Tiverton Canal and Mamhead Woods

Yesterday we had an outing with our friends, to enjoy the beautiful spring weather and all the new growth.

The first part of our day took place along the Tiverton Canal, somewhere I had never been before.

The start of our walk along the tow path, in the village of Sampford Peverell near Tiverton.

So lovely walking along the level tow path and enjoying the serenity of the surroundings.

Looking across the canal to the houses opposite. You can see that the canal is raised up above the level of the houses.

What a thrill to find a swan sitting on its nest.

The male swan wasn’t that keen on us being there, we didn’t think, so we moved on smartly as he swam purposefully towards us!

The village church.

Approaching Sampford Peverell Bridge, walking along the curving tow path.

An amazing wooden carving in someone’s garden. It has been carved from a tree stump, still rooted in the ground.

There were gardens all along, meeting the water’s edge.

Bullrushes.

Weeping willow tree.

Sampford Peverell Bridge.

Underneath the arch of the bridge. I love the pink tinge of the bricks, and the unusual way they are laid.

A sleeping duck.

The other ducks started approaching the sleeping one.

Out of the water and busy preening, but the other one didn’t wake.

More gardens along the canal bank.

An old barge.

A moorhen pottering about amongst the reeds. He made quite a noise.

This beautiful house, visible through the trees, was for sale and we each fantasised about the price and came to the conclusion that we probably couldn’t afford it!

A bit further down we found this nice little house with a veranda curving around in front of the house.

A large wood store. Someone’s got a big wood burning stove!

Returning to the village of Stampford Peverell.

An ancient mounting block set into the wall. I am glad that features like this have not been removed, despite the fact that they are now redundant.

Jack’s Cottage.

The Globe, where we had lunch – an excellent meal. We sat in a covered area at the back so we felt half inside and half outside – a very nice compromise considering how cold the wind was.

Return to Mamhead

We still had plenty of time to enjoy, so we decided to spend the afternoon in Mamhead Woods, where our friends took us last year, and which immediately became one of my very favourite places. To preserve the memory of that lovely visit, I made a mixed media mini-album which I completed in January of this year.

This time I didn’t take nearly so many photos as I’d covered it pretty comprehensively last year. I had hoped to find the woods carpeted with bluebells but we didn’t see any! It was interesting seeing the woods in the early spring because the leaves were not fully out, and it looked very different from how it looked last summer.

Here is some delicate blossom just coming out on one of the trees.

The only bluebells we saw were white ones!

Over at the far side of the woods, where the vantage point is with a view over to the sea, I love the curving paths with the wooden railings.

Tree bark with lichen.

The interesting wooden seats and path continuing to curve away from the view point.

The magnificent view over towards the sea which came as such a surprise to me on our first visit, as the trees open up in a quite unexpected way.

Towards the left, another beautiful view in which you can just see the Exe estuary.

After this we returned through the woods, taking a shorter route back to the car, and taking in the obelisk on the way.

Tree roots.

The obelisk through the trees.

Light and shade through the trees.

Twisted tree trunks.

A mossy tree stump.

Mamhead Woods are so full of tall mature trees, generating an atmosphere of calm and peace as one is surrounded by the magnificent trunks reaching heavenwards. The place is carefully maintained, and they have worked hard to provide varied and interesting seats made from wood, which do not shout against the surrounding natural beauty, but rather enhance it.

It was such a great day out. The weather was fine all day but cloudy at times, and the air was cold. We were glad of our hot meal at the pub, and we all had a lovely time enjoying each other’s company.