BERE ALSTON STATION to BERE FERRERS

It’s back to the Bere Peninsula again today to walk another section of the Discovery Trail, something we have been doing since these walks began many years ago. Bere Alston station where we met is just one of eight stops on the little branch line known as the Tamar Valley Line. This carries the track from the city of Plymouth to the top of Gunnislake, a popular and very scenic route through rolling green fields with cows and sheep peacefully grazing on either side of the two- carriage train, but the highlight of this 50 minute route has to be the stunning views of Calstock from the train as it crosses from Devon into Cornwall over the massive viaduct, 120 feet above the river. The entire journey takes about 50 minutes to complete but it is possible for visitors to leave at several different stops to gain access to the Discovery Trail.

Shortly after leaving the station we began today’s linear walk on the Devon side of the river following the apple symbols that denote this particular trail. It is aptly named ‘The Discovery Trail’ as it travels a distance of over 30 miles through some of the most impressive scenery in the Tamar Valley; however we will be completing nowhere near that many miles in the next 2½ hours. After an uphill climb through first a wooded section and then between two fences across farmland, when we turned around we had expected to see the viaduct way down in the valley. But as you can see below, this landmark was obscured by a thick layer of mist and Jeff quipped “I’ve never seen so much water in the river”.

After making our way through the centre of the village and then across a recreation ground, we reached a quiet lane that seems to get longer each time we do this walk. On and on we went with the bright sunlight directly in front of us as we walked meaning we had to shield our eyes a lot of the time or look down at the ground, but no-one was complaining as the brightness was a relief from all the rain of late. A right turn led us to a farmhouse and we congregated there (pic on next page) for a break before continuing downhill along a rather wet and stony footpath; at the bottom we entered a field but turned right immediately to enter woodland. The darkness came as a bit of a shock and Jeff came out with the second of his one-liners today “They could do

with some street lights in here!” Our eyes soon adjusted to the gloom and we continued ahead on a bed of pine needles but we had to watch out for low, twiggy branches which often hooked off our headwear. We even had to limbo beneath one branch and here Juliette is showing us the ladylike way it should be done.

As the path widened, more sunlight penetrated the woods but after the recent downpours everyone knew it would be muddy and Jeff skidded at one point before it was his turn to hit the deck while in the pic below, Derek appears to be doing a jig. The sound of running water was never far away, sometimes a mere trickle while at other times it was gurgling and gushing along quite noisily. Upon reaching Bere Ferrers, Maggie made the decision to walk along the road a bit higher up rather than plough through even more mud nearer the river, but soon we were back on the narrow footpath parallel with the water meaning we had to walk in single file to the quayside.

After a gloomy start to the week, the sun was glinting on the water way down below us through the trees on our left; it lifted our spirits, a feeling that lasts long after the walk is over.

However, this was not the River Tamar but was our first view of the River Tavy so we knew we must be nearing the end of our walk. Those at the back spotted a rather washed-out Red Admiral butterfly sunbathing on a bramble leaf, a remarkable sight for the month of January. Soon we had passed the swollen river, the church and the 16th century Plough Inn as we headed up the last hill of the day that would lead us to Bere Ferrers station. A train was due shortly to carry us back to Bere Alston station where our cars were waiting, so for now we either found a welcome bench to sit on or just stood about chatting on this beautiful day.