Today was George’s birthday, and since he wanted to ride the Plym Valley cycle path we thought it would be only proper to carry out his wishes.

We unloaded the bikes at Plympton on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year so far, so we were very grateful for the shade afforded by the trees along the cycle path. We stopped at Plym Bridge for refreshments from the coffee van, as we knew there would be little else available until we reached the far end – everyone bought fruit smoothies which seemed very appropriate for the weather.

After negotiating the tunnel section, which was deliciously cool and shaded but didn’t last anywhere near long enough, we were surprised to find that the final section of track to Clearbrook had been totally rebuilt since our last visit. The steep and rough path that previously made the end of the ride quite tricky had now been replaced with a long and gradual tarmac ascent to the top. This was apparently completed in November 2014 with money from Devon County Council, and the whole path has now been renamed Drake’s Trail and covers the route from Plymouth to Tavistock.

Michael was keen to continue along the track to Yelverton, but Lawrence insisted on stopping immediately at the Skylark Inn, Clearbrook as he was starving. We got served fairly quickly with excellent quality food and sat in the hot sunny garden at the back. Michael and John went on up the hill to check out the new path to Yelverton – it looks interesting so we’ll include that in our next trip to the area.

On the way back to Plympton George, Dillan and Michael explored the Blue trail to the side of the main path: it seemed to have an entrance but no exit, but provided some interesting off-road fun for all of us. We then re-joined the others at Plym Bridge before returning to the cars and home.

To conclude a very special day Lawrence had baked a chocolate cake just for George, so we shared it out at Crofters along with some welcome cold drinks.