WORTHAM MANOR AND THE WEST WAY Trip notes

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Wortham Manor and the West Devon Way

Come and live like a Lord (or Lordness) in the magnificent Medieval/Tudor house, Wortham Manor. Walk across , and through pretty villages on the West Devon Way.

• 4 nights 3 days walking • Departure date: 20th April 2020 • Cost from £430 pp • Sole occupancy supplement: £200

• Grade:

The West Devon Way The West Devon Way is a 37- mile, long distance footpath that skirts the west side of Dartmoor. The route combines the wild-ness of moorland scenery with incredible bluebell woods and ancient ways and tracks. Every so often we leave the moor to visit the pretty bordering Dartmoor villages, ensuring that the next tea shop or pub is never too far away! Together we will walk 30 miles of this long-distance footpath and even visit the world’s most unusual pub (and it really is!). There are many things to do in Devon as well as walking. There is a list of suggested alternative activities at the end of these trip notes, if you would like to join the holiday without participating in the walking programme.

Accommodation “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there” L. P. Hartley

Wortham Manor is a Medieval and Tudor house of national importance. It sits in rolling rural surroundings and has its own large grounds. With its Great Hall, comfortable lounges, open fires and rambling bedrooms it makes an extraordinary but comfortable base for exploring west Devon. You might not be getting on a plane and travelling to another country, but when you walk through the door of Wortham Manor you really are travelling to another world. There is further information about the history of Wortham Manor at the end of these trip notes.

Bedrooms This is not a standard hotel! Bedrooms vary in size and are priced individually. The price given is per person sharing a double or twin room (except for the one single room). The supplement for single occupancy of a double or twin room is £200 or a room share with someone of the same sex can be arranged. There are ample bathrooms at Wortham Manor but not all rooms are en-suite. Bathroom details are given for each room. Bedroom details and prices are given below. If you are booking a room for double occupancy or sole use, then please make it clear when booking which room you wish to book. Rooms booked on by individuals on a twin share basis will be allocated singly to start with and then doubled up in the reverse order of the initial allocation. In short, the earlier you book, the more likely you are to end up with a single room without paying the sole occupancy supplement.

Additional information Please also note, there are no televisions in the bedrooms (no, not even Tudor ones!) and there is no WIFI in the building. There is a good mobile phone signal and you are welcome to use my phone as a hotspot if you need WIFI. Access to Wortham Manor is along a farm track.

Meals Breakfast: A breakfast of; tea, coffee, cereals, juice, yogurt, toast and a cooked breakfast such as smoked salmon and scrambled egg, or local sausages and homemade baked beans will be provided every morning in the Great Hall.

Lunch: Lunch is not provided, but every day we will stop at lunch time at pub or a café where you can buy lunch.

Afternoon tea: Tea (or coffee) and cake will be provided when we return to the House at the end of each days walk.

Dinner: Pre-dinner drinks will be served in the large lounge. This will be followed by a three-course dinner in the Great Hall. One evening meal will be taken in a local pub.

Included • Half board accommodation (except for one dinner) • Guided walking each day • Tea and cake after each day’s walk • Pre-dinner drinks in the lounge each evening

Not included • Lunches • Incidental expenses such as drinks when out walking. Please bring your own wine or other drinks for dinner. • Transport to and from walks. We will use a mixture of our own transport and public transport. • One evening meal • Entry to Lydford gorge on day 2 of the walk. Please bring your National Trust card if you have one

Detailed Itinerary The following is the proposed itinerary for this short break. However, please bear in mind that in the event of local conditions changing, for example, due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances, then it may be necessary to change the itinerary.

Day 1 Arrive at the Wortham Manor and check into your room. Meet at 6:30 pm in the large lounge for pre-dinner drinks and a short briefing about the week ahead before dinner. Meals included: Dinner

Day 2: to Lydford We travel to Okehampton using a mixture of our own transport and public transport. A good bus service operates on our route. As we leave Okehampton behind us, we pass under the ruins of Okehampton Castle which has stood on this site since shortly after the Norman conquest. We cross through incredible blue-bell woods and under the granite built Melden viaduct before heading up onto Sourton Tors for our first taste of Dartmoor wilderness. We take in the views of the surrounding countryside before descending to Sourton for lunch in the World’s most unusual pub. Now, normally I would be the first to roll my eyes at this sort of claim, but I have to admit, the Highwayman Inn is no ordinary pub! After lunch we follow a beautiful ancient tree covered route to the village of Lydford. The present-day village of Lydford occupies only a fraction of the Saxon walled town that once occupied this site. There are two Norman castles that can be explored, or you may wish to head to the Castle Inn for some light refreshment before heading back to the House for dinner. 15 km (9.5 miles) 300 m (1000 ft) ascent, 250 m (800 ft) descent Meals included: Breakfast and dinner Lunch is not included; we will visit the pub at Sourton for lunch.

