The riverside path through Hembury Woods is now much improved thanks to the recent efforts of the National Trust, but the section leading into the River Dart Country Park would make an ideal training ground for anyone wishing to take up cyclo-cross!

After pausing to admire the ponies we pressed on past Holne Bridge and up the steep hill past the Holne Chase hotel, which eventually defeated us all.

At Holne, bottles were gratefully refilled from the (water) tap at the Church House Inn. The return journey to Buckfastleigh included the perilous descent of a scree slope masquerading as a track.