Around Rural Willand 4

The last time I was staying in Willand I was running via Uffculme and noticed the walk along the river, so this visit I determined to investigate.

There are several satisfactory barefoot-running corridors from Willand: the road to Halberton,  the road across the Culm to Bradfield, the "Uffculme Straight" (B3440) and the cycle-way to Tiverton Parkway station. Whereas the road to Waterloo Cross and the M5 is too busy for comfort and the main road the Cullompton is stony and almost as bad.

So this time I took the cycle-way (I saw not a single cyclist) which terminates at the station foot-bridge.

Tiverton Parkway railway station

The footbridge

The footpath to Appledore

Looking back from same

The footpath from Waterloo Cross to Appledore goes across fields - smooth going to start with but becoming rather stony under-foot and not at all clear exactly where the path is meant to go. The footpath from Appledore to Uffculme is a stony track and thus harder going.

The footpath from Appledore to Uffculme

River Culm at Uffculme

Once in Uffculme I dropped down to the river and followed the much-sought-after river path. The right-of-way follows the river through grassy meadows and one meets owners taking their dogs or families with children. I imagine it an ideal place for a picnic in warmer weather.

At this point the sun breaks through the clouds and I am grateful for its warmth. The ground is heavenly under barefoot, and the outlook euphoric.

Weir

Looking back at the weir

This weir is a complex affair with sluice-gate and crosses the river at an angle. I suppose it directs water to nearby Coldharbour Mill. I wanted to pick my way across the weir but there were onlookers and I am afraid of what they might think of a 60 year old playing child.

Dogs and their humans

By now the morning clouds have fully lifted and my euphoria is heightened - I want to go on and on running beside this river forever. Sadly the footpath ends at the next road-bridge where I turn right through ColdHarbour and back along the "Uffculme Straight".

Another weir, this time no mill-race

Total distance 8.88 miles, average speed 5.06 m.p.h.

Around Rural Willand 3

This run was more satisfactory than my last. I do not mind roads if quiet and not too stony, but the goal is to find barefoot-friendly paths and this run satisfied. I started out towards Cullompton then turned right through Brithem Bottom - a splendid name, I wonder who Brithem was? The path was the right-of-way over Turley Down and took me right through the middle of fields. Great for me, but it must be a trial for the farmer.

I love England for its right-of-ways. Or should one say rights-of-way?  Since moving to Ireland we have seen the instigation of several way-marked longer walks like the Wicklow Way, but nothing like the vast network in England. Besides, the right-of-way law is different here in Ireland and in the favour of the land-owner. And most land-owners here don't want folk walking over their land.

Ascending Turley Down

and down the far side

looking back, having reached the road

Heading north I had to divert to investigate the aqueduct where the Grand Weston Canal crosses the course of the broad-gauge branch of the Bristol and Exeter railway. Running gives time for pondering - I wondered which came first, canal or railway? Wikipedia reckons this section of the canal was opened in 1814, whereas the railway was built 34 years later. It must have been quite a challenge building an aqueduct in retrospect, but back in those days they thrived on challenges.

The Aqueduct and course of the railway 

Looking North

It actually has a name!

The railway bed from the aqueduct

Looking South

Eleven miles of the canal starting at Tiverton are still navigable as the house boats testify in the picture above. Sadly the broad gauge railway no longer exists although there is "the last remaining" broad gauge locomotive on view in the South Devon Railway museum .

Halberton parish church

The next port of call was the village of Halberton where I took a short-cut through the church-yard and by the village pond. All English villages of any repute have a duck-pond and I have to say that this one is above average. It even had ducks.

Halberton village pond

And then back along the busier road from Halberton to Willand for a much deserved breakfast.

Total distance 8.35 miles, average speed 4.83 m.p.h.

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.

Around Rural Willand in 8 days

Actually it was only 5 days. The occasion - a trip for Ali to visit her mum and for me to chill out. I followed a rigid schedule of a (barefoot) run first thing each morning followed by reading, eating, Downton Abbey, taking Ali shopping and not much else. Prepare to be bored - the next few posts will be a record of these morning runs. Here's the track of the first, a short run to get me in the mood...

