Comments on: Ruby Red Ramble

By: Dartmoor Dave

Dartmoor Dave — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 07:40:13 +0000

In reply to dartymoor. Growing and expanding quickly - not in my opinion what our lovely Devonshire fields should look like, they should be growing food not glass!

By: dartymoor

dartymoor — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 06:25:27 +0000

I did some of this a few months ago before the recent additions, but my prep was poor and on the ground what I thought was a path on the old railbed leading NE from Waterhouse Farm wasn’t, and I was met with a Private sign, so deviated left up a very wet Furzehill and ended up cutting my walk short. Still enjoyable, and I enjoyed the old path deviation to the ruin west of Heane Farm (the path going out of one field, along a lane, and then back into the same field, showing it was once two paths to a local point of importance – an old farm or mill, of which only one gable wall and a bread oven is left! The walk along the railbed where it is public is very nicely done to a good standard, and obviously well used by cyclists and walkers alike – and, oddly, llamas. A nice walk in an interesting area, and I did two more circulars in the area before heading back home.

Also walked past the solar farm being built, how’s that coming along?

By: digbysue

digbysue — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 10:10:58 +0000

Thank you Dave for such a positive review of our Hatherleigh caches which have slowly evolved around two local circular walks. Because both walks share a common central route i.e. as per a figure of eight, some confusion about navigation can arise! When Dave did the existing nine caches in March 2013 we had two linking series, one of 4 miles & the other of just over 2 miles. Obviously a seasoned walker could complete both quite easily in about 4 hours. Rather than make all caches into one series we have elected to leave the route planning to the whim & ability of individual cachers. Not everyone wants to have a 6 mile challenge, children & the elderly have their own pace & energy levels, therefore they can manage and plan a trail to suit.
Dave did recommend a cache starting point nearer the town centre, a very valid suggestion, we felt. Also, we were aware there were some fairly long gaps between some of the hiding places which needed our attention. Subsequently we have placed a new cache close to Hatherleigh Market at the start of the Ruby Trail, plus three others along the way, all of varying difficulty, with no gorse bushes or rocks to encounter!
We hope you visit soon and enjoy the stunning scenery of our Ruby Country.