David and Jo's Adventures: Lost on The Moors (nearly)!

Sunday

Got woken early by the hotel fire alarm!!!!!!!! It was extremely loud!!!! It turned out to be a pot of stock that had burnt dry that had been left on the stove by the chef ALL NIGHT!!! No damage thankfully only to our sleep pattern. We helped Ali for a while changing beds for new arrivals but she was insistent that we made the most of the day as it was so sunny and to get out and have a walk. We took up her offer and drove to Fernworthy Reservoir which is on The Moors of Dartmoor. Part of the road was flooded and we were not sure if we could get through but as the car in front did we risked it. Parked up and started our walk around the reservoir and it turned out to be a typical David walk!!!!!!! Half way around it was not very well sign posted - so we asked other walkers if we were on the right track and were told yes you can walk around but it is very muddy. So we decided to head to higher ground up and over and away from the reservoir! Further on we asked more walkers for directions which we followed and it took us further from the reservoir and we had to try and avoid many swamp areas! (We were starting to think they were deliberately trying to get us lost as they knew we were Australian because of the hints about the cricket!!!) David later told me he was worried that we weren’t going to make it back before it got dark!!!! We managed to get to the top of the hill (stunning views across the moors) and saw the reservoir again. Saw a few of the famous wild Dartmoor ponies roaming around as well as many cows that I am glad were not bulls!! We finally arrived back at the car - although we had encountered a few problems it had been another fantastic walk (Mum you would have loved it!!!!!!!) Shame there was no pub at the end. Drove back via the village of Chagford and had a quick look around the church. Back to Mill End for a relaxing evening as Ali insisted she do kitchen duties on her own as not as busy tonight. Off to Plymouth in the morning to stay with Linda & Ian (David’s cousin) for 2 nights before coming back here on Wednesday.