There was strong demand for an adventurous car-assisted ride today, and when Michael had vetoed Haldon Forest we eventually settled on the Plym Valley cycleway, although Michael insisted on extending it to the reservoir at Burrator.

We finally got away at 10.40 and parked the car at Plympton B&Q. Callum had never ridden this cycle path before, so he found it all very interesting. The Plym Valley Railway had made great progress in re-laying track towards Plym Bridge since we last visited: trees had been taken down and the foundations for a new platform at the Plym Bridge end were being erected. We had a chat with two volunteers who were pleased to tell us all about it. The line will reach a final length of 1.5 miles when completed – he didn’t think the length was very important as hundreds came when they start up their first train.

Once again telescopes were set up so that the public could watch the Peregrine Falcon chicks on their nests in the distant cliffs. When we had seen the chicks for ourselves we set off along the path at a good pace – perhaps a little too fast for Callum’s liking – led by Zac and Ashley. At the far end we climbed the path up to the road at Clearbrook and discovered that Ash had a puncture. Callum was just about to put the new tube back into the wheel when Michael asked him whether he had checked it for thorns. He said he already had, but reluctantly allowed Michael to check again. Michael found a HUGE thorn in there, and everyone laughed at how Callum could possibly have thought it was thorn-free!

It was now around 1pm so we headed on through Meavy and up the hill to Burrator. Ash was moaning a little that his brakes were binding, but everyone was suddenly happy when they saw the ice cream van. We had no packed lunches so we bought some crisps to go with our chocolate and then finished off with chocolate ice creams that were really very tasty. None of the youngsters had been to Burrator before and they all liked it there very much.

Our original plan was to return to the cars the way we had come, but now Michael was talking about the option of riding on home via Princetown. In fact there was considerable interest in this idea, so once Michael had checked that Gavin could take him to Plympton later to collect his car we set off up the hill at 2.20. Here we saw the Devonport Leat where the water appeared to be flowing uphill. Built in the 1790s by skilled engineers this used to supply fresh water from the high ground of Dartmoor to Devoport Dockyards in Plymouth, but now it just flows into Burrator reservoir.

Everyone powered up the hill to Princetown at amazing speed, allaying Michael’s concerns that the ride extension may prove too much for some. We looked in Lord’s Tearooms but it was very hot in there and smelled strongly of overcooked vegetables – and the prices were rather high. Instead we visited our old favourite, the Foxtor Café, now under new management. This turned out to be really good, offering us a range of scones, sausage sandwiches and cakes.

As we left the café at 4.18 there were a few drips descending from an almost cloudless sky, but these quickly vanished as we sped along the road to Two Bridges and on to Hexworthy. We stopped to admire the view from Combestone Tor (and to have a rest after the steep climb) and then sped home via Venford. It had taken us just an hour and a half to get home from Princetown, so congratulations to everyone on an excellent summer ride.