day 3 - Rest and The Importance of Porridge

We woke up to bright sunshine again, a blessing in this area!

The one problem that we had to contend with were ticks, the nasty little blood sucking blighters! We had been fortunate so far, Willow had not been infested with them, the stuff that the vet had given her appeared to be working, but I had also been watchful and checked her and me regularly - humans are not exempt from getting ticks which can lead to lymes disease.

We took a stroll around our local surroundings and found that we were near old settlements.

How could people have survived this hostile land so long ago when it would have claimed twice as many? But people did live here and the moors have so many old tracks worn into them that it is hard to immagine anyone living here for any length of time, yet all around lived huge communities of former farmers and tin workers to tramways and many of which now form the Two Moors Way or the Abbot`s Way (though it doesn`t go anywhere near an Abbey!), the ways of which are marked by stone crosses.Dartmoor is also associated with "the Hound of the Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the writer of the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Indeed Dartmoor Prison is here, though not on our route and holds many stories, some fictional, but majority true.

From escapes to Ghost stories, Dartmoor has a past that has inspired many writers and film makers and its bleak, though beautiful appearance can outwit the most prepared of walkers, with its sudden change in weather and sudden "bog pits" (as I called them) and spongey ground, that make for a wonderful adventure and you never know who or what you are going to find on this untamed wonder.

Don`t take your walk for granted, expect the unexpected, it may save your life!

My tent appeared dwarfed by the overwhelming appearance of the old settlements (above) and the worn tracks that lead you upto them.

The Importance of Porridge and the humble oat!

You maybe wondering what I had for breakfast, afterall I`ve mentioned the evening meals but what about the most important meal of the day? Well, porridge everyday, not just because I love em! But the humble oat are slow releasing and good for any journey, they can fill you up for around four hours and you can add, honey, jam, anything with porridge I eat them before running marathons too! So try and enjoy!