BERE ALSTON and TUCKERMARSH July 2016 - … fora$ while,$the$path$continued$downhill$until$we$...
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Transcript of BERE ALSTON and TUCKERMARSH July 2016 - … fora$ while,$the$path$continued$downhill$until$we$...
BERE ALSTON and TUCKERMARSH
Our walk in the Tamar Valley today was on the Devon side of the river on the Bere Peninsula, so everyone met up at Bere Alston Station. In no time at all we were heading off behind Maggie along the road and beneath the
bridge
carrying the railway line. A kissing gate led us into a field and onto the long-‐distance footpath called the Discovery Trail; from here we could see as far as Kit Hill in Cornwall on the skyline.
Once across the field we entered Buttspill Woods where we headed towards Tuckermarsh Quay, in fact most of today’s walk was in ancient woodland. The weather was mild and dry but after overnight rain it was quite muddy underfoot for much of the time.
There were a wide variety of different trees in the woods including Beech, Ash, Elder and Hawthorn with Holly growing beneath. Either side of the path were mosses, ivies and ferns particularly
Hard Ferns with their young leaves reminding me of the backbone of a fish.
After climbing for a
while, the path continued downhill until we were quite near the river. Here dainty yellow Cow-‐wheat and Enchanter’s Nightshade grew in great profusion while the bank on our right was clothed in Bilberries with many sporting tiny black fruits. There were tantalising glimpses of the village of Calstock through the overhanging trees on our left with the mighty viaduct linking Devon with Cornwall. Further on we even heard the sound of a train as it crawled uphill along the Tamar Valley line on
its way to Gunnislake.
Eventually everyone arrived safely at Tuckermarsh, once an important area for growing Daffodils like so many other places in the Tamar Valley. Here we had a short break before beginning our long
uphill climb back to the station car park.
Shortly the footpath continued right in front of a private dwelling where the sign on their gate warned us to ‘Never mind the dog, beware of the owner!’
When we left the Discovery Trail it was time to walk on a tarmacked road for a while until this obstruction stopped us in our tracks. One of the workmen moved the barrier and soon we were
passing the cause of the road closure, a large part of that wall on the left had collapsed onto the road and the men were making it safe.
Not far from here our group passed beneath a small railway bridge but we were still taken by surprise when all of a sudden the station appeared on our right and today’s walk was over.