Fellwanderers

To the toughened, hardcore Fellwanderer, last weekend’s trip to the Devon Coast did not look like being one of the better ones. The hostel was comfy, the weather forecast was good, and there was not a mountain in sight. Indeed this was even enough to induce some of our more senior members to stay in London for the weekend and look at some dirty old canals in protest. We arrived late on Friday night at Maypool Youth Hostel near Dartmouth to be

She insisted on retaining our membership and Union cards for the duration of our visit. (If we’re good we might get them back at the end of term provided we bring a letter from our parents.) Saturday started misty, and also ended misty, with a bit of mist in between. We took the upper ferry across the river Dart to Dartmouth, and then various sections of the group walked various sections of the South West Coast Path. Under guidance from Dom the Devonshire lad we set off from Hallsands and took in Start Point lighthouse and Prawle Point, finishing in time to sample the county’s most enjoyable product (apart from the West Country accent that is), the traditional Devon cream tea. Then it was back to the hostel where we had the novelty of eating a meal which was cooked from a recipe. Such a luxury would never have been permitted had our president and treasurer been present. Sunday’s weather was much like Saturday’s, with a bit of mist thrown in. This time we split into two main groups, depending on the seriousness of our walking intentions. Group one set off on a punishing 12-mile stomp, determined to salvage some of the true Fellwanderers’ spirit, while group two spent half the time dossing about on the beaches with Tamsin’s kite. We headed along the newly-opened Dart Valley Trail to look at some of the coastline’s scenic delights, including Shag Rock (titter titter) and Scabbacombe Sands, where Tim and Sam provided an interesting diversion by by damming a stream. Eventually we all met up again at the impressive 19th Century fort at Berry Head, and drove back to London. The mist returned and multiplied to haunt us again on the M4, but all in all it was not such a bad weekend after all