Tamara Way - The Final Section

Yesterday we walked the final section of the Tamara Way. We started at Woolley, and the first part of the walk through the valley of Marsland Water was a real treat. It was lovely to be off-roads, and the woodland and river were really beautiful. I love a bluebell wood at this time of year, and there were plenty about. The route did have a few hills, as we crossed from the Devon to Cornwall sides of the valley.

As we passed through the Marsland Nature Reserve, we went a bit rogue. We decided not to follow the labelled detour because of ash-felling and also crossed the wooden bridge that was marked closed. Neither seemed a problem. Eventually the landscape opened up to a coastal one, and we decided we had to do the extra bit down to the seashore, so we could say we truly had walked coast to coast.

Pink sea thrift was very pretty.

I am not good with heights, and had originally thought I would not walk the coastal route along the cliffs. But decided it would be nice to complete the route in the book, so my husband walked back to Woolley with the dog, and my son and I continued. It turned out the height was not the problem, I think mainly because I was so tired by this point and keen to get to the end of the walk. But the steepness of the path (both up and down) made it very difficult, particularly the sections with steps. I think my knees are not what the once were. But there were some beautiful views, and I wish I had taken a few more photos.

Eventually we turned inland and could see the church and vicarage at Morwenstow, so thought our journey was almost over. But one more adventure. The last field we had to pass through has some very frisky cows, who started to run to meet us. Perhaps to say "charge" would be an exaggeration. There was also a big brown bull, who seemed less interested in us, but looked very imposing. I dived under the barbed wire fence into some nettles, and although my son tried to persuade me they were just curious, we did the last section in the woodland. We joined up with our path, and as we walked up to Morwenstow were treated to a large deer crossing our path. Morwenstow churchyard and church were lovely, and I should have photographed them, but instead we hurried up the hill to The Bush Inn, where my husband was waiting for us with a cold drink. We also decided to have supper there (which was very good) as we watched the sunset. The end of this adventure, we will have to start planning another one.

Tamara Way - Lower Tamar Lake to Woolley

Getting near the end of our long walk. We started at Lower Tamar Lake today, and here is a picture of Upper Tamar Lake, which as you can see was looking glorious in the sunshine. The lower lake is more of a nature reserve, and the upper lake for activities. Even though we had only walked about a mile we stopped at a very nice cafe for an icecream, to give us a bit of energy for the remainder of the walk.

The next bit of the walk was through rural land, with a lovely view looking back to the lake at one point. Our next point of interest was when we reached the River Tamar again. Now it is a small stream. Our route crossed it at Youlstone Bridge, and we knew that this was the last time we would see it. Very hot today, so the dog had a dip, and we had a picnic on a little space next to the river.

And then onwards until we got to the plaque which marks the source of the river.

I was quite interested to see a Neolithic long barrow, which we passed near the junction with the A39. I find this sort of thing really interesting.

And eventually we arrived at Woolley, and decided that was where we would end today's walk. One more section to go, and hopefully we will be able to finish the walk at Easter, with my daughter along as well.

 

Tamara Way - Launcells Barton to Lower Tamar Lake

It has been a bit of a gap since our last walk, but we have done another section of the Tamara Way today, and are pretty sure that two more days walking will get us to the end.

We picked up the route again at the church at Launcells Barton, and once again didn't go in the church, as we had the dog with us. The churchyard was a beautiful mass of primroses and dafodills. 

Quite a steep walk up the hill, and then a bit of confusion about our route through some fields. We were happy to see the River Tamar again at Moreton Mill, and surprised that is still a sizable river. There was then a long stretch along the Bude Aqueduct, where we passed a friendly group of volunteers clearing the undergrowth. This is a disused canal, but is a great route for walkers, and our dog enjoyed some off lead time.

And before we knew it we had reached the Lower Tamar Lake, where a friendly couple who were filling up birdfeeders helped us with our route, and told us about some of the wildlife there. Beavers have been introduced, and there are some bird hides. It seems like it deserves another visit to walk the whole way around.

