Vanessa 

Hastings

Helena

Walk with two sisters as you reflect on nature, memory, and the simple joy of moving through the world.

English

Join two sisters as they embark on a leisurely walk from Staverton to Newbridge along the scenic River Dart. As they stroll through the beautiful Devon countryside, they share heartfelt conversations about the simple joys of being outdoors. This track captures their deep connection to nature, the warmth of family memories, and the serenity of walking together in a place they love.

Step By Step - Two Sisters Reflect On The Joy Of Walking

Hello and welcome to Walking and Wisdom. I'm Liz Scott and I'm here to help you uncover the joy and wisdom that walking brings. I live in Devon in the UK where I start each day with a three mile walk before breakfast. Walking, no matter the weather, has become a nourishing habit. Even on the rainy mornings I never wake up dreading my walk because once I'm outside I know I'll love every single moment of it. Walking is something we can all enjoy and I would love to inspire you to step outside and to walk, even if it's just for five minutes, to see what it's like for you. In today's track I embark on a fifteen mile journey with my sister. We're tracing the path of the River Dart from a place called Staverton in Devon to New Bridge which is up on Dartmoor in Devon. So join us as we walk, we talk and we reflect on the scenery and we reflect on our shared memories. We started our walk on the long narrow bridge at Staverton. The sun was shining but it wasn't too hot. Perfect walking weather. We walked along country lanes and after a few miles we made our way to Buckfast Abbey, a working monastery that has a lovely cafe. It was here we remembered going out with our parents and especially our dear dad who's now very elderly and has dementia and that means he can no longer remember us. It was good to get to Buckfast Abbey and to have a short walking break. So we've stopped for a cup of tea sister and this is one of our well-known favourite spots, Buckfast Abbey. It's really beautiful. Yeah, it's stunning here. It's just a place of lots of sort of memories. I've been here lots of times and it's just a very still peaceful place. And dad used to come here with us, didn't he? Because Buckfast Abbey is, it's got a tea room and you can walk into the Abbey and walk around the grounds and dad used to, well you remember more than I do that dad used to love coming to here for a cup of tea but also into the Abbey itself because you can go in there. Yeah he used to like the Abbey but the other thing he was drawn to was the bookshop because he liked the reading. So there's a beautiful bookshop, tons of almost alternative ideas and thoughts, maybe kind of religion and spiritual. Deepak Chopra he used to like and he'd always pick up a Deepak Chopra book or look at different writings so that's something that used to draw him. And then we'd come here after, we'd use it as a kind of a tea stop after we'd done a walk close to here. We'd go from, it was along the Abbot's Way so I imagine it would have been connected to this Abbey to Tavistock. Yeah that's true because the walk was along something called the Abbot's Way which went across Dartmoor and that was where the monks I guess in the old days would have walked across the moor connecting the monasteries. Yeah so we did a bit of it so it kind of a part of the walk took us along the Abbot's Way near the Avon Dam and then we'd kind of, I think we'd veer off the Abbot's Way and we'd kind of head uphill and a very boggy section and we'd come across this beautiful open-air chapel that used to be used if I'm right by the miners from Huntingdon Warren. They were miners, I don't know that they were quite miners but I think they were, there was a kind of a settlement up on the moor near there and I think this open-air chapel was kind of created for the community up there which in a way is just as stunning and peaceful as the Abbey but in a very simple way. Yes, yes very very different. This is a beautiful golden kind of hue to some of the stonework on the Abbey here and well we're walking actually, we're following the River Dart and Buckfast Abbey is absolutely right beside the River Dart and we've been from Staverton today to here and we're going to head on up to somewhere called Newbridge but we haven't really been alongside the Dart much, it's quite difficult because the roads are quite busy so we've come on little lanes but what are your reflections of the kind of terrain and the walking we've done so far this morning? I think one of the things I've really loved about it, although we haven't seen even glimpses of the river, we've seen the valley where the river's been but I've loved the countryside, the landscapes and it's just so green and beautiful and the corn flowers