BERE FERRERS and HALLOWELL WOOD

Everyone left Bere Ferrers station this morning in the relentless drizzle to walk down through the village, again the tide was out on the River Tavy and there were footprints of countless wading birds criss-crossing it on top of the silt. Before reaching the Discovery Trail we turned left along a narrow lane and soon joined a bridle path that climbed higher and higher between two hedges, here some

early bedraggled-looking daffodils were growing amongst the ivies and ferns.

Once through a gate, we walked on wet, slimy mud across a field of young wheat; a number of blue Speedwell and purple Self-heal plants were trampled beneath our boots without a second glance. A bit of road walking took us past a barn half-full of straw while more was piled up in a field looking like giant liquorice allsorts. This was just a small part of Hole Farm, home to the Sherrill family who farm mainly Suffolk cross ewes. As we walked towards their farm yard we passed many more Daffodils growing in the hedgerows and later a wall with a row of rusting farm implements arranged along the top ….but that was not all as there was other old machinery scattered about the farmyard giving us a glimpse into a forgotten past; I even spotted an old anvil so I wondered if there was once a blacksmith here? The old stone buildings with their slate roofs are full of character with some of the oldest of these structures dating to the 17th century; these were given Grade 2 listing in 1987.

Following the footpath through the farmyard and behind an old barn, everyone filed across an extremely muddy field where we were slipping and sliding all over the place and behind me Edna joked “Who needs to go abroad for the skiing?”

Once over a stile made slippery by our muddy footwear, we entered Hallowell Wood but if it wasn’t for the Woodland Trust we wouldn’t be walking here in the 2km wood today, or any other day for that matter. The Woodland Trust are a conservation charity that is dedicated to protecting ancient woodland, restoring damage and fighting to save trees under threat. Woodland is classed as ‘ancient’ when it has existed since 1600AD, before that time, planting of new woodland was uncommon, and therefore a wood present in 1600 was likely to have developed naturally. The trails at Hallowell Wood can be accessed from Gnatham in the south, or from Bere Alston in the north where the paths actually continue through a long strip of woodland made up of three other woods, Webber’s Wood, Hole Wood and Rapes Wood before reaching Hallowell Wood itself.

All this woodland is a mixture of conifer and broadleaf trees making it dense and leafy in the spring and summer, however at this time of year many of the trees are devoid of leaves and it is often difficult to recognize and name them. But we couldn’t fail to notice the early leaves of Bluebell and Celandine plants with their promise of things to come in a month or so. Here too it was wet and muddy, so much so that some frogs had laid their spawn in one of the puddles! As we walked today we were often accompanied by birdsong with the males attempting to attract a mate; I recognised mostly Blackbirds and Robins. Leaving the woodland behind us at Gnatham we joined the Discovery Trail and if it looked familiar to some of the walkers, this is because we came back this way at the end of our walk just two weeks ago…….and if anything, it’s even muddier than it was then! But all of today’s 21 intrepid walkers just put one foot in front of the other all the way back to Bere Ferrers keeping the River Tavy on our left as we plodded onwards. All eyes turned towards the mud flats to try to locate the source of a honking sound we could hear; through my rain-spattered glasses I could just make out two geese way out at the water’s edge.

Further along is the 600 year old St. Andrew’s Church erected when Henry V was on the throne, this church looks out over the river which is in itself quite unusual as most churches were built on the highest hill in a town or village. When looking at this fine building now it is hard to believe that as recently as 1979 it was considered to be beyond repair.

When the villagers heard this sad news they were having none of it and soon set about successfully fund raising and with a little help from English Heritage, they ensured it did not fall into ruins. This archaic church is well worth a visit as it contains several notable features including a memorial to the 10 New Zealanders who were killed in that terrible rail accident at the nearby station during the First World War; this memorial was re-dedicated in1989 when New Zealand’s High Commissioner paid a visit to the village. The church is also said to have the oldest stained glass windows in Devon besides those at Exeter Cathedral and an unusual 12th century font which is made of Hurdwick stone from Tavistock and lined with lead.

As everyone reached the Church Hall we followed Maggie inside, she had stepped in at the last minute to lead the walk as Juliette who should have been leading today, has hurt her knee. However Juliette was there to greet us as it was she who had arranged for this walk to coincide with the Lent Lunches that are held here every Wednesday from February 25th to March 25th. Soup, bread and cheese are served along with tea or coffee, all for a donation of around £3.50 with the funds being shared between two deserving charities this year.

LENT LUNCHES 2017

The Shekinah Mission in Plymouth and Tearfund, are the two admirable charities chosen this year by the church to benefit from the Lent Lunches in Bere Ferrers.

Tearfund is a ‘Christian charity founded in 1968 that helps those in the most extreme poverty - bringing change to the places in greatest need’. Apparently Cliff Richard is very involved with this charity and in 1969 he did two fundraising concerts for Tearfund. This charity works all over the World often in remote and dangerous places and as recently as the year 2000, four of their staff were kidnapped whilst carrying out their work in Sierra Leone; they were released after four days but robbed of all their possessions.

The Shekinah Mission was founded in December 1992, and operates principally in the deprived Stonehouse area of the City of Plymouth. They provide help and support to the homeless and rough sleepers, those with drug or alcohol addiction, ex-offenders, those with physical or mental health needs, the long-term unemployed, and the elderly and or disabled.

Once we were all seated we found we had a choice of four different soups, all made by the good ladies from the church; there was Carrot soup, Leek and Potato, Spicy Lentil and Pea and Ham every one proved to be very tasty. Also on the menu was bread and cheese and hot beverages. A big “Thank You” goes to all the ladies involved in making it such a delicious and enjoyable lunch plus the one man in the kitchen who was washing up, now there’s a man who knows his place! LENT LUNCHES 2017

Suitably refreshed and happy in the knowledge that we had contributed to two very worthy causes, everyone headed back up the hill to where our cars were parked at the end of another good Wednesday morning.