A shorter ride seemed appropriate on this rather dismal evening, so we rode through Buckfast to Hembury and then climbed the main hill at a super-fast pace. Near the top Michael remembered that he had seen a deer in the woods here many years ago, so he told Dillan and they both looked around in the vain hope that one might miraculously appear. Within seconds a young deer jumped out from the trees up to the right, saw us and stood motionless for several minutes before wandering off. The chances of this happening were so remote that it felt like Michael’s words had somehow conjured up a deer out of thin air!

We rode past the fort and through to the deep glade at the top of the woods, then took a track that we have only explored a few times that took us down through the middle of the woods to the riverside path. The birdsong and encroaching new leaves from the trees made the gloomy weather feel much less oppressive as we returned home.