An "A-Devon-turous" Month (Pt. 1)

Good Evening, hello and welcome - and indeed welcome back!

It's been over a week since I last published a blog and I feel it's high time I update my one sole reader on my going's on.

I'm honestly baffled at how quickly has time has flown by - next week will mark one month since my last (Official) iRacing race - and 1 Month since I attended my first concert of the year - seeing BANNERS in Portsmouth.

Monday 6th March, 2023

As they always say, the best place to start is the very beginning - and the start of a new week is a very fitting place to start.

On Monday, Season 1, 2023 came to a close - I had an incredibly exciting and enjoyable bid in the IR-04/Formula D/F4 - yet it was time to move on.

The following day, on Tuesday (7th), Week 13 would begin - but I wasn't available for a single day of Week 13 - which was bittersweet.

Bitter, as I was keen to test out the newly-released and highly-anticipated Renault Clio Cup car - during Week 13 where anything can (and will) happen.

Yet at the same time, it was sweet, because I got to save money (on not buying new content) - and I knew I'd be doing something a lot more exciting than just racing in Week 13.

On Monday afternoon, I headed out to town with my brother and on the way home, I got a partially-warn tyre fitted, and another put in my boot.

They weren't anything special - and already had a fair few miles put on them, they were only to last me before my appointment with Will and the Car Clinic on the 16th/17th March (10 days)

Tuesday 7th March, 2023

On Tuesday, I headed to the mainland - technically speaking , this is where my adventure (or a-Devon-ture) would begin.

Back in September 2021, myself and a mate would go to Scotland for two weeks - go completely off the grid and into the middle of nowhere.

As late as early January this year, myself and this same friend began toying with the idea and by the end of the day, we had a quickly growing itinerary.

We eventually came to an agreement that she would cover the accommodation and activity costs and I would cover the fuel and food costs - this roughly equaling out to a similar amount.

I was down - I got a free holiday out of it (like I did in Scotland) and I got to see somewhere I haven't really been before (gets me out the house!)

On the 7th, I drove to her house and stayed the night - since the earliest ferry left the Isle Of Wight at 6am, if I was already at her house, we could literally pack up and hit the road as soon as we were both ready.

Wednesday 8th March, 2023

Wednesday started...unexpectedly.

I don't think we entirely agreed on a time we'd get up and grooving - we'd just play it by ear.

As the morning wore on, the snow eventually eased and melted as the sun rose/warmed up/melted the ice.

Admittedly, I was a bit concerned about the state of the roads - especially black ice - but I took it nice and easy - and despite a blizzard (snowfall/fog - but not settling) on the M25 - the further west we went, eventually the snow/ice cleared up entirely.

As we drove, I realised the sheer irony of this trip. Back in September - we went as far North as we could go - even stopping of at the Isle Of Skye, and now we were hugging the South Coast - although my friend did say it would be a less activity packed than Scotland in '21.

Despite having a little bit of wild weather in the beginning - for the most part, the journey was good - until my in-car charger/phone started playing up - there were some stunning views - but I was more concerned about my phone/making it to the property.

Eventually we did make it (down a very rough road - that they'd pave during our stay) and after unloading the car - we had one priority: Food.

Looking into the lounge from the open-kitchen

Other than some pubs and Burger King, there was very little in terms of places to eat - especially considering dietary requirements.

Luckily, there was a petrol station nearby and we stocked up on a week's worth of food. That night I had spag. bol & meatballs and had a very slow, but relaxing bath.

Thursday 9th March, 2023

Three years ago, on this day, I hit my lowest iRating to date at 620.

Three years on, I'm 905 iRating above where I was back in 2020 (a year I don't wish to look back upon) and doing better than ever - but today? Today I was in Devon, forgetting about the outside world and just living the moment.

On today's itinerary, we had two things on the list: fuel and a walk.

After driving all the way to Devon, the tank had (of course) been depleted - so that was naturally needed.

Despite coming head on with a Dustbin lorry (and almost getting stuck) - it was a pretty uneventful trip to the fuel station.

The previous night (our first night at the cottage), we agreed that we would do a walk in the Plym Woods and Wigford Downs area

~

Upon waking up that morning I don't quite think either of us imagined us going on a 6 hour long hike...but that's how the day turned out.

Located on the rural outskirts of Plymouth, Dewerstone Car Park was the start-location of our walk - and the start of a massive adventure.

We arrived/parked up at about 10:30am - and would only return to the car 6 hours and 6km later at 4:45pm.

We had a guide/walk book - but in typical walk-book fashion, usually these aren't the most descriptive - and whilst we tried to follow the rough route, we did wonder off route by no fault of our own.

Generally speaking - this was our route.

Please excuse the green line at the bottom - I mapped out an incorrect route on Google Maps and had to fix it in Word (white route)

(Editor/Writer Robin here: This map was an absolute ARSE to make - I tried to make it as accurate as possible - but the more "way-points" (black and white circles) I added, the more it crashed and I'd have to start from scratch again.