 

Tamara Way - Bridgerule to Launcells Barton

It has been quite a while since our last walk on the Tamara Way. We are getting a bit further from home now, so it is taking a bit more organising. But today we kicked off again from Bridgerule. My husband headed off to Widemouth Bay with the dog, and we arranged to meet up later at the end of our walk.

It was very nice to catch some glimpses of the sea, and despite my idea that we just head to the coast and say we have walked from south coast to north, my son is determined that we do the walk properly. The view above was so much more dramatic than it looks in my photo. We had just climbed a steep hill after Hobbacott Farm, and I was enjoying having a rest.

We ended today's walk at Launcells Barton, where the route now doesn't go near the house, which seems to have become a wedding venue.  We enjoyed seeing the church in the evening light, and St. Swithin's Holy Well below. Reading our Tamara book it sounds like the church would have been interesting to look around, so this is our plan for the beginning of the next stage.

 

Tamara Way - Lifton to Boyton

Another section of the Tamara Way, and this time we decided to get a few more miles under our belts. It was the perfect day for walking - sunny but with a slight breeze. All of this section of the walk was on lanes, so no muddy patches, but also meant we decided not to bring the dog, as she loves being off-lead for at least some parts of a walk.

As you will see it was very much a leg for seeing animals. These mares and foals were having a lovely time just before we crossed the River Carey at Heale Bridge in the picture below.

We enjoyed this view of Launceston Castle, making us realise we were not really far from home, although once we had crossed the A388 it really felt very rural and quite remote.

At Crossgate my son made friends with this young cat - he is a "cat whisperer" as they always seem to like him.

A little later we surprised a fox crossing a field, but I was not quick enoough with my phone. And then we met these ladies, who were very curious about us.

It was nice to see the River Tamar again, which was much smaller than when we last crossed it at Horsebridge. For a while as we were walking near it we saw a lot of dragonflies and damselflies. Really beautiful blues.

Finally as we were approaching Boyton we passed a field with some lovely sheep and lambs, in with some cows with calves. These three were very confident and seemed to want to be photographed.

We waited for my husband by the Methodist Church in Boyton, where there was a very welcome bench.

Tamara Way - Kelly to Lifton

Our final part of this stage, and this time I had my son, daughter and dog for company. My husband tells me that each section we walk less distance, but I say we are trying to maximise the enjoyment. He is right though, and I think it is partly because we are getting very close to where we live. At the start where we had quite a long journey to the walk, it felt like we should do the maximum amount of walking we could. After this section we are north of our home, and hopefully we will start to have that mind set again.

Setting off from Kelly we passed through fields of sheep. When we got near the woodland, which was very beautiful, but the path was extremely muddy.

More fields and sheep, and we found the snack hut at Turchington, which was very welcome. From here we could look across the valley, and although we couldn't see our house which is in trees, we could spot all the fields around it.

 

The walk down hill to the River Lyd was very welcome. Here is a view as we crossed Lifton Bridge, and another of St. Mary's Church.

My husband was waiting for us at the car park of the Arundell Arms. I had the idea that we could stop there for coffee, but we were in quite a muddy state, so we headed home.

Gotland Woodland Patches

I decided to knit a few colour squares with the new Gotland wool from Blacker Yarns, to show how the colours could work together. My first idea was to simply knit some Fair Isle patterns, but the colours seemed to inspire me to follow the theme of English woodland.

I am thinking of ways that I can work these designs into some patterns.

Gotland

We have a new range of Gotland DK wool out at Blacker Yarns, and the subtle colours of this range just led me immediately to think rural woodland, which lucky there is plenty of this around near me. Gotland sheep originated from the Swedish island of Gotland over a thousand years ago and were imported into the UK in the 1970s.

My secret for the robin photos was that behind the wool is a small pile of bird seed. A few blue tits rushed in and out, and below the table at one stage there was a grey squirrel, who I was hoping would jump up. But the robin was the animal who seemed to want to pose, and perhaps knew I had picked the colours with him in mind.

The primroses are in full flower on the bank at the front of my house. I love this time of year, when everything is starting up again in nature.

