In and around Lydford

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We began our day today close to the Lydford Country House at the Lydford Gorge. We parked at the waterfall end of the gorge in the carpark to begin our walk. The round trip is about 3 miles and goes past the White Lady waterfall and the Devils cauldron. The walk is not too difficult, although there are a few steep places with slippery stone steps. The recent rain has left a few puddles around too, so we needed to watch our feet. The stream at he bottom of the gorge has a few places where it is quite placid, and others where the rapids are pretty dangerous. The devil‘s cauldron was the most dangerous part, but was well fenced with solid guardrails. The walk took us about 2 hours, with a stop at the halfway for a cup of coffee. The weather today was nice and sunny, although walking in the gorge was so wooded, that the sun didn’t get through the leaves all the time. We finished our walk and got back into the car to travel to Castle Drogo. This castle was he last castle to be built in England. It was designed by Edwin Lutyens for the self-made millionaire Julius Drew, and was constructed over the years 1911 - 1931. He wanted all the grandeur of a medieval castle , with all the conveniences of the 20th century. Unfortunately it was never watertight. The roof and the windows leaked, so now the National Trust is having to repair the damage. At present only a few parts of the castle are open, and most of the rooms are not really displayed as they will be once the work is done. There was a good history of the family, particularly Julius‘ children. The gardens are lovely, and a pleasure to walk through. (The castle also has a nice cafe, where we lunched.) Our next stop was the Finch Foundry near Okehampton.it is the last water-powered forge in England. It was still making tools until 1960, when one day the roof collapsed. Our guide told us it collapsed because the machinery had caused so much vibration to the building, after they had not fully maintained the springing for the anvils. The water wheels, the buildings and the machinery have been repaired, so that it is now possible to see the forge in action run by the water. Our last stop for the day was Okehampton Castle. This is a Norman castle, and is in ruins. We were able to have an audio tour of the site, which was most interesting. It explained both the defences and the daily life of the castle as it was in the 14th century. It helped make sense of the history studied in secondary school about motte and Bailey castles! Tavistock for dinner tonight.

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