Willand in February

Another trip to visit Ali's mum, this time with family C&O, T&P, J&M and S&K. You'll find family pictures in Facebook leaving this blog to just record some other events.

On the way down there was a bad crash on the M5 closing both carriageways for most of the day, so we diverted (with most of the rest of the UK it would seem) through Taunton and past this amazing church building.

St Mary's church Taunton

fantastic detail of tower stonework

I managed three runs, the third very short fitted in between a marathon shop at Morrisons and picking up the rest of my party in downtown Tiverton. During which I took the following photos ending with a shot of the formerly ellusive river Exe.

Bradfield House in early morning light

Bradfield chapel

Culm water meadows

The river Exe at Tiverton

The marathon shopping list might not seem that long but the items were disparate and it was a bit like playing hide and seek. One membefr of staff, noticing my perplexed look, asked if I needed help. I declined and managed to haul in all the items in a mere 40 minutes. I'm thinking of a new TV show in which a team of husbands are given identical shopping lists (like the one below) and sent off to separate supermarkets in towns they have never before visited. The first to complete is the winner. Numerous variations come to mind.

twin pack Morrisons' own brand tiramisu, no other brand will do
Morrisons' breaded ham slices
Morrisons' shepherd pie fresh microwavable
box of paracetemol capsules
box of Melba toast
two bananas
dark chocolate butter biscuits with no palm oil
300ml single cream
300ml double cream
frozen petis pois
one carrot
tin of pears NOT in grape juice
Great-Grandma-afternoon-tea sort of cake

Around Rural Willand 5

Mornings at Ali's mum's house are free time for me. Ali's mum does not surface until about 10 a.m. and Ali likes to stay in bed. I wake naturally when it gets light which is about 6 a.m. and whilst lying half-awake under the bed-clothes is nice for maybe half an hour, after that I am raring to go. Even after a longish run there is still free time so I started listening to Bruckner's 5th by Celibidache. Wow! sums it up. I mention this here because it reminded me of running. The beauty of the countryside flows past me much as does Bruckner's music. A bit like Grieg's Morgenstemning doing good justice to a real sun-rise or Rossini's Overture to Guillaume Tell  to a real storm although those examples are too specific whilst with Bruckner it is more generic.

I left the house at my usual 06:30 to find the earth shrouded in mist. But that was not going to stop me because, having once tasted the Culm water meadows, this my last run had to extend the experience. So I exited Willand via the Bradfield corridor turning left at Stenhill (just to ring the changes) - a mistake: this road is single track at best and full of potholes and random stones. Not only that but the local farmer appears to use it as a cattle trail and furthermore it passes a cattle slurry pit that oozes across the road.

I took the footpath down to the river: another mistake as it passes between the river and the Uffculme sewage treatment plant. But, having put that behind me and having wiped my feet on clean grass, the rest was bliss. The first stretch of river was a repeat of the previous run.

Culm water meadows east of Uffculme

This is what I mean by a path 

Even though the mist persisted, running on this stuff is pure heaven. The grass is soft and wet, the ground under is not smooth, and there are no fences to hem you in.

A bend in the river

Hunkin wood where I turned back towards Uffculme

Hunkin Wood aka Five Fords is on the edge of my map. Here I spied a large dog and its human baring my way forward but, in any case, I had kind of decided to turn back at this point, following the road back into Uffculme and thence home. Later on the dog passed me along this road, riding on the front passenger seat whilst its human drove. Did it have a seat-belt on? Pity I wasn't quick enough to snap a picture.

Uffculme village square

"Uffculme Straight", nearing home

Should I get to visit Willand again, my intention is to follow the river further, perhaps as far as Culmstock.

The path continues to Culmstock and beyond

Around Rural Willand 2

My second morning's run from Willand. The ford at Goodiford Farm was a nice surprise but the road north from here was narrow, besmeared with dung and stones and potholes, and hard of foot. If one purpose of these posts is to grade running routes according to barefoot-ability, this particular route did not score high!

Goodiford Farm

From Croyle House to Stenhill is a bridleway - might be OK for horses that are shod, but not when barefoot as it was very stony. But a lovely show of primroses partly made up for my discomfort.

Along the bridleway

The same

Bradfield House

Returning along the road via Bradfield where I caught this farmer herding his herd. To think that those brown things might be possible precursors to clotted cream!

Culm water meadows

Total distance 6.96 miles, average speed 4.97 m.p.h.