This slate wall seemed the ideal place to photograph the full range of the wools, but I had to use another trick. Although there were a few catkins behind, they were not really in the right place or very bright, so my husband is holding this branch of more lush catkins for me.

Blacker Yarns have a number of project kits just out using the Gotland DK yarn. You can click on the names to go to each kit: Simple Sweater, Guernsey-style Tunic, and Long Cardy.

I will be doing another post on these wools, with some little samples I have knitted to show how the colours look together, also themed around English woodland.

Wire Art (Part One)

Following on from our linoprinting course, my son and I signed up for a short wire art course. Some of my London friends said there would be nothing to do in the country, and I would say they are wrong, as there seems just as much, although perhaps you have to hunt a bit harder.

We started off learning different techniques to shape the wire. We used pliers, and were also taught how to shape the wire around other forms. Then we were taught some different ways to join the wire, and the piece below is really all my learning pieces joined together. I was quite pleased when it was held up to the class, and the word "Picasso-like" was used!

That week we then all went on to work on flowers. Mine on the left is meant to be a poppy seedhead, and my son's is more cowslip. He had the inspired idea for twisting the wire at the base to make a stand, which most of the class then copied.

The following week we moved on to other projects, although still guided by the teacher. My son and I both decided to make a fish, and in this project a 2-dimensional fish was made, and then built outwards to make him 3-D.

Below is my son's fish, who is now hanging in the kitchen under a trailing plant. Mine is not quite as good, but you can see the edge of his fin.

Next we were allowed to move onto our own projects, and although the course is now finished, I still have to add legs to my creature. My son has gone for something very ambitious, which I am really hoping he will finish so I can show you in a few weeks.

Country Life

 

I've been busy here in the country, but can't believe I have nothing woolly to write about. There just seems a lot of other things to do, and although I have the beginnings of an idea for a new pattern, I am not sure it is going to work out. It is funny like that, sometimes things just fly off the needles, and other times not.

I have booked a table at another craft fair, not until December, and am thinking about making a few very small knitted toys. I felt that there were one or two children at the last fair, who had been give £1 to spend, and would have been very happy to buy a little toy. The current UK news seems to be suggesting there will be no toys in the shops, so perhaps homemade/local is the way to go.

At the top of this post is my single jar of homemade Rose Hip and Apple Jelly. Here is a link to the recipe I used. I love the beautiful colour, and hope it was worth the effort of getting prickled picking the rose hips. The apples came from the supermarket, as our very small crop of apples is all brewing into cider.

Apart from that I have been busy tidying the garden. This isn't my usual garden diary, as a lot of autumn tidying is not very photographable, but here is a selection of the squash we grew. The first is called honeyboat, and then there is the butternut. But finally the more mysterious white acorn squash, which I did not buy seeds for, but just appeared. I think there must have been a mistake at the seed packeting factory, but it was very excited to realise we had something unusual among the other plants.

We also have a few pumpkins, which I haven't picked as yet. I feel they may not be growing any more, but I just like seeing them in the garden.

We have had a few other dramas - losing the dog, and big relief finding her. And I have got a part-time job at a school. I don't begin until November, but am hoping it will really help me feel part of the locality.  

Finally a photo of Lanhydrock House, which we visited at the weekend.

Still plenty of time to to join in Ginx Woolly Linx Party for October.

Garden Diary January

I have not been doing my monthly garden diary, as there is really not much going on, and it has been a bit wet to even get out. 

But today we went out to plant three blackcurrant roots which I had ordered online, and then had a bit of a chop at some of the brambles. I then noticed that there is still hope for the broccoli. Each plant now has the beginning of a purple head, so perhaps we will get a broccoli crop. 

Another of the plants that I had nearly given up on, as I could see the caterpillars chomping through the leaves, but somehow once they have got to a certain size, and left to their own devices they seem to have made it.

Not much on the knitting or crochet front, but I have some wool on order, so perhaps I will have something to show soon.

 

Just a reminder that you can still join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for January. I would love to see what you have been working on.