Day 3: Lydford to We pick up the route again at Lydford and head through Lydford gorge, the deepest river gorge in the South West with a 30m high waterfall -another bluebell day! This area is owned by the national trust and an admission fee is payable, or you could follow the alternative, West Devon Way route and meet us at the end of the gorge. Again, we cut across dramatic Dartmoor scenery before descending to the village of Mary Tavey for lunch. For the remainder of the day we criss-cross the river Tavey as we follow its route into the lovely town of Tavistock, one of the few towns in the UK to be a world heritage site. There will be time to explore this ancient town with its famous pannier market before heading back to the House for dinner. 14.5 km (9 miles) 200 m (650 ft) ascent, 250 m (800 ft) descent Meals included: Breakfast and dinner Lunch is not included; we will visit a tea shop or pub in the village of Mary Tavey for lunch.

Day 4: Tavistock to Clearbrook

From Tavistock we walk south, following the route of the Tavey on the edge of moorland and through woods to the aptly named Double Waters, where the river Tavey and the meet. We continue through Grenofen oak woods and Roborough Down to the village of Yelverton for lunch. After lunch we follow the line of the now disused, Tavistock to railway line to Clearbrook, our finish point for this walk. 15 km (9.5 miles) 200 m (650 ft) ascent, 200m (650 ft) descent Meals included: Breakfast and dinner Lunch is not included; we will visit a tea shop or pub in the village of Yelverton for lunch.

Day 5: Breakfast and then farewells -till next time! Meals included: Breakfast

Alternative activities from Wortham manor The local area is full of places to visit should you prefer not to walk on one or more days: • The Tamar Otter and Wildlife Centre is just a short drive from Wortham Manor. • Carnglaze Caverns are a magical day out and suitable to visit in all weather. • Jamaica Inn Smugglers Museum houses one of the best collections of smugglers artefacts in the country, where you can hear the tales of wreckers and smugglers in Cornwall over the last 300 years. • Morwellham Quay and Tamar Valley Trust is an award-winning museum on a World Heritage site; visit a historic port, village, copper mine and railway and experience the life of Victorian Cornish miners. • In the nearby village of Lifton, you can pay a visit to Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre, which captures the magic of the traditional fairground with a collection of vintage rides, working exhibits and stunning artwork • National trust properties nearby include; Cotehele (you can compare it to Wortham!); Antony; Finch Foundry, the last working water-powered forge in England; Lydford Gorge; Buckland Abbey, home to seafarers Drake and Grenville and Castle Drogo • The local towns of Tavistock, a world heritage site, Launceston and Okehampton.

Bedrooms

Bedroom 1 This really is the master bedroom of the house. It’s a huge room, and with its vaulted ceiling you really will feel like the Lord or Lady of the house. It isn’t en-suite, but it has its own bathroom shared with one other (twin) room in the house, and of course, you can always use the other bathrooms in the house. 500pp

Bedroom 2 Double, with en-suite bathroom You even have your own private access! The access to this room is up a small staircase on the outside of the house situated a few metres from the main entrance to the house. 450pp

Bedroom 3 Double en-suite Lovely double en-suite room. This and the twin room next door are accessed via a winding stone spiral staircase. 500 pp

Bedroom 4 Lovely oak panelled twin room. Shared bathroom 430pp

Bedroom 5 Twin bedroom Bathroom adjacent but shared with other rooms 430pp

Bedroom 6 Twin room This and the double room next door are accessed via a winding stone spiral staircase. It isn’t en-suite, but it has its own bathroom shared with one other (double) room in the house, and of course, you can always use the other bathrooms in the house. 430pp

Bed room 7 This twin room is the only downstairs bedroom. It has an adjacent shower room with large walk in shower, but it is not en- suite (so it may be used by other people during the day, but probably not at night). 430 pp

Bedroom 8 The one single room in the house. Shared bathroom 500

Kit list

For walking each day:

• Good walking boots or shoes • Waterproof jacket and trousers • Lightweight, quick drying trousers • Base layer • Mid-layer such as a fleece jacket and an additional ‘spare’ layer depending on the forecast • Walking socks • Warm hat and gloves -just in case the weather turns • Sun hat, sunglasses, lip salve and high SPF sun block • Day sack (25 litre capacity is a good size) to comfortably carry your kit, lunch and water • Dry bag or rucksack cover to keep the contents of your daypack dry • Water bottle • Basic first aid kit (plasters, blister treatment, antiseptic etc) • Some snacks to keep you going • Walking/trekking poles (if you use them)

For the House

• Wine or other drinks to have with dinner • If you like particular teas etc other than just the normal range then please bring those along

Maps: OS Explorer maps OL28 Dartmoor, 112 Launceston and Holsworthy, 108 Lower Tamar Valley and Plymouth.

Group size This guided holiday will have a maximum group size of 15.

Personal expenditure All breakfasts and three evening meals are included in the holiday cost. You will need enough money to cover lunches, one evening meal and incidental expenses such as drinks.

Additional information about Wortham manor The origins of Wortham manor take us back nearly 1000 years. Whilst its history is not entirely clear, a building of some importance on this site is referred to in the Doomsday book. At this time, it would have been a typical medieval manor house with an open hall at its centre. It is thought that, in early 1500 a floor was inserted into this open hall to create an upper and a lower hall, leaving the house looking pretty much as it does today. As only minor alterations have occurred since this date, such as the addition of modern conveniences such as bathrooms and a working kitchen, when you walk through the door of Wortham Manor, you really are travelling back to a time when Henry VIII was on the throne!

Any other queries, please get in touch with me.