A walk in the countryside around Tremaine

For this walk, our leader had selected a circular route starting and ending at Tremaine church - St Winwalo's. It was unexplored countryside for all of us and, with the weather looking reasonable, it was something to look forward to. It turned out to be a trip not without incident - disappearing foot paths requiring a diversion, stiles overgrown with unforgiving vegetation, a swept-away footbridge necessitating some backtracking and mud, lots of mud, making it a hard walk in parts. Add on to all of that the fact that the countryside was rural and secluded, rather than spectacular, it was a walk that we were unlikely to repeat. One for the OK category but it was good exercise with pleasant company. As ever, a few photographs for the record, with a bias towards plants, which says something about the scenery.

Our circular route started and ended in the car park of Tremaine church. My GPS clocked just over 7 miles for this one. Probably a third of the walk was along quiet lanes and rest was across muddy fields.

Our starting point: St Winwalo church at Tremaine. Dating from the 12th century, it is one that we've visited quite often.

The variegated leaves of Ivy-leafed Cyclamen - Cyclamen hederifolium - presaging what will be a spectacular display of blooms.

This is one I prepared earlier - last year, I think, in pretty much the same spot as the previous image. This is what is to come in a few weeks.

The delightful blue flowers of Spring Squill - Scilla verna. Squill is a corruption of the Latin, Scilla. We've seen it more often on the various coastal footpaths we've walked on.

This one is an anemone of some kind. Not a wild flower and may have been planted in the graveyard in memory of someone. Botanists would class this as an 'escapee'.

No, it's not my farm, just an unexpected coincidence.

A rental property slate sign that caught my eye.

Male flowers, or catkins, of the Goat Willow (Salix caprea). Also known as the Pussy Willow, but these flowers have gone passed the stage when they look like a cat's claw. I can't find anything that sheds light on the connection with goats.

The female flowers of the Goat Willow, built for receiving rather than producing pollen. Like the Hazel, the Willow is dioecious, meaning male and female flowers grow on separate trees. True harbingers of Spring, methinks.

This panorama typifies the countryside we walked through. Rolling pasture punctuated with quite steep valleys cut by streams.

At one time, there was a footbridge here that spanned the River Ottery. Marked on the map but obviously not there now. We had to make a 1/2 mile backtrack to get over to the other side as there was no crossing for many miles downstream.

An early dandelion 'clock'...……...

……….that looks better/different in monochrome.

White Deadnettle interspersed with Common Nettle. Lots of shades of fresh green.

A clump of indeterminate Ink Caps - Clustered, perhaps, or Glistening? An interesting fungus, if that's what grabs you. As they mature, autolysis sets in and they dissolve into a characteristic black mush, used by some as ink. 

Our view of St Winwalo as we approached it at the end of our walk.

We can't go passed without taking in the tranquility of the unadorned interior.