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A group of 14 met up at Avebury on the Tuesday to start our short break with an exhilarating walk
up to Windmill Hill with its Neolithic tumuli and views of the North Wessex Downs. We had time
afterwards to walk round some of the stone circles and marvel at their construction before heading
off to Moretonhampstead, our base for the week.
Wednesday dawned fine and we drove to Haytor to explore the famous tors of Dartmoor on a walk that
took in Hound, Honeybag, Crockern and Saddle Tors. We had our first encounter with Dartmoor’s
other famous feature - its bogs, and one of our party had a sinking feeling and had to be pulled
out! We had good views until the mist descended. We returned to our B&B to do battle with the
plumbing system, warm up and explore the town.
On Thursday Jane led us on a walk from the town up to the prehistoric fort of Cranbrook Castle, a
vast stronghold overlooking the Teign. We descended to Fingle Bridge with it’s very inviting pub,
but continued on a loop to the Lutyens designed Castle Drogo built in the early part of the 20th
century on a grand scale. We returned to the Bridge for lunch and a drink, then had to climb up
the other side of the gorge to return to our base.
The Friday walk had caused some discussion because of its length and degree of difficulty. It was
decided that we would all drive to Meldon reservoir. David Craddock led eight of us on a walk over
the high moorland to Yes Tor and High Willhays - the highest point in Devon. We had hoped to carry
on further but the weather closed in and time was against us so we agreed to head back after Lints
Tor. The other group did a gentler walk in the area before exploring Okehampton.
We saw in the New Year in style with a lovely buffet in a suitably decorated dining room. We made
a lot of mess and noise with streamers, horns and party poppers. Before Big Ben chimed we played
lots of silly games involving bits of string, used the hall to play bowls and tied ourselves in
knots with Twister!
We packed up the next day and drove to a group of reservoirs near Hennock for our last walk before
driving home after a very enjoyable break.
Many thanks to Jane Aylwood for all her hard work in organizing the holiday and all the games and
quizzes. Thanks to David Craddock, Jane and Peter Mitchell for leading the walks.
Vivienne Mitchell
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