- The case with the green route is that I knew we got lost (or seemingly lost) on the moors - whilst creating the map, I was under stress not knowing when Google Maps would crash again - and knew we came off Brag Lane - just not when (at the time)

Looking back (and having more time/less pressure, I remembered where we came off Brag Lane and the rough route we took

The yellow route is a highly possible route we took, looking back

Red Route - The book's route

Black Route - Our route

~

The Walk

Our walk began at the red circle and went in the direction of the white arrow.

Before setting off, we backtracked slightly and took a few pictures from a nearby bridge, before setting off up some stairs and a steep incline.

After a quick snack break, we headed onwards and followed a sign to a "Public Footpath" which was an open-field with a very inquisitve horse.

It turns out that the footpath was actually a country lane a little further down, but after hopping over a barbed wire fence, we were back on track.

Through Shaugh Prior, we took a little detour through a churchyard - and laughed at the irony of a primary school being opposite a churchyard/graveyard, and then returned to the main-road (quiet country lane)

After a little stroll down a quiet country lane cutting through Shaugh Prior like a zipper, we took a left onto Brag Lane in search for a little bit more of a rural scenery (the "main street" didn't actually have a name).

This is where the real adventure began.

Upon taking this left, we were greeted by a metal gate on our right, and grassy tyre-tracks to our left which dissapeared into the undergrowth.

Being born very much a "town-bred" lad, I wasn't so keen on approaching the gate - let alone cross it - but Charis, being a little more adventurous, untied a rope (on the gate) and let us both in.

I guess I was just a bit unnerved about trespassing - but we could just say that we got lost and ended up on the field.

After a little while, thick fog began to roll in, until we could barely see in front of us.

Throughout the walk on the Moor, we always stuck to a wall - to ensure we had a reference marker - had we just started walking in the middle of the Moor and the fog rolled in - we could have become disentoriated.

Due to the fog - I had no idea where we were - and indeed how far we walked - come to think of it, we could have walked the yellow route.

Long walk short, (ha. ha.) we walked in the moor for what must have been moor than an hour (Sorry.)

Eventually walls, fences and vegetation guided us back onto Brag Lane - and whilst I was relieved to find civilisation (the road), Charis later admitted that she preferred walking in the Moors.

Upon arriving at the end of Brag Lane, we took a left and walked alongside a fast B-Road.

Despite having a warning signs of a (hidden) quarry hidden to our right, the walk from Brag Lane to Cadover Bridge was pretty uneventful.

After stopping for a little break/photos at Cadover Bridge, we eventually hit the road (or path) once more, crossing Cadover Bridge and then taking a left, passing by Cadover Cross before hugging a property wall until reaching the 2km mark.

After hugging the wall (as best as we could avoiding bushes and vegetation), we came across a wooden gate (marked red).

Long story short, we should have passed the gate, or followed the inlet around and out again, following the direction of the green arrow - but we found ourselves a little bit lost in a farmyard property.

After a bit of "umming and arring" - we eventually agreed to follow the River Plym downstream - as as long as we followed the river, we'd end up at the bridge we started at - which led to the most adventurous part of our whole walk - and likely where much of our time went.

Quite honestly - I don't know how the both of us made it back to the car - Mother Nature (or Devon) threw everything she had at us and we both absolutely bossed it. No pre-walked trial, no flat ground, just nature at her purist.

Rocks, nettles, steep drops and inclines - every obstacle had to be meticulously planned and navigated - sure it was tiring, but I was absolutely high on adrenaline - it was weirdly fun - the sense of achievement clearing another pile of rocks.

After 6 hours out hiking, finally we got a glimpse of civilisation after a good hour or two being completely cut off from society. I will never forget squinting in the distance and thinking "wait...is that a FENCE?!"

First it was the wooden fence (bottom of shot), then stairs too came into view - freedom was but a mere staircase away.

After excitedly fast-walking towards the stairs, we soon had a decision to make - up or down? Up would lead us back to civilisation, but down (or more "along") would lead us closer to the car-park.

Looking back, I believe if we went up, we would have met up with where the guide-book wanted us to go.

At the end of the path (lined with wooden posts) we came to something we were waiting HOURS to see: a cobbled road.

Which eventually led to a bridge - the same bridge we backtracked onto slightly - and before all too long Timon emerged into view.

A gallery of pictures from the rest of the walk:

The 6 hour walk made up our entire day - and after it, we were both absolutely shattered - so we bot headed home (after grabbing a few things from Lidl) and had a very relaxed evening in - I had Pizza that night.

Some very skilful parking at the Aldi (or was it Lidl?) car park.

I don't plan on making this series 7-Parts (for the 7 Days) - but due to the amount that happened on the walk - I feel this deserves its own blog.

Thanks for reading, apologies for the wait and see you next blog!