Today was an interesting, varied landscape. We moved from the bleak moors to pastoral Exmoor, walking through fields of sheep and cattle initially and later, crops.

We are discovering that the routes shown on the maps is often ignored by farmers, who plough across paths, and sometimes move fences and gates! We were following the Coleridge Way for much of the day.

It was still hilly but I think we are becoming fitter, as we are no longer struggling on hills, but take them in our stride! We were unable to find a pub for lunch: the first village pub we came to is closed on Tuesdays, so we ate our snacks on the bench outside. The second pub had finished serving lunch when we arrived, but we had a welcome drink and packet of crisps. We arrived in the attractive village of Crowcombe and stayed at the Carew Arms, a 15th Century staging post, a very quirky building. We were glad to discover that food was being served!

A Backward Glance

It was a surprisingly steep climb out of Luxborough, the first half up narrow paved lanes, the final part over rough green fields where cattle wandered between small bent trees and clumps of gorse. As the walk became less hilly the wilderness gave way to cultivated fields of dense grass, green corn and yellow rape. Although most paths were no more, the way was easy with just a gentle breeze quelling the growing warmth of the sun. A steam train passed and the driver smiled and waved as his charge puffed smoke and whistled in perfect concord with the moment. ‘Hope deferred makes the heart sick’, as the promise of refreshment was crushed by locked doors into ‘The Notley Arms’ pub at Monksilver, but later more than satiated by a drink at ‘The White Horse Inn’ at Stogumber. Then with the good feeling of a cool beer inside, we continued on and soon farm buildings, tractors, chickens and penned cattle gradually emerged as we completed our walk into the time locked village of Crowcombe.