and the meadows and it's just been quite special and very quiet, I don't think we've seen many cars or people, it's just quite amazing that you suddenly get to a place like the Abbey and you see people again and you kind of forget that there's people still around us. Great, so we're just going to finish our cup of tea and then head towards Hembury Woods, this is still territory we know quite well and we'll kind of wind our way, not right beside the River Dart but we see glimpses of it as we go and I would say another good eight, nine, ten miles to go, not exactly sure but you're making it, I'm making it along. I love it, it's lovely though isn't it, for me not having to sort of follow a map, just follow you, it's very good, I'm loving it. After leaving Buckfast Abbey, my sister and I made our way through Hembury Woods, walking alongside the River Dart before going up really steeply to an Iron Age fort, it was really quite a tough climb. Since access along the riverbank is restricted because of all the private properties, we took a detour through some peaceful lanes and across fields and eventually reached Holne Bridge and this is the bridge that takes us onto the other side of the River Dart. From here we faced another challenging climb that led us to Orr's Well Woods, it was great to get a breather at the top of the hill. Well we paused and we've had our lunch and there's something about eating very simple food, I'm very excited about it, you had a Marmite sandwich and it was, it was a bit stale but it was delicious, the bread had been in the fridge for some time but it didn't have mould on it, it was honestly, it was the best Marmite sandwich I've had, it was just delightful. Yeah, and I've been eating oat cakes and every oat cake is like, oh this is so delicious, dry oat cake. It's funny though when you're outside, it just tastes so lovely and water, we've been drinking and saying just how delicious water is, yeah it's just, I love it, yeah it's all been very good. And I'm noticing the season's changing as well, we've had a few blackberries, quite tasty and then the, I think they're rowan berries are out in force, yeah, the red, very red and the leaves, particularly some of the oak trees, they're beginning to get yellow, yeah, yellowing leaves, so yeah, you can definitely see that the seasons, the bracken here looks greener than it is at home, whereas down in Ivy Bridge it's beginning to brown a bit, but here it's still quite green, but no, definitely autumn is approaching, yeah, yeah, autumn is coming, autumn is approaching, yes, and we've, we're probably about, I think we're two-thirds on this walk, so we reckon it's about 15 miles, we stopped for a cup of tea at Buckfast and that was about five miles in, we walked another five miles, it's been quite a steep uphill from Holne Bridge, which is the bridge that goes over the Dart, it just didn't seem to end that hill, did it? No, the, and also we had the Hembury Wood Hill, so we had Hembury Wood and then the Holne Bridge, but the Hembury Wood Hill was just delightful in the woods, wasn't that, just, and it was lovely seeing the, on the river, the, the, the swimming spots that people have created, and down by Holne Bridge as well, which, swimming spots, I hadn't realised, the, and the, the rope swings that go over the river and, and they, it must be so deep, you know, people just fall in or jump in, yeah, it's good to see, it's just lovely, it's that time of year where it's still, you know, it's not too cold, you can go in the river, it's, it's very cold if you go in the river, mind you, but yeah, it's, it's really super, and Orswell Woods, we, we're actually, um, in Orswell Woods, I think it's Orswell, or is it Auswell, A-U-S-E, well, woods, is it A-U-S-E, is it? A-U-S-E-W-E-L-L, yeah, Orswell, and, um, there was a dog that came up to us, I mean, we were just about to phone the number on the collar, and then the dog owner came and grumbled that the dog, he said, dog just decided he didn't want to go for a walk and came back to the car, which is quite funny, um, but, uh, yeah, it's a, it's a really, um, we're curious about this woods, aren't we, because it, although the wood goes all the way down to the dart, it, I'm not sure we can actually walk a footpath along it, um, but there is a circular walk here that we, we could do, so we're definitely going to come back here again. Oh, I'd love to come back and explore the woods, um, I mean, just look, some of the places in the woods, you've got something called Lover's Leap, and you've got, um, a settlement, some sort of Cairns Bronze Age settlement, yeah, we always, we love looking at those, don't we, so definitely we've got to come back and explore some, um, we're on the last five miles, um, heading, five miles, yeah, I thought the three and a half, you said, oh, is