Day 32: Tavistock to Pensilva 16 miles

It’s a beautiful morning as we leave Tavistock (birthplace of Sir Francis Drake). The sun is shining and the air is cool and bright. We go down into town to buy lunch from the Co-op, then head west up onto the hills above. From here we can actually see today’s destination. I think it looks surprisingly near. Rich, however, seems it to be rather far. The sparkling clarity gives a visibility of up to 40 miles, which makes distances difficult to judge.

The first part of the day is dictated by finding a bridge across the river Tamar. The A390 is the most obvious route but undoubtedly would be an unpleasant walking experience. Instead, we head a bit further north, passing through a small housing estate to pick up a good path across fields of springy turf. Unfortunately, between the fields are some awkward stiles that robustly challenge our athleticism. Nevertheless, it is a fantastic start to the day.

We pass through the tiny hamlet of Millhill and head on to Ogbeare and the enticingly named Chipshop. The name has nothing to do with potatoes. Chips were tokens given to the local arsenic and tin miners in lieu of pay. They could be spent at local inns and shops, hence the name.

We turn off the B3362 and head down to cross the Tamar at Horsebridge. There is a pub here, but it doesn’t open until midday, so we have our break in one of the alcoves in the bridge, much to Richard’s chagrin (though we do spot a cormorant in the river). The impressive, stone bridge was one of the earliest Tamar crossings. It was built in 1437, allegedly by Benedictine monks. The river Tamar itself forms the county border and we are finally leaving Devon, the fourth largest county in England, just ahead of Norfolk. Excitingly, for the first time in my life, I’m now visiting Cornwall.

We have now joined the Tamara Coast to Coast way, an 87 mile route from Cremyll on the south coast to Morwenstow on the north shore of Cornwall. Initially, we go along a track, leading to a short stretch of metalled road and then we should have been able to regain a footpath. Our progress was temporarily delayed by some impressive tree surgery. Once the way was clear, we crossed into a field leading to the hamlet of Luckett.

Here, the Tamara route goes south, but instead we follow the Tamar Valley Discovery Trail. This 31 mile trail links Plymouth in the south with Launceston, the ancient capital of Cornwall. It shares some of its paths with the Tamara Way and, at times, the signage is quite confusing. We go up a steep road then take a beautifully contoured path, crossing another dangerous stile (festooned with warning signs and tape), eventually arriving at a bubbling stream, where a dipper is flitting from rock to rock. We are now on part of the 13% of Cornwall owned by the Duchy.

We leave the Trail at Old Mill, noticing that there has been a surprising amount of uphill today. This continues as we pull up to cross the A388. The rest of our day will be on country roads rather than footpaths. There appears to be a dearth of churches, so we stop for lunch and a rest on a grassy bank by the side of the road. We enjoy a leisurely lunch break then head off to the village of Golberdon. It feels like a a disconsolate sort of place, an impression not helped by the bizarre presence of a shop dummy and a union flag padlocked inside a disused phone box.

We descend to cross the river Lynher, then it’s a steady pull up to Charaton Cross and them up again to Pensilva. The ascent continues through the village as we attain the granite plateau of Bodmin Moor. We buy tomorrow’s lunch at the Premier shop, as it’s not clear where we can get food without retracing our steps. We climb out of the village and up towards Wheal Tor Hotel and Glamping, our destination for the night. We have ascended 2,300 feet today and, at around 1,000 feet above sea level, are about 700 feet higher than we were this morning.

Charlotte, our host, has left out crockery, cutlery, takeaway numbers and a bottle of wine as they are not serving food this evening. Yet again, we’ve received a very warm welcome in the West Country.

Total distance: 439 miles