Richard and I left Five Lanes at 9am on March 3rd, and by the time we reached Totnes we were getting somewhat damp, but undaunted we continued to the pick-up at Avonwick, and had just finished wringing out our socks and baling out the shoes when Kevin and Tom arrived dry from Plymouth. Our headwind had been their tailwind!

We did not remain a foursome for long. My recent bout of flu told me not to continue to Bovisands, and since Richard was happy to cut the run short, we headed down the Avon Valley to Diptford, then across country to Slapton - almost, except that we dropped down to Hansel Mill in order to get over to Blackpool to eat our lunch.

The café was closed, owing to the disintegration of portions of the sea wall on which it was built, but we made ourselves comfy, ate, and watched the sea with a renewed respect for its destructive powers. Our vow to obtain hot tea was accomplished in Dartmouth, prior to using the lower ferry to get us to our side of the Dart.

In some ways we regretted not doing the whole run, especially as the weather was improving, but we’ll get there next time!

(Robert Spence)