Two Bridges

The day after fish and chips at Tavistock, we did a spot of what passes for hill walking for people of our age and disposition, choosing Bellever Tor for this purpose, passing over BH's choice of heading more or less due north from Two Bridges to Wistman's Wood, slightly off the top left of the map snapped below.

Bellever Tor

A fine morning, warm enough in Holne, and there were plenty of ponies, some not long in this world, on and around the road up to the moor. Parked up at Dunnabridge Pound Farm and made it up and down in around two hours. Including the compass problems already noticed at reference 1.

Supplementary wire

There were some cows on the first stretch, properly fenced, unlike the free range animals on Epsom Common. With the stone walls supplemented with barbed wire where appropriate; probably cheaper and more effective than repairing the stone walls. Plus skylarks, cuckoos, pheasants and one buzzard.

Quite windy on the top and there was indeed 360 degree vision, as suggested by the blue panorama sign on the map - but you could only get it by standing next to the trig point, where it was uncomfortably windy. No question of standing on top of the thing. Notwithstanding, a rare treat. Perhaps to be repeated on the Isle of Wight in the summer, where we know of one or two places.

BH taking stock on the way down

Sale of the Gales site

Google's take on the situation

The gate from the Gale brothers of Moretonhampstead has clearly seen better days, but I forget why I saw fit to make it centre stage. Perhaps it was just an accident, it being quite hard to see the screen of my telephone when the sun is bright, even in the shade. The gate must be quite old, given that Google turns up a heavily sealed legal document concerning the sale of the Gale's saw mills in 2007, containing the plan snapped above as an appendix. Presumably there was more money in houses than gates, as the Google snap suggests that most of the site is now houses. I suppose they might still make gates in the remaining sheds, probably under some other name.

And so to lunch at the Two Bridges, just a few minutes late for the 1300 start. Greeted by one of their geese - white with orange beaks - being bullied by the others. Much consternation among guests, receptionist phones vet to be on the safe side. Geese which have been there for years and which we pass regularly on our visits to the moor.

Dining room busy. Proper dining room with white tablecloths and napkins. A second piano, looking rather like the first, noticed at reference 3.

The main wine

Lunch came with a table d'hôte menu. I had a white terrine - made of I forget what - followed by pork belly. Both good, although the mashed potato which came with the pork belly was not helped by being flavoured with mustard - perhaps a device to disguise the fact that it is being recycled. Taken with a drop of Sancerre from Daulny. Which Bing suggests is good value for money, with plenty of people selling it, but does not turn up a website for the man himself, although I now know he is called Etienne Daulny and that he come from Verdigny, on the Loire, south east of Orléans. And that he has made it to YouTube at reference 4. Followed by something called Godminster cheese, taken with a drop of house Malbec. Nothing much like my usual Poacher, being much softer, more like a processed cheese. But it went down well enough for all that.

Godminster awards

Not sure where the Godminster comes from, as their address is in Bruton, signs to which we pass when we go down the A303. Perhaps we will go and take a look one day. Maybe to inspect one of their wedding cheese towers, yours for £250 or so. See reference 5.

On the next table we had a chap munching his way through a giant ploughman's platter. Clearly a very well paid ploughman. With this chap being on some kind of a mission for the Daily Mirror in connection with sightings of big cats out on the moor, some of which turned out to be dogs, easy to eliminate from inquiries with their non-retractile claws.

All very good, and they do a much grander version for dinner, unusually for residents only. It would be a fine place to stay, but in the end we could not quite see our way to it, not wanting to spend a whole week in such a place. Too much hotel grub for my liking, despite their offering a cut down menu for a bar dinner, should you not be able to stand the pace. But maybe we will think of something. Plenty of people clearly had.

Anti-kayak boom

A place to paddle

A spot of shade

Reasonably busy, 1530 on a weekday

Outside to inspect the West Dart, which was very pleasant. Including lots of swallows over the water. Plenty of clutch work on the way home, but no new smells.

Horseshoe gate

And so back to Holne, with the last snap of the day being the lucky horseshoe gate to the house next to our cottage.

PS: as I type, the police helicopter seems to have finally stopped hovering over our road, on a couple of occasions directly over our back garden, quite low and quite noisy. Perhaps one of our neighbours was having something interesting with their barbecue.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/05/attention-all-points.html.

Reference 2: https://www.twobridges.co.uk/.

Reference 3: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/05/tavistock-day.html.

Reference 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEWG4d9tfT0.

Reference 5: https://www.godminster.com/.