The great benefit of a small campervan is the ability to pack up and leave at very short notice. With the fourth heatwave of the summer in full swing, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to head to Dartmoor and cycle the “Granite Way”.

The “Granite Way” runs from Lydford (southern edge) all the way north to Okehampton, heading through Sourton, Meldon reservoir, Meldon quarry and finally arriving at Okehampton station – also the end of the National Rail “Dartmoor line”, which runs from Exeter to Okehampton.

With a regular train service to Okehampton, this cycle route is a feasible option arriving by train from Exeter and then picking up the “Granite Way” south to Lydford and back.

For the ever more adventurous folks, the “Granite Way” forms part of the 100 mile coast-to-coast cycle route (Route 27, I think) which has many off-road sections including the “Tarka Trail” and of course the “Granite Way”

We found a campsite – Lydford Caravan and Camping club – just 200m from the southern end of the cycle route and an absolute gem of a site, affiliated to the Caravan and Motorhome club. The facilities are modern and spotless and we camped on one of the grass pitches with wide-ranging vistas across Dartmoor.

On arrival, the wardens were friendly and helpful and recommended a great pitch with wide ranging views across Dartmoor National Park.

We also discovered a National Trust “property” – Lydford Gorge. According to Visit Dartmoor, a combination of geology, water power and climate change has created the deepest gorge in the South West. I can envisage geology and water power being responsible for this but honestly, climate change??

There’s also a large waterfall but we were out of time on this visit.

During Wednesday night, we experienced reasonable quantities of rain and we awoke to a wet and misty grim morning. This was supposed to be a heatwave…

By early afternoon the rain and some of the clouds had passed and we set off on the cycle ride to Okehampton. There is just a short section of gravel track whilst the rest of the cycle route is paved. The ride to Okehampton took around 1.25 hours and passes Stourton, Meldon Viaduct overlooking the reservoir dam, Meldon quarry and finally descends into Okehampton at the National Rail station.

We have walked around Meldon reservoir previously and it looks like it’s possible to also take a detour there from the “Granite Way”.

Mid-Summer Tour – Caravan Ramblings

A quick coffee at the station before we cycled back to the campsite. Dinner was at the Castle Inn in Lydford – a beautiful village pub.

An early start Friday morning as Moe wanted to attend her Tai Chi class in Exmouth.