Statistics: 5.9 miles, average speed 5.44 mph.
Map created by Mobile Atlas Creator using OS maps
Tracking by OruxMaps v6.0.7 on my recently acquired Samsung S3 many thanks Jonathan!

This morning's news

Here's a couple of extracts I thought were interesting from the news this morning:

In April 2000, in a wave of new millennium optimism, world leaders promised to deliver something at the beginning of the 21st Century that in many developed countries had been taken for granted by the end of the 19th Century: Primary education for all children.

This basic gap was going to be fixed within 15 years, so that by April 2015, the unacceptable position of millions of children never even beginning school would be consigned to history. This was one of six Education for All pledges, which included targets such as girls having equal access to learning, and a halving of adult illiteracy...

It's perhaps worth thinking about what else has arrived since the education pledges were made in April 2000. YouTube, the iPhone, Facebook, hybrid cars, 3D printing, Twitter, the Mars rover, Wikipedia, China's and India's space programmes, mobile broadband, Skype and mapping the human genome. Unlike building primary schools, somehow these all proved possible.  BBC

and, somewhat unrelated...

The part of a bee's brain that allows it to see has been recreated by scientists in a computer simulation and connected to a drone - not of the bee variety, but an unmanned aerial vehicle...

"Bees and all other insects are miracles of engineering which we are nowhere near equalling," said Prof James Marshall.  BBC

Such are the amazing but paltry advances of our civilisation...

Are aliens and God mutually exclusive?

Every now and again we hear a mild suggestion that ET messages have been received. This recent report and here about unexplained multiples of 187.5 caught my attention but there have been others. The scientific community are of course sceptical, and so am I. But what if it could be demonstrated that we were receiving signals from ETI? Would that then rule out God once and for all? Or would the religions of the world merely hastily modify their theologies to embrace the aliens? As they eventually did with Galileo's radical ideas. Or perhaps the aliens never fell so do not need a Saviour? Should such musings rock my faith then I suggest that my faith is not well founded.

The Curragh and Corbally Harbour

Sunday afternoon. Another beautiful day though the air is still cold. I decided to try the Curragh route again and this time made it there. I parked my bike is a suitably secluded spot and, discarding shoes and top, ran about 4 miles across closely cropped grass and hills and dales. The Curragh is a barefoot runner's wonderland. This part of my afternoon's adventure was sheer bliss.

You can just see the "lookout pole" in the distance.
Click on the picture to enlarge it.

The Curragh is common land and grazed by sheep

And home to rough-biking, quads and horse riding

Atop the first "lookout pole" -
I found two and of course had to climb them

This tree topped hill had to be my next port of call

Getting closer...

A gentle climb to the top

Where I found the second "lookout pole"

That's me atop the second pole

Maybe a bunker? - there's an army camp near here

Finding my bike was thankfully intact and where I had left it I took the longer route around the Curragh and through the army camp, and then returned via Athgarvan to get to Corbally Harbour.  The last time I was there my four children were with me (I think) so it was a ways back. But I remember the strange construction in the next picture - it looks like the entrance to a tunnel, but if so it is closed off.

Was it a tunnel entrance?

The harbour and buildings

Looking northwards along the canal: must do this walk sometime

My bike, a little forlorn for being left beside the road whilst I went exploring

Having "done" Corbally I continued my rather circuitous route back home via Punchestown, Eadestown and Blessington. Back in the days when we took the children wherever we went the monument at Eadestown, overlooked by the statue of Mary, always tickled us and brought a laugh.  About here my legs started to complain and so it was with some relief that I finally made it back home.

Total bike distance 40.5 miles, max speed 30 mph, average speed 11.8 mph.

