No Covid passports required to visit Devon

 It was over the border into Devon for this walk. Our last couple of longer walks have taken in the moorland scenery of Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor; this one is predominantly through farmland. Starting in a car park on the perimeter of what was the Devon Great Consols Mine, our circular route took us out into the fields and byways of a rather secluded area at the top of the Tamar Valley. In part it was a reconnoitre for a walk we'll be doing with a couple of friends in a few days. As it turned out, it was worth doing in advance as a few map-reading errors were made, which we will not make when we repeat the walk. A very sunny day with a really pleasant temperature. Lots of butterflies around, mainly Orange Tips, but not one rested long enough for me to get a decent shot.

A rather convoluted route starting in the small car park at Scrubtor, It turned out to be just under 7 miles, although it would have been shorter if it weren't for a couple of unplanned wrong turnings. A very pleasant mix of quiet lanes, footpaths, fields, woodlands and tracks. As the elevation profile shows, it certainly had enough ups and downs to make us feel that we'd had some decent exercise. And we didn't pass anyone else on our way round.

We don't usually see Kit Hill from this direction. A keen eye can make out the route of the River Tamar and Greenscombe Woods, on the outskirts of Luckett.

The ground is warming up and farmers are planting their maize under plastic. From a distance the plastic looks like shimmering water. It's not a natural look but the growing crop soon masks the plastic.

One of the first trees to blossom - the Blackthorn or Sloe (Prunus spinosa).

A bank of Lesser Celandine on the roadside in the hamlet of Townlake. Apparently, the plant was a traditional remedy for piles; its common name of figwort alludes to ‘fig’ as an old name for piles. It comes as no surprise to learn that it was also known as pilewort but I don't think the makers of Anusol need fear any competition. An ointment of the roots was also said to cure corns and warts.

An impressive set of granite steps leading up to a decorative fieldgate. The size of these steps probably indicate the significance of this particular path - perhaps it was the main route between Townlake and the nearest church in Sydenham Damerel?

There is lots of Wild Garlic around but these are the only flowers we came across. Give it a week or so and they'll be out in profusion. If you don't like to smell of garlic, keep away from the woods when it's out. It's about this time of year when recipes for using Wild Garlic (aka Ramsons) appear in the press. Wild Garlic pesto seems the ubiquitous favourite at the moment.

St Mary's church in Sydenham Damerel, a hamlet just over the border in Devon. The eponymous parish is mainly agricultural, although there was a brief spasm of something else in the late 1700s when a couple of mines were in operation locally.

The church, dating from the 15th century, is now a single aisle (the nave) and is largely undecorated. No monuments, no stained glass...

....because the church was almost completely destroyed by fire in the mid-1950s. The tower and porch were saved. At the time, the decision was taken to rebuild the church with a single aisle and incorporate elements that could be salvaged into the new structure. The photograph shows the church ruins before the restoration.

Where the North Aisle used to be. There is a rumour that much of the stone from the church ruins can now be found in local walls and buildings.

There was a single War Grave in the graveyard and that was for Sergeant John Francis Richards (Service Number 1338721) of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He was 21 years old when he died on 27th January 1944 Mr Google tells us that he was the sole occupant of a Master II training 'plane that was flying out of RAF Hodnet in Shropshire. At the time, Pilot Richards was serving in the 5th Pilots' Advanced Flying Unit, on a training session. He was just one of many pilots killed whilst doing just this. 

We all know that Victorian children were at risk of dying from a lot of diseases that we’ve eradicated or can control in the 21^st century, like smallpox, cholera, measles, whooping cough, diphtheria, and dysentery (to name just a few). Death was a common visitor to Victorian households; and the younger one was, the more vulnerable he or she would be. So, it's not uncommon to come across headstones that list the names of deceased children. What is unusual about Sydenham Damerel is the number of such headstones. I can't remember a place with so many. Take the above headstone, listing the children of Thomas and Mary Ann Freeman:
Mary Ann Davey - died April 9th 1864, age 6 years
Richard - died May 1st 1864, age 8 years
Mary Ann - died July 9th 1859, age 4 months
William Henry - died April 13th 1865, age 9 months

And this one, with the children of Richard and Harriett Caddy:
Ann Harriett - died March 12th 1857, age 6 months and 13 days
Charles Arthur - died February 9th 1859, age 5 years and 8 months

And almost next door is the grave of Daniel Bunt Coppin and his children. Rather odd that there seemed to be space for an inscription of his wife but there was no mention of her. His children were:
Samuel Daniel - died March 27th 1853, age 4 weeks
Hugh - died November 30th 1856, age 5 weeks
Elizabeth Abigail - died April 6th 1858, age 5 weeks

And lastly, and only because this is where I gave up looking, the headstone of James and Elizabeth Giddy Jasper. Their children were:
Robert - died April 12th 1856, age 3 months
Richard - died January 11th 1859, age 2 years and 9 months

An unexpected and rather elaborate field gate. Modelled on an old penny-farthing bicycle? And is that a handle-bar moustache in the middle?

Looking over the fields towards Kit Hill, with the tower of Sydenham Damerel church in the midground.

Lunch stop in Portontown Woods. The canopy was just beginning to 'leaf up'. Mental note to self: this will be a great place to come and see the bluebells when they are out.

The track down to Catsbridge. Just a very pleasant place to walk.

Black Bulgar (Bulgaria inquinans) on a fallen trunk (possibly Ash). There were many dozens of these small black buttons scattered across the bark. When they are younger and 'fresher', they look and feel like a typical jelly fungus, but they’re actually not jelly fungi at all – scientifically speaking, as they are in the  division of Ascomycetes, instead of the real ‘Jelly fungi’ (Heterobasidiomycetes) which are in the division Basidiomycetes. So there you go – mycology lesson over! This isn’t a fungus that you'll find on any forager's list. However, in North-eastern China it is considered a delicacy. After careful preparation it seems that it’s fine to eat – but quite poisonous otherwise. Phytochromes (photoreceptors in fruiting body pigment) can cause serious food-sensitised solar dermatitis – which sounds rather uncomfortable. I think I’ll give it a miss!