Now we are at Dulverton again another site we have been to many times. It’s right in the village of Dulverton beside the river Barle. No Traffic noise day or night just the sound of the river rushing along. Made greater by the rain we have had in the last couple of days. There are not many on site due to the current situation in the country, a lot have cancelled.

The above picture of the sun lighting up the arches of the bridge into the village sets the scene for the village. You often see canoeists paddling by and in the summer kids will play in the river. The narrow roads add charm to the village although can be a bit tricky getting to the site in a 30ft camper, but slow and steady is the way to go. Some streets you just can’t go down or up though only on a bike.

Being on Exmoor means there is lots of biking trails for me, narrow lanes and bridle ways, big hills up and big hills down. Last year when we were here I biked out to Tarr steps and wanted to go there again only this time do a bit of a loop so I came to it one way crossed it and came back another way.

Many years ago I used to go up on Exmoor every weekend mountain biking and have biked across the bridge at Tarr steps and gone through the river in the summer. Now it was winter, the stones will be slippery, they’re not very even, they have gaps in them that could catch you out, the rivers cold and running fast, no one is about to fish me out if I fall in, my bike could disappear. Should I get there and walk across. What do you think. Of course I got there took some photos and rode across with a big grin on my face when I got to the other side.

Tarr steps is what they call a clapper bridge although I never heard anyone clapping when I got to the other side. It’s 55 metres long and been there a very long time. It’s right in a valley so a big down hill to get to it and a big up hill to bike back up.

Another thing I wanted to do while we were down in Devon was to get Ellis some real Devon cider. Ellis is the welsh guy that has a small holding opposite the campsite we were working on in Snowdonia. He supplied us with the very nice trout we had all through the summer. Chatting to him he said he liked a cider with his tea in the evening. So I told him I would bring him some back next year. I knew just the place to get some from.

Indicknowle cider and farm shop is on the edge of Exmoor but still in Devon. They rear all their own animals and make cider. The cider is made from apples from their own orchard. The apples are blended, milled, and pressed using Victorian equipment using the same methods the family has used since the 1870’s and then stored in oak barrels. So when I say it’s proper cider, it’s proper farm cider. Not the manufactured stuff you get in the super market which has never seen an apple in its production.

I was chatting to the owner about the way it’s made and working on the farm. He was saying it’s a hard life but very enjoyable. He offered me some cider to try before I buy, but I declined the offer telling him it was for a friend and me and cider don’t really get on. I have had a couple of dodgy nights on the cider, well the nights were ok it was the next day that was dodgy so me and cider are no longer friends.

So that’s us up to date on our travels, we are missing France, Spain and Portugal in the winter but other things have taken priority this last two years, and with Covid and brexit happening now who knows what will happen next winter for us. Watch this space. We don’t do Xmas as you will know if you follow this blog so I will wish you all a happy holiday. Stay safe out there.