{"id":1207,"date":"2018-03-18T00:01:47","date_gmt":"2018-03-17T13:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/julesforth.com\/walkingtheblackdog\/?p=1207"},"modified":"2018-03-19T09:14:31","modified_gmt":"2018-03-18T22:14:31","slug":"day-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/julesforth.com\/walkingtheblackdog\/day-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 16"},"content":{"rendered":"

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From: <\/strong>Barnstaple to Brayford
\nDistance: <\/strong>16m \/ 25.6km
\nCumulated distance: <\/strong>201.2m \/ 323.8
\nPercentage completed:<\/strong> 19.57<\/p>\n

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Today I said goodbye to the coast, my husband and stairs. I loved the time walking on the South West Coast Path .. the views were spectacular. I’m not so sure I shall miss the stairs. The time with Patrick was short but very sweet. He lucked out by getting a short and cruisey day yesterday, punctuated by gorgeous cakes, great coffee and even better gin. Now that he’s gone his visit seems almost a dream!<\/p>\n

The Beast from the East revisited the South West today, bringing with its visit much snow. But this time it was of the rather pretty fluffy variety and walking through it was largely a delight. I exchanged the South West Coast Path for The Tarka Trail, although the two do overlap for a while. You could argue that North Devon has taken Henry Williamson\u2019s book \u2018Tarka the Otter: His Joyful Water-life and Death in the Country of the Two Rivers\u2019 and marketed the life out of it, to encourage tourists to visit the county. On the other hand, why not. The delightful and highly regarded book was first published in 1927 and has remained in print ever since. A beautiful film narrated by Sir Peter Ustinov was later made of the book, as well as an audiobook read by the honey-voiced Sir David Attenborough.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Starting out from Sticklepath this morning<\/p><\/div>\n

Far better that the county is known for Tarka than for Norman Scott, the male model who in the 1970s, blackmailed local MP and Liberal Party Leader Jeremy Thorpe, over an alleged relationship between the two of them. The story goes that an ex-airline pilot was employed by a colleague of Thorpe\u2019s to intimidate Scott. He started by setting up a meeting at a hotel in Barnstaple. The phone life was unfortunately very crackly and as a consequence, the pilot sped off to Dunstable in Bedfordshire<\/i>, several counties away, to spend many fruitless hours waiting for his prey. Sounds very familiar to me .. as one who can mix up her Gatwick and Heathrow, Bangkok and Chiang Mai, February and March, 7pm and 17.00 etc etc etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

From my hotel in Sticklepath it took me half an hour to walk clear of Barnstaple. The surrounding terrain was made up of gently rolling hills, with a good sprinkling of tiny villages and a steadily growing sprinkling of snow. At the main roundabout to the town there is is a fabulous group of sculptures called<\/span>\u00a0Barum Stenning. They were designed by Scottish sculptor,\u00a0<\/span>Patricia Leighton and commissioned by Devon County Council in 2006 at a cost of \u00a3120,000. There was a huge outcry from locals, due to the cost and look of the stones at the time. I think they’re rather beautiful and definitely very striking, making a great gateway for Barnstaple. My photo really does not do it justice .. take a look at some of the professional shots taken ..\u00a0http:\/\/www.nevillestanikkphotography.co.uk\/image\/2075\/Barnstaple\/<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sticklepath roundabout sculptures<\/p><\/div>\n

Finding the right bit of the Tarka Trail proved more of a challenge than I had thought it would be. It was in the industrial estate and I noticed the wry smiles on the faces of coffee drinkers at Costa, as they saw me through the window, making a second circuit around the B&Q. I held my head up high and read my map, rather than relying on the directions of various dog walkers and soon enough the Tarka Trail, going in the right direction, revealed itself.<\/p>\n

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Bridge across the River Taw to the Trail<\/p><\/div>\n

Along the way there was evidence of kids enjoying the snow. I met several families, plastic sledges under their arms, out to find a slope before the Beast melted.<\/p>\n

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Maniacal snowman<\/p><\/div>\n

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Daffs surviving the inclement weather<\/p><\/div>\n

Watching out rather optimistically for otters, I found instead that there was no shortage of abandoned boats. In fact there was a positive graveyard of old boats that wouldn’t pass muster nowadays.<\/p>\n

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Seen better days<\/p><\/div>\n

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Not going anywhere soon<\/p><\/div>\n

Before long, the Tarka Trail took me across country, through fields and along river banks. It was as magical as I’d hoped, with the bright whites lifting the contrast of wintery greyness.<\/p>\n

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Woods along the river<\/p><\/div>\n

Snow started to fall more heavily and soft drifts began to form along the sides of the lanes. There was a Laurie Lee feel to the whole walk .. quite the wrong area I know but somehow nostalgic and enchanting, all the same.<\/p>\n

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Thickly pleasing snow<\/p><\/div>\n

As I passed a large tree, with a cosy nook at the bottom of its trunk, I disturbed a ewe and her twins who came stumbling out. I felt badly that they had lost their warm bed on account of me. But the lambs were curious and I was able to take several sweet photos of them .. sheep and snow is one of my favourite combinations in a landscape painting. My father always claimed that snowy paintings don’t sell but I’d be happy to have many on my walls.<\/p>\n

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Sheep emerging<\/p><\/div>\n

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Initially shy ..<\/p><\/div>\n

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.. and then enboldened<\/p><\/div>\n

I loved this section of the walk, relishing the quietness as snow flakes settled, adding to the quilted softness of the fields and paths.<\/p>\n

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Loving the snow<\/p><\/div>\n

The last three miles of the day had to be on roads so that I could reach my destination in Little Bray. But they were quiet roads and I only saw four or five cars, all going at snail’s pace to avoid having the vehicle get out of control. It had clearly been snowing more heavily the further east I walked and the hedgerows were heavy with drifts.<\/p>\n

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Snow in the hedgerows<\/p><\/div>\n

Not far from my bed for the night, I came across this completely snowed in house. It so reminded me of the Blackberry Farm books and especially the one in which the family of mice are unable to leave their house because of the snow.<\/p>\n

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Snowed in<\/p><\/div>\n

I received a very warm welcome from my hosts at Little Bray House. Especially as I really wasn’t expected. Oops. What was I saying about Gatwick and Heathrow?<\/p>\n

Black Dog Tails
\n<\/strong>Search-dog Grace and Sgt Matthew Jones collected the Dicken medal, awarded posthumously to Theo, the springer spaniel.\u00a0Theo, a springer spaniel, died from an undiagnosed seizure just hours after her trainer Lance Corporal Tasker died in Afghanistan.<\/span>
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Today I said goodbye to the coast, my husband and stairs.<\/p>\n

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