Sue had devised a sneaky route out of Exeter which worked perfectly and avoided any Monday morning traffic- not that many people leave it until 10am to go to work!
Our first 10km were continuous climbing but the remaining 30km also felt up hill. We were engaged on part of the Tour du Manche which completes a circuit of the English South and French North coasts using Dover and Plymouth ferrys. The labelling is rather subtle with small blue stickers appearing just when you are about to give up and this stretch from Exeter to Okehampton is more functional than picturesque.
We had our first tea shop stop at Woodleigh Coach House near Cheriton Bishop The cold weather returned the desire for soup, they served a good sea food chowder. We then stopped in Sticklepath for Finch Foundry which was actually a forge until 1960 and turned out up to 400 tools per day for the busy farming and industry of 19th century Devon The use of water to power dates back to 1100s on this site.
A final decent to Okehampton for a food shop then a climb back up to the busy Youth Hostel which was full of families. The YHA here is doing what it does best, there is a huge selection of activities put on to entertain all in the fraught school holidays.
Figures:
Distance:- 40.0 km
Cycle Time:- 3 hours 40 minutes
Average speed:- 10.9 kph
Total Distance:- 5670 km
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