The weather was as warm as a mid-summer day today so we made the most of the conditions with a ride to Widecombe via Ashburton and Ausewell hill. As we reached the open moor we saw numerous AA vans placing signs everywhere for Widecombe Fair. We thought there was a good chance it was on today as we rode the track from Bonehill to Natsworthy, but as we entered the village it was clear that these were advance preparations for the event on Tuesday. It's traditional that it always takes place on the second Tuesday of September, but we couldn't help thinking they would get a lot more visitors if they had it on over the weekend.

The recently-refurbished Green restaurant seemed the obvious place to go for lunch, but today we were stunned to find that the already high prices had been bumped up even further to new heights of ridiculousness. We decided to make a hasty exit and enjoyed refreshments for half the price at the Wayside café.

We spent a little time buying ice creams and searching the churchyard for gravestones for some of Michael's very distant relatives, then headed back via Ponsworthy. Michael's favourite Aylesbury ducks were taking it easy by the pool today when we arrived, but kindly obliged by taking a swim for us before we moved on.

Spitchwick was not too busy today now that the tourist season is coming to an end. We rode the track to New Bridge, bought an ice cream or two and then returned home via Hembury Woods for around 4.25. This had been an excellent ride that made us think that autumn was still a long way off.