it three and a half, oh, right, three and a half, I think you could be three and a half, I can't remember now, but that's fine, but it's downhill, mainly downhill, that's what we should be saying, so look, it's all good stuff, and, uh, I think we've finished our lunch, so unless we go up to the Buckland, no, no, no more up, no more up, I'm going to put my foot down, we're going to, I'm imagining a downhill, well, next time when we come and explore Oswell Wood, we could perhaps go up to the tour as well, okay, you'll be in charge of that one, I'm in charge today. The final few miles was a delight, it was mainly downhill, we went through Buckland in the moor, and along a tributary of the River Dart, all the way to Spitchwick, which is on the River Dart. We ended up, after nearly 15 miles, underneath the so-called New Bridge, which is quite an ironic name, seeing as the bridge was built around 500 years ago, so rather than New Bridge, maybe Old Bridge would be a more apt name. Well, sister, we made it! I know I'm almost disappointed to have reached the end, I've really enjoyed it, especially that last part, coming down through Greywood, near, I don't know what tributary it was, but stunning, stunning wood and a little clapper bridge, absolutely beautiful. And you can hear the river behind us, we're actually at New Bridge, and this is a bridge that spans the River Dart, and this is where the car park is. What do you reckon then? How far was it in the end? What did your watch say? Because you've been kind of clocking it on your watch. We've done 11.19, and then it was about three and a half there, wasn't it? 14 and a half. Brilliant, good, I'm very happy with that. How are your feet? Fine, lovely, I love my feet. I've got to say I'm a little bit achy, I can feel that I've done a good good walk, but I think we've been lucky with the weather, and we've been lucky with the terrain, and I think you've seen a few places that you haven't known before. Oh yeah, definitely, I mean, as I said, the Greyswood and the Oswellwood, and I think coming into Holne Bridge, I'm not sure I've walked down there before, that was some beautiful fields down there, and then some familiar places like Spitzwick, it's always lovely coming to Spitzwick. Yeah, because of course you've got these wonderful deep pools in the River Dart there, and people are jumping in into these pools, kids screaming, having a great time, it's a great, just wonderful family. I think it's been, what's been also quite pleasing is seeing people at different parts of the Dart using it as well, in a similar way. I mean, a lot of people know about Spitzwick, but other sort of like maybe lesser-known spots that people have discovered and made for themselves. I think it's people are just enjoying the Dart, it's such a beautiful river. It is, and I was saying to you, there's something that feels almost sacred about it. Is that the right word? Sacred or spiritual? And you said, well, aren't all rivers like that? I don't know, do you think the Dart is special or is it maybe there's just something very magical about these places? I think a lot of rivers hold an appeal, for me anyway, and I love the idea of walking from source to see these rivers, but I think, yeah, the Dart's special, I think, personally for us anyway. But it is a very beautiful river, there's something very mysterious about it. The Dart pools seem mysterious and it seems to hold secrets maybe that other rivers don't. Yeah, I agree with that, and it does, we've just walked on the lanes, we weren't able to walk right beside it, but it's called the Double Dart, and the Dart does this incredible sort of loop. I'm just trying to think, what is it, how could you describe it? It's almost like the top of a question mark as a loop, isn't it, in it? So we've been following that and just commenting on how it's, it kind of, when you come across the Dart, you're never quite sure which direction it's flowing in because this loop kind of disorientates you a little bit. Well, I think I've always been a bit confused coming to Spitswick and not quite understanding why it's flowing in the opposite way than I expected it to be. Walking it today, it kind of makes complete sense because it does the loop and that's why it's flowing in the direction it is. So it is flowing in the right direction. It was right all along, yeah, it was right, good. Well, this has been really fabulous, we've really enjoyed doing this little walk from Staverton to Newbridge. Thank you for being my walking companion today. Loved it, loved it, loved it, so very special. I hope you enjoyed our walking today and if it's inspired you to get outdoors, please go outside and put one foot in front of the other. You don't need to go far, do whatever works for you and trust me, you won't regret it. Just get walking.