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Walking England - Castle Drogo and Beyond
Following breakfast we departed for our day's walk promptly at 8:45. Ken pointed out the Mortonehampstead alms house, and I took a picture of Leona standing in front of it. We then stopped briefly by the local church. Our walk was an exploration of the gentle edge of Dartmoor, following paths across intake fields and along the tree-lined gorge of the River Teign. We paused at a standing stone, from which Ken said we should have a 30-mile view. It was cloudy and rainy, so we did not. Tea break was at Fingle bridge, a three-columned stone bridge on the River Teign. I took the hot chocolate choice with a very good piece of chocolate cake. A small, virtually tame bird pounced around the outdoor table at which I was sitting. I got a picture with the camera only two or three feet from him. We continued following the river west along Fisherman's Path, so called because salmon are caught there in October. After about two miles of this, we gently climbed up to explore the last castle built in England.
There is a tragic dimension to the castle's history. The owner, Julius Drewe, made a fortune selling tea form China directly to the customer, bypassing the existing wholesaler and retailer system. He was able to retire at age 33 and commission Sir Edwin Lutyens, an Architect, to build his dream house. Drewe has a son who was killed at Wypres, Belgium in World War I ( 1917) . Julius then lost interest in the house. He has stroke before he occupied it and only lived there between five and five and onehalf years. There is a large portrait of the deceased son as a young boy. His death was the result of being hit by a stray shell from a German howitzer while he was in a gun encampment. Ken told us the boy did not have to be there, that he could have been at the Officers club instead. From Castle Drogo we had a largely descending walk into the hamlet of Drewsteignton. There we visited the Holy Trinity Church Cemetery, where Julius Drewe and his wife are buried. The grave site was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens who designed the castle. From Drewsteignton we were driven to our hotel. There was a bit of singing before dinner to prepare us for lies ahead tomorrow in the famous moorland village of Widicombe-in -the- Moor. A post-dinner falconry show concluded the day. The falconer, Martin, first showed us all a small owl named Biscuit. An owl of Biscuit's type had a life expectancy of ten or eleven years. Biscuit is thirteen, so we were warned that he could expire at any time. According to Martin, Biscuit " is all about food", he has no other interests or concerns. Martin then brought out a hawk named Agravane, whom he described as " an all American boy". His type is found in the southern states of the U.S. They are the most commonly used birds in falconry. They are " laid back" and incredibly effective hunters and very versatile.The last bird was a European Eagle Owl named Merlin. He was six-years old, and Martin had acquired him was he was a baby. He weighs four pounds. Apparently he eatsmost anything,Martin says he does not give him small boys because they are full of additives and that would be bad for him. This has been a very good day, the walk along the river being particularly pleasant.
Distance walked: 9.13 miles.
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