysmock and ragged robin really thriving. Druxton bridge was the first time that day that I encountered the Tamar and what a lovely spot it was. Just beyond was what I thought was a lane adjacent to the river but it was in fact the disused Bude canal, which finished about here some three miles short of Launceston. I never left the tarmac road all day which was a shame but I saw very little traffic and at least my feet never got muddy or wet.
After eight miles we came along to Boyton which I always thought was in Devon but is definitely not. I walked through the village which has a primary school but nothing else more than houses and cottages. There was a chilly wind blowing from the north so I stopped in a gateway to put my coat back on and have a bun. Across the valley I noticed a number of cattle in a field but then realised it was a herd of red deer grazing in a field of spring corn. I lost count at around 40, I couldn’t believe my eyes and soon felt happy to live in Withiel parish where we see mostly a few roe deer, with the occasional red.
After several uneventful miles we eventually arrived at North Tamerton, a once-thriving village which had a blacksmiths shop, butcher, baker and candlestick maker all situated around the village green, with the church being central. Today everyone goes out to work leaving the village seemingly deserted and a bus going through just twice a week. We had dinner in the bus shelter while deciding whether to ring for a taxi or continue for the next five miles. Eddie was still full of energy so we agreed to continue. The road went down the hill to a bridge crossing over into Devon again, with the canal visible on both sides of the road. The sun came through the cloud and brought with it the first horsefly I had seen yet this year and gave me a timely reminder to apply some repellent.
The whole area is very low lying with fields full of rushes and an abundance again of wild flowers. At Veales Moor I left the designated route and walked a short way along the road to where a man called Jack Saltern lived years ago. When we lived at Holsworthy, Jack worked for my father and mother would pick him up and take him home as he couldn’t drive and we kids usually went along for the ride. The footprint was just the same but everything has changed as it was 1969 when we moved to Withiel.
We came eventually to Bridgerule and crossed the Tamar yet again and back into Cornwall where, after a short walk up to the main road, caught the bus back to Launceston and then got a taxi on to Lifton farmshop and my van. We covered a distance of more than 17 miles that day but because there was not much ascent it didn’t feel so bad. I was very happy to have a cream tea and call it a day.
Erica
