A walk from Grenofen Bridge along the Walkham and Tavy rivers

Last Thursday, in glorious weather a group of us did the 'Grenofen Walk'.  Starting at Grenofen Bridge, twixt Tavistock and Yelverton on the western edge of Dartmoor, we headed up the Walkham River valley for a mile or so, then over the top of the downs to come down onto the Tavy just downstream from Doublewaters. We then followed the Tavy/Walkham back to our starting point. It's a delightful and relatively easy 6 miles. With good weather, lots to see and pleasant company, it was a great way to spend a few hours.  And, guess what? No mud!

Moss, ferns and lichen festoon the branch of this oak tree. Good signs of unpolluted air. 

Things found by the Wayside Part 99: The cross read ' In fond memory of Darren'. No date and no other details. The flowers were fresh and must have been placed there that morning. A bow of the head for Darren.

Going up the side of the Walkham River. It's hard to imagine that just a few weeks ago the path to the right would have been under several feet of flood water.

Underneath the Gem Bridge which was opened in 2012, one of the final pieces of the Tavistock to Plymouth cycleway/footpath. It stands in the valley where Brunel’s original Walkham Viaduct was built in 1859 as part of the Plymouth to Tavistock to Launceston railway. It was Brunel’s longest Devon viaduct and was demolished, I believe, in the 1960s.

A stop for coffee on the Common. Note the blue sky! I shudder to think what the combined age of this lot is. It's got to be approaching a millennium. Gulp!

I did not realise that I'd captured this buzzard sitting on a telephone wire until I'd enlarged the photograph - hence the fact that it's a little grainy.

Lots of the common dog violet (Viola riviniana) throughout the route. It's unscented and that, apparently, is the origin of the name 'dog violet; to distinguish it from the scented 'sweet violet'. The spur at the back of the flower is another clue to the fact that it's a dog violet. On the dog violet the spur is a slightly paler blue than the flower and has a distinctive notch at its tip. The nectar of the flower is located deep in the spur and it is a commonly held view that the prominent striations act as a guide for pollinating insects. My flora tells me that the entire plant is edible, and that in some parts of Europe, violets are used to make popular spring salads. I have tasted the leaves and there's not a lot there to tempt the tastebuds. 

Oooh look, a ditch.  But not any old ditch, this one. It's actually the boundary of a circular enclosure thought to be at least 2000 years old.

And if you need convincing, take a look at this aerial view from Google Earth. Still intact and still in use after all that time. Just in case you are wondering, it's not known what it's original function was. Defensive, ceremonial, grazing - take your pick.

Looking out from the entrance to the Virtuous Lady mine. Named after Queen Elizabeth I, this mine operated, off and on, from the mid 1500s up to the mid 1800s. We didn't go too far in as we were torchless - something for another day. The main metal sought was copper. The area around the mine clearly shows associated structures such as leats and spoil heaps.

Not a very salubrious place for lunch - on the side of one of the largest spoil heaps on the banks of the River Tavy.

Looking down onto the Tavy from the top of the spoil heap. The river runs clear and the rocks at the bottom have a bluish tinge, no doubt due to the presence of copper. I read somewhere that the ore from the mine was transported by pack horse for processing elsewhere on the nearby Bere Peninsular. Apparently there was a bridge for the packhorses to cross but this was dismantled by the Duke of Bedford's agents as it was slightly wider than was permitted.

Doublewaters - looking down the Walkham as it meets the Tavy coming in from the right. The workings of Wheal Bedford, another old copper mine, are scattered around and about in the woods - silent, ivy clad and gradually being reclaimed by nature.