Punchestown longstone

Captain Tickell's Fountain, Eadestown

The RC church opposite the fountain

First swim this season

A gorgeous day and I should have taken my camera. So, this time I turned left, which takes you down a dirt track to the lake, and then along the shore, under Baltiboys bridge, and all the way to the Valleymount bridge. About 8 miles in total. It takes me past one of my swimming spots so I gave it a try - clearly I am not the hardy type like those that break the ice in the Serpentine - I did a few strokes and then got out rather hastily. A lovely feeling of warmth afterwards though. And then at Lonely Bay I dammed the stream in order to divert it. Not entirely without reason (not that I need a reason to play with sand and water) as it is a dirty stream (it comes through farmland) and the diversion will make it deposit further along the shore from another "safe" spot for swimming. Not that I can condone swimming in the lake - it is not approved and it can be unsafe. People have drowned.

Aslan

drawn by my granddaughter during a meeting

"Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances"

...

"Oh, if only we knew!" said Jill.

"I think we do know," said Puddleglum.

"Do you mean you think everything will come right if we do untie him?" said Scrubb.

"I don't know about that," said Puddleglum. "You see, Aslan didn't tell Pole what would happen. He only told her what to do. That fellow will be the death of us once he's up, I shouldn't wonder. But that doesn't let us off following the sign."

The Silver Chair, C. S. Lewis

He went for a run one day and didn’t turn right

Saturday 4pm and time for a run (bare foot). I called "Meg!" several times but no dog came - is she getting deaf in her old age? So I went alone starting along my usual route but, when I came to the usual right turn, I kept straight on and thus committed myself to a much longer route. A route I cannot take with Meg because it includes a few miles along a busy main road with no footpath.

The route is over 8.5 miles in total. I made it back OK though I found the last bit hard work.

I've coined a new words: "Carincidence" or "Concarrence" meaning when two vehicles travelling in opposite directions along a road happen to pass at just the point where I am running. This afternoon carincidences occurred a good deal more often than normal statistics would suggest and at times I was forced to climb momentarily into the hedgerow to allow free passage to the cars which, it seems, imagine they have the right of way.

I have been running barefoot for many years now and still have never met or even seen another barefoot runner. So strange when, for me, the experience is so liberating.

Place marker

OK so I haven't posted for yonks. I have my excuses (am very busy) but I know they won't cut. But here's a thing: why has my recent brief post "Silent Film" attracted so many hits?  About three times more than my next most popular post during the last month.

He went for a walk one day and didn’t stop and never went back

My niece-in-law has just posted on her Facebook page an article about a "Mr Treagood [who] lectured in environmental studies in Yorkshire until he turned his back on mainstream life 40 years ago. He went for a walk one day and didn’t stop and never went back.... He walked to the Westcountry, bought a horse and wagon when he had saved enough money."

I like that. It reminds me of Sebastian Rennet who "the next morning walked [for the first time] on the left side of the street, saw a little path, which he had never noticed before as it could not be seen from the other side of the street. It seemed to lead across the fields up over a little hill and far, far away... and said to himself 'I will follow the little path and see where it leads me' ".

I like that - I figure I could do the same. Indeed if the miracle of falling in love with someone who actually wanted to live their life with me had not happened I think I might have - or else, more likely, become a very boring person. More than I presently am, I mean.

And even now my idea of a good walk or run or panorama is one that reminds me of the little path that leads over the hill and far, far away.

Did I overstep?

Maybe my reference to Bruckner and praise in my last post was hyperbole but check out this link to see what others say.

In fact I rarely listen to Bruckner, strange though that might seem when the very name of my blog venerates him. But then I rarely eat fish pie or golden syrup filled trifle sponges. For each one the reason is partly circumstantial (I will not listen to good music unless it is quiet and I have some chance of hearing the whole performance, and my lifestyle does not often grant me such conditions), and partly because a great experience repeated too often is in danger of becoming commonplace. Whilst the thought of golden syrup at every meal sends certain thrills, I rather think I might tire at last.

