Dartmoor

We have had an exhausting but satisfying day exploring the moors. We began at a National Trust park at a place called Parke, where we also got our first cream tea of the holiday, and it was delicious.

So after a couple of hours there, we headed out to the moor and parked by a reservoir which has a stream that leads down to the river Dart. We then spent over 3 hours on the moor, beginning with a picnic lunch, then a walk down to find Venford Falls - a small waterfall where the stream meets the river Dart. There are no instructions on how to find it - it is secret- but we spent a couple of hours clambering down over rocks, and tree roots, mossy outcrops and some hairy steep slippery bits, on our way down to the river. The weather had been on and off nice, but on our return trip up the river, when we eventually found the falls, the sun came out, and we all went in for a bit of wild paddling, with Josh and Jon taking the plunge with full on wild 'swimming' (they immersed themselves, but there wasn't really any swimming!) I paddled. I was exhausted from the walk and couldn't quite face all the faff of drying off after a dip...we still had the climb back to the car to tackle.

It was a lovely day. Made even better by the fact that there was little cooking to do when we got back as chilli had been prepared for the slow cooker before we left. So rice to boil and that was it!

My joints are going to suffer tomorrow, so a restful day I think is in order. We have put in an order for sun for the rest of our hols. Just hoping for next day delivery....