Dartmoor daytrip

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Our first outing in the car...


The first weekend after we acquired our new car, we were itching to hit the road and begin the exploring.


Top of our list was a day trip to the nearby Dartmoor National Park, a trip made so much easier now we didn't have to rely on public transport. So, with a fully charged camera battery and an itinery promising to showing a selection of Dartmoor higlights, we set off one Sunday mid-morning. The plan was to travel in a clockwise direction, heading through the towns of Princetown, Tavistock, Okehampton, and then back to Exeter - an 80 mile round trip.


While the weather was a bit dreary and cold (suprise, suprise), the scenery was just beautiful - exactly like we had stepped into an episode of Doc Martin. From the narow, hedge-lined roads to the sweaping green hills on either side, it was the English countryside as I had imagined it, complete with thatched houses.


We were lucky enough to see the local indigenous ponies grazing in the distance, although we got a lot closer view later in the day... We also sampled another 'cream tea' (Devonshire tea) next to the wood fire at a cosy pub in the middle of nowhere.


Just outside of Tavistock we decided to do a walk to the top of a Pork Hill to take a closer look at the tors (rock outcrop formed by weathering, usually found on or near the summit of a hill). We braved the cold and were rewarded with lovely views of the countryside, and a hilarious photo of me with my pants around my ankles...



Returning to the car....

Unfortunately the car, being the bargain that it was, has a few 'character flaws', one of which being the ignition which was a little fussy and needed a bit of jiggling in order to start. This was on our to-do list as, while it always started after a jiggle or two, it was obvioulsy a little annoying.


So, upon returning to the car, Dav couldn't get the key to turn, no matter how he held his tongue... And so I tried for a while, and then Dav dried again, and then I tried again..... And so an hour and a half later, with sore fingers and the sun beginning to get low in the sky, we decided to bite the bullet and ring RAC to come rescue us. (Luckily, we got free roadside cover when we got the car insured through RAC less than 48 hours earlier....)


After a short wait, the RAC man arrived and, while being able to start the car (who knew hotwiring a car was sooo easy!), he was unable to unlock the steering wheel. Given the unfortunate fact that the roads leading back to Exeter weren't in a gentle right-handed curve, our only option was to be towed back... Luckily again, we managed to also have ticked a box somewhere in all the paperwork which meant that not only did we have roadside cover, but also roadside recovery, which meant that the hour towing trip back to Exeter was also included!


So while we waited for the towtruck to find us, sitting in the heated car (thank you RAC man!) we found ourselves with front row seats as some of the local ponies ambled on in. The old white pony scratching itself on the post was a definate highlight, as was the sneaky one who snuck up on my open window for a peak inside the car - scaring me a tad (perhaps an underexageration on my behalf..)


The towman eventually found us as the sun was setting, and after some grunting and shoving, out little car was finally up on the back of the truck and all three of us were taken back home... Not quite the ending for the day we had hoped.... but all part of the experience!

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