Talking about golden syrup, does anyone else out there venerate evaporated milk as I do? Another family here venerates condensed milk to a similar degree. Whilst both substances start with reduced milk, and the original purpose of each was to preserve milk, they are very different in taste. So I did a bit of research. Condensed milk has, of course, a lot of sugar added and this helps preserve it. Evaporated milk, on the other hand, has no added sugar and thus has a shorter shelf life even when tinned. To help combat this, the process of making evaporated milk raises it to a higher temperature, so high that it starts to caramelise and it is this which gives it its characteristic taste. I should have known, caramel lover than I am. There is no way to start the day quite so pleasing as breakfast cereal with a healthy slosh of evaporated milk added to the normal whole milk and sugar.

And, talking about a pleasing start to the day, I was concocting a new temperature scale (as one does) whilst taking a longer than usual, and rather chilly run this afternoon, barefoot with Meg around the lake shore around by Baltiboys bridge. It goes something like this:

> 25'C is far too hot for life as we know it here in Ireland
20-25'C very hot and rather exceptionable
15-20'C hot: this and above is good for swimming in lakes, rivers or sea
10-15'C warm, OK for Autumn swimming but a bit parky in Spring
5-10'C cool, and most common here in Ireland
0-5'C cold, chilly when wet under-barefoot
< 0'C freezing, barefoot running is OK only if it is dry

A bit of wind-chill factor can be added to this rough guide, but the weather forecasters overdo it. And there is a bit of seasonal hysteresis especially for swimming because of the thermal mass of water.

Essence

Essence: (n) - the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, which determines its character.

I have a book on my shelf "The essence of Bruckner" by Robert Simpson. I purchased it whilst a student and it has stayed with me all this time because it is sacrosanct. But I regret I have tried hard to appreciate his analysis of the symphonies but largely failed. But then must I understand the details in order to enjoy music? Or know the recipe and underlying food science to enjoy a meal? Thus I lost his "essence" in the detail. I love being alive and nature (watching films like the Lord of the Rings I want to stop the plot and enjoy the fantastic scenery) and, for me, the essence of Bruckner's music is that it evokes all that is best in life. It doesn't need analysis. It doesn't need a plot.

The concept of, for example, "essence of vanilla" - the ability to reduce something large down to the only part that matters - has always intrigued me.

I was in a meeting recently: so called "praise" was going on all around me (I often find it too loud so that it distorts in my ears). And I thought - did I sign up for this? When all the tangibles are noise and rote I wonder - what is the essence of Christianity? Is it not "to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? To share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?" and how much of that do I do? Mind you, I'm not agin praise and worship but, for me, it is closer to the music of Bruckner than to the all-loud-volume songs accompanied by heavy drum-beat that is so common now-a-days. If, so saying, I tread on your toes then I apologise - but we are not and do not need to be all the same.

Silent film

Tonight the rest of the family are watching I film. I started off watching it but then the phone rang so I went out to answer it and then came upstairs - because I couldn't distinguish what was being said in the film. I know my hearing is not the best, but why is the audio on films so poor and why, oh why, do people have the sound so low when watching home videos? They don't talk to each other that quietly.

Here comes the fog

5pm - Fog descends

Accuweather said it would be cold to start with, but mostly sunny and rising to about 8degC by early afternoon. Armed with this prophecy I took to the road on my trusty velocipede intending to visit the Curragh and Corbally harbour and maybe explore the Liffey and its various nearby canals. Leaving at 11:30 the weather looked promising, but half way between Ardenode and Brannockstown I hit a wall of fog and the temperature dropped and I got exceedingly cold. So I shortened my route and basically chased the fog back home for a late lunch.

Later in the afternoon I took Meg for my usual constitutional and hit the wall of fog again, this time only a mile away. On returning and after a hot bath I checked Accuweather again. By 5pm the fog had reached home.

It now said "fog will clear by lunch". My calculation is that the wall of fog was actually travelling towards us all day from the west at about 2mph. So much for forecasts.

Sausages and chips soon - that'll drive the fog away!.