Lamsamble, Ivybridge

[dartymoor]

Mentioned this idea to Dave a while ago and he said to write something up, so I have, and will add other walks as they happen.

I like circular walks and there are many such geocache walks that fit the bill perfectly. Sometimes it’s hard to judge a walk (yet still not spoil the surprise!) and I thought some sort of mini review or even just thoughts and comments about them might be useful to others looking for a nice walk.

So – First one!

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Name of walk; Lambsamble – #1 GC2CV9A
Where: Ivybridge
By: lambs of cleeve
Walked by: dartymoor, 28th January 2012
Caches on Trail: 10
Additional Caches attempted: 4
Caches Found: 12/14
Distance: 5.24mi
Duration: 3 hours.
Going: Muddy and soft in places. One long steep hill to start and a shorter one towards the end, otherwise reasonably level and good going with a short road section along a very quiet lane.
Track: http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/lXWh1o4V9Z0

Good bits: Oustanding views, inventive containers.

Frosty January morning, promising clear skies and little wind. I parked by the railway bridge, tucked well to the side – space for a couple of cars there, but no more. Slippery tarmac but soon up into a muddy lane. Lots of footprints showed it’s well used, and several meetings told why – it’s a very popular track up to the moor for Ivybridge’s dog walkers. They seem to be quite considerate though, I didn’t see a single poo-bag anywhere, a rare thing!

First cache was great, a nice container. Then a steep hill up to the moorland. The trail led us through an old lane, quite overgrown, and another great container, then out into a huge field. This has been “improved” (read, topped and fertilised) for cattle, but is still quite boggy. I took a wee detour after #2 to grab Henlake Down Trig Puzzle cache, an easy detour to it’s final position. From there, a half mile march across the soggy field to #3, which was my favourite due to it’s location and container. A lot of thought went into this and I really liked it. Then I went off across the field again, in a big zig-zag (see track) to my second detour, Hanger Down Clump. I loved this spot, and the cache as well – very nicely stocked.

From the clump, I headed across to #4. The going got very wet in the middle of this and took a bit of working out and tussock-hopping, but managed without wet socks. #4 found (again, clever!) and on to #5. This was my only DNF of the day and follows several other DNF’s so I suspect it may have disappeared. Still a nice spot, and I detoured again here to the north by 250m to Three Kings: Francencense. (Tip: Don’t do the straight route, follow the path!) Well worth the detour. Back to #5 and another try. Found a bone built into the hedge, but no cache. Ho hum.

I took another detour before #6, this time for Three Kings: myrrh. That and Six done, along a track to #7. This was too close to the farm and this morning there were many farmers around, so I didn’t even attempt this one, although I could see a very likely spot matching the clue. So sailing on, this time on tarmac, to #8 then off the road through a gateway onto #9, #10 and then back down the lane to my car.

A lovely walk, highly recommended. There’s a lot of thought put into the hides and they are quite varied. The walk flows well and should suit most levels of fitness. The lambs give about four miles as a distance which is probably right without my diversions to the other caches. If you have extra energy, you could also try some of the ones along the Erme after #8.

Overall, a very nice morning in superb weather. (It rose from -1 to about 9 or 10 through the morning. Some wind as it warmed up, but dropped to almost nothing.)

Do bring good boots or even wellies because of the wet nature – but perhaps that’s less of an issue in summer.

[The Celtic Jedi]

We think this is a really good idea, we often go on these short trails and it is good to get all the comments in one place. It helps to decide if it is suitable for your abilities/capabilities. We did most of this particular walk last summer and can endorse Dartymoors comments.

[Dartmoor Dave]

An excellent idea and a very good write up of this walk. It would be good if we could keep to the same format for future write-ups to give consistency. It would also be very useful to have a heading for dog-friendliness. In particular if there were difficult stiles and fields containing cattle or horses. Stiles can be a nightmare for large dogs that can’t be carried.

[dartymoor]

Thanks, Dave. Good idea about dogs.

For Lamsamble – very dog friendly. No stiles, but stock around (mostly cattle) so close control needed as always.

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