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You can guarantee that a walking weekend organised
by Maureen and Phil is going to be worth attending. And so it
proved. Walks of 13, 11 and 9 miles had been planned taking in
some of the loveliest parts of the Exmoor
National Park.
 After
a convivial evening in The
Rest and Be Thankful Inn at Wheddon Cross, and a bitterly
cold night for some at the camp site at Winsford, it was with
eager anticipation that we gathered west of Porlock ready for
the off on the Friday. We hadn't been to Exmoor as a group since
October 2003. Not being entirely
sure what the weather was going to do, we erred on the side of
caution and wrapped up. After a pleasant walk along Hawk Combe
and the subsequent ascent, we were soon ready to shed a number
of layers at Nutscale reservoir. The weather held, as did our
luck in spotting four herds of red deer.
After lunch shortly before Larkbarrow, we continued
onto Robber's Bridge … but not before Maureen had given me
a lesson in using both map and compass. I failed! Had I been able
to find the corner of the field, I'm sure Maureen would have made
me stand in it with my back to the others! Our final stop of the
day was only a mile away from the car park. More like a mile below
the car park!
 The
walk on Saturday started north of Simonsbath. There was also an
early chance for me to redeem myself and lead everyone to the
correct point this time. Miraculously we found the source of the
River Exe first time. It was then west across fairly boggy terrain
to Pinkery Pond for the morning break, where Yvonne was given
her first lesson in the art of navigation from Maureen. Back on
firm ground we headed north to our lunch stop at Furzehill, where
Yvonne and I were thrust into the spotlight once more. The exercise
started well, but even under Phil's expert supervision we were
soon heading off in different directions! Phil said the discrepancy
may have been due to the compass being held too close to an underwired
bra. I hope he was talking to Yvonne at the time!
We had one last chance to get it right, using
a technique called 'aiming off' to find a gate in a boundary.
Undeterred by the heckling, we reached the wall
at the point we were aiming for, about 50 yards to the left of
the gate. Quite an achievement considering Yvonne's compass was
still set to the heading used in an earlier exercise! With the
pressure now off, we could relax and enjoy the final few miles
along the Tarka Trail on our way back to the cars. The day was
made even more special by fine weather, great views across the
Bristol Channel to the Welsh coast, a chance to examine Exmoor's
unique geology, and the sight of lambs barely a few hours old.
Sunday's walk started from Winsford. After a
leisurely start we followed the rim of the Punchbowl as we ascended
Winsford Hill. Lunch was taken in the rain at one of Exmoor's
jewels … Tarr Steps. We then climbed up Varle Hill and into
low cloud, before descending rather steeply back down to Winsford,
and the second highlight of the day, the cream tea shop …
and a gluten-free cake!
 Sadly
this is where the weekend ended, and our thoughts turned to hours
spent in traffic jams as we prepared to make our way home. I had a lovely time. I am sure everyone else did too. A very
big thank you to Maureen and Phil for arranging the event. Thanks
too, to our various hosts, particularly the owners and staff of
The Rest and Be
Thankful Inn.
See you in Church Stretton in October!
Clive
April 2005
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