Friday 21st June:  Weather: 11°C to 16°C: Overcast, sunny patches

Dobwalls to Jamaica Inn:  17.2k walk to Liskeard:  Ascent 397m, Descent 255m

Time:  9.15am to 2.00pm: Total time 4hrs 45min: Walk time: 4hrs 45min: NO stops: 

Accommodation: Jamaica Inn Bolventor

Havett Rd Dobwalls start of day

Pretty walk through Trengale Wood

Through the mud to escape the bull

My first taste of Bodmin Moor

Cows and bulls more of a worry than getting lost on Bodmin Moor

Following the blue line

On top of Brown Belly

Highlight today was successfully navigating Bodmin Moor to Jamaica Inn.  This was supposed to be the hairy bit, but the real hairy scary bit was encountering some nervous cows and bulls on the path, and having to “walk quickly” to a gate which straddled a muddy pooy puddle, only to find it wouldn’t open so I had to clamber over avoiding the poo.

Elnor’s Guest House was not my favourite place on this trip.  Breakfast wasn’t until 8am so I had asked for an early breakfast, intending to catch the 8.20am bus from Liskeard to Dobwalls as there was a large rain band heading to Cornwall from Ireland and I didn’t want to get caught on the Moors in misty rain. Ted suggested 7.15am was the earliest and he would make me a sausage bacon sandwich to take with me.  OK that’s good. I’m down at breakfast at 7.15am and there’s only packets of rice bubbles and coco pops and the coffee was awful. the sausage sandwich didn’t eventuate and there was some eyes crossed between mother and son who had forgot, so I passed off the situation that I didn’t need it anyway (which was a lie) then showered and packed and out the door by 7.45am.

A short walk up the road to the Post Office where the bus to Bodmin arrives at 8.30am. It cost £2 to travel the 7 minutes to Dobwalls and I head for the church to rejoin the Smugglers Way.  My watch and phone don’t want to sync and I mess around, eventually deciding that my phone linked to my Garmin watch via the Garmin Explore app was more effective, and I head up Havett’s road.  Avoiding Havett’s farm which has a private road sign hanging on the gate, I follow the thin blue line with ease.  My walking poles are stuffed in a pocket of my back pack so I’m holding the phone in one hand, my OS map in the other and off I go towards Burnt House, then down a country lane to Trevebyn Bridge.  100 metres over the bridge and my blue line takes me along a lovely track beside the River Fowey, now just a bubbling stream. 

Uphill through Trengate Wood to Higher Tenant, then left to Cross Draynes Common, a real taste of the moors, and a test of teh Garmin app.  There’s no track across and it’s thick grass with imbedded gorse bush.  I plough on following the thin blue line and there’s a herd of cows - and bulls - on the ridge giving me the eyeball.  They move towards me and I freak out when a bull makes a small step towards me and stomps it’s hooves.  I move quickly towards a gate covering a muddey pooey puddle and try to open the gate but the latch hasn’t be used for years, if ever.  I scratch my watch in climbing over the gate trying to avoid landing in the pooey puddle.

And then I’m good.  It’s a clear walk up to Brown Gelly with wonderful views all round and I can see Dozmary Pool below me.  My notes on Smugglers Way written by Macadder, say to head for the right hand edge of Dozmary Pool, which I do but in my haste without checking my blue line, I finish up on the wrong side of Redmoor Farm.  After winding in and out of Farm sheds the owner, a very Cornish lady with big teeth and a strong Cornish accent points me in the right direction.  I'm away around Dozmary Pool which is famous in the Arthurian legend as being the place where King Arthur threw his Excalibur into the lake.

I briefly stop for a minute to eat a jam sandwich I’d made at Elnor Guest House (instead of my sausage sandwich) then on to Jamaica Inn where I arrive at 2pm, well ahead of the black rain band heading this way. The bar is full of mostly day trippers as I check in and my room is ready.  What a lovely room with a large single bed, and a fantastic view out on to Tolborough Tor on Bodmin Moor.  I have a cup of tea, shower, then wander down to the bar and have a half pint of Guinness and eat a packet of dry roasted nuts while I write my diary.  At 5pm I order fish and chips which arrives in less than 10 minutes.  It looks lovely, but the fish is a bit fishy and watery, however the chips and traditional cup of peas are nice.  I have another half pint of Guinness then back to my room to watch another round of soccer.  Bed at 10pm.

Looking back at Brown Gelly Tor in distance

Dozmary Pool near Jamaica Inn

Arriving at Jamaica Inn

Bodmin Moor view from my room

Fish n chips with peas Jamaica Inn