I have often thought that one can follow the wrong trail for what in the end turn out to be all the right reasons.
So, it was when after spending a most comfortable dining evening and night at The Barnstaple Hotel in Barnstaple my long-time walking companion, poet and fellow journalist Peter Gibbs set out on the Tarka Trail.
Based on Henry Williamson’s Tarka the Otter story, the route takes the walker through 180 miles of the most beautiful and varied scenery from the spectacular North Devon coast to the splendour of both the Exmoor and Dartmoor national parks.
The receptionist at the hotel couldn’t have been more helpful, “We often have walkers staying here so all you have to do is to go out through the back of our carpark, turn right and follow along the road to a footpath taking you straight out to the cycle path beside the estuary,” she told us.
So, shouldering heavy overnight rucksacks and armed with our walking poles and map cases we hit the trail and headed down the estuary towards the open sea.
The signpost said Tarka Trail and Broughton which should have alerted me because it did not say Bideford, so off we set walking along the estuary with some spectacular views.
Two hours later after elevenses besides the RAF base at Chivenor the penny finally dropped because instead of tuning right we should have turned left back towards this picturesque market town overlooking the River Torridge and over the new bridge to follow the far side of the estuary
But had we done so we would never have met Swiss couple Brigitte Tanner and her partner, Urs Breton, over from Zurich to walk the famous South West Coast Path who happily stopped to hear the poem that Peter had just composed along the way.
It was, I admit, a bit of a shock to realise that we would now have to about turn and walk all the way back to Barnstaple, but we pushed the pace up to yomp mode and were back and over the bridge and picnicking on the far side of the estuary by 1pm.
The views across the estuary as we began the four mile walk to the delightful estuary side village of Instow were not nearly as good and then we became conscious of footsteps coming up behind us only to turn around and meet Owen Bishop from the North Somerset Victorian seaside town of Clevedon who lives literally just around the corner from Peter. I simply cannot begin to calculate the odds of that occurring ever again.
Having added all those extra miles to our day we decided to walk as far as Instow, stop at The Boathouse inn for a pint and call a taxi to take us the final three miles into Biddeford and up the hill to the Premier Inn.
Oh, and what a long and winding hill it was up, up, and up out of the town and at least a mile beyond, so yes, we did take the wrong trail but with far finer views and the chance meeting with the Swiss couple plus Peter’s close neighbour and being spared that long walk up a tiresome hill in the end it was for all the right reasons.
After an always comfortable stay at The Premier Inn a taxi ferried us back down into town and dropped us off at the yesteryear railway station with its iconic old signal box.
Here we began a seven mile walk with some long and gentle inclines forward to and beyond Watergate Bridge with the line keeping close company with the wooded Torridge river valley crossing it on iron bridges affording magnificent scenic views.
We paused for refreshing soft drinks at The Puffing Billy and former railway station heritage centre on the outskirts of Torrington before continuing along a much quieter woodland section of the track with fewer cyclists whizzing by with their bike bells ringing. But now we came upon a fun series of wooden effigies of people resting on benches along the way.
Our finishing point for the day was The Malt Shovel in the village of Murton which required a cross-country diversion through a series of quiet up hill and down dale lanes garlanded with wildflowers including red campion, later flowering bluebells and the occasional patch of orchids.
A particularly long and tedious climb was rewarded with a gentle stroll down into the village with magnificent views across country to Dartmoor which would be a future destination along the way.
At The Malt Shovel in Murton we were welcomed by Landlady Becky Mcclymont who took on the old pub nine years ago having decided to quit her secretarial job in London.
Opting for a quieter day we decided to leave the quite meandering Tarka Trail and head southwest through the lanes to Petrockstowe and on across country to the small hillside market town of Hatherleigh and if we had not done so we would have completely missed the inspirational Made-Well Community interest farm and cafe project.
This was set up by Carol Barkwell back in 2007 to create an open space where those with learning and other difficulties could come and grow and harvest vegetables and flowers in a nurturing and open community environment.
The project has grown from strength to strength over continuing years and Carol is pictured with her pet Olive a miniature Yorkshire Terrier.
Tarka Trailing
Barnstaple to Bideford
On the Tarka Trail
Here it was that Williamson
Wove his much-loved tale
Along the broad, quiet estuary
With swallows swooping low
Brown signs upon a single post
Showing where to go
Cormorants on the water
Then diving down below
‘Fore swiftly reappearing
Upon the tidal flow
Waders on the sand banks
Dunlin flying by
Curlew’s lonely calling
Beneath a leaden sky
