As I mentioned trekking poles in our last blog, it made us think about our gear and how, for the most part, good it has been! So with that in mind, we thought we’d do a kit review for anyone that may be interested and looking for thoughts / advice on the following: 1. Trekking Poles - Fozan compact 4 cork grip Are trekking poles worth using?… yes! Are these ones good?… yes! Why’d you recommend?… Not only do they really help with hiking up and down hills (taking some of the pressure off your legs and knees!) and have been found to increase your efficiency in walking, but they have so many other uses too!: - guide-rope marker to prevent tripping - washing line (made from guide-ropes) holder / pole - tent door holder / ... read more

Sad to say there was no ferry to start todays walk (though apparently quite a few people do take the ferry from Torquay to Brixham to avoid what is known as a busy and urban section of the coastal path), so we should have been able to quickly get going. However, rejoining the coast line at Torquay sea front to walk the path (which does run beside the busy road) we were soon stopped in our tracks with a ‘road closed - use diversion’ sign, including pedestrians; argh. This resulted in us then finding a public footpath sign a bit further up which we thought would get us away from the busy road for a bit, only to find it looped back down to road closed sign again! More argh. Back up to the main road ... read more

And we are off again! Another mini adventure, this time along the South West Coast Path. Only being a 4 day trip we decided to bnb along the way, which means no tent or cooking equipment and food, which more importantly means, a lighter backpack! So, with just a few bits of light clothing, wet weather gear and a couple of walking safety essentials, we headed back to Plymouth rail station to catch a couple trains to Exmouth. And, quickly realised our first lesson to learn… you should always check the local ferries are running ?‍♀️ Thankfully, after learning the ferry to star cross was not running (it is usually but was randomly shut for some maintenance issue until mid-May!) we saw the Water-Taxi to Dawlish Warren was still running! And with the drizzle rain turning ... read more

After a sound sleep we woke to a pretty pink sky and noted the wind had picked up a bit; luckily we had an old stone building to duck behind to cook without issue and the wind helped dry the tent out quickly so all was good. An easy, known, downward stroll to ivybridge (via some viewpoint tops) and of course we popped into a cafe for some brunch which was delicious. After picking up supplies for tonight and tomorrow morning we headed back to the trail; having technically completed the TMW marked paths, we now followed the river Erme signs for a lovely sunny stroll along the river( feet aching over the harder / rocky paths though!). Sloping up away from the river, we then ignored the signed path turning right towards Dunstone, to walk ... read more

After a very welcomed rest day (spent doing laundry, playing pool, eating and chatting to the other campers; just wish the farm shop & cafe next door didn’t close on Mondays! Doh-should of checked that when booking!) we set out at 7:00am sharp for our known biggie hike…Who am I kidding, we actually ended up setting off 8:30 but hey ho we got there! Today was the day we crossed into Dartmoor! Less roads & farmers fields and more moorlands & wilderness ahead. And that was certainly true. As was the rumour that the TMW signage goes a bit sparse and map reading is needed (although technology and pre-plotted routes helped with that). It’s also the section running past Castle Drogo, and I think may be my favourite bit, being just so stunning. We passed through ... read more