Having ridden the 10 miles to Bovey Tracey we took the course of the old railway line to Lustleigh, keeping Joe entertained along the way by getting him to identify all the dogs he saw. Amazingly, all the people we saw except one had at least one dog with them!

Many years ago we visited the extremely expensive Primrose cafe regularly for the very best in refreshments, mainly because the then owner gave us a generous 20% discount. When he sold up, the new owners kept the prices high and refused point blank to give us any discount at all, so we didn't go again. Today we called in to see if there had been any further changes. There were new owners, and the cafe was a little smaller as a result of some poor seasons, but the prices were still high, and the size of the hot chocolate was ridiculously small for £1.80. She listened to our request for future discounts but offered only to think about it and get in touch with us.

The long climb up through the Cleave was punctuated by some of the steepest hills in Devon, so we were grateful for the track descent to the ford near North Bovey and a few minutes of relaxation by the water's edge. The rotting seat near Yarde farm had been refurbished since our last visit, but we didn't really have time to enjoy it today as we planned to take the track route over the hill - a short-cut of sorts, but definitely more demanding for our younger members.

The first shower of the day began as we were enjoying refreshments at Hound Tor, and kept going for a full half hour as we traversed the bleak moor on our journey back to Ashburton and Buckfastleigh.