For the dedicated car-free walker, this leg of the Two Moors Way route requires planning over spontaneity and on this occasion, a degree of dedication over reason. It being half term, I had freed myself of mid-week parental responsibilities to be able to make use of the once-a-week bus service from Buckfastleigh towards Widecombe in the Moor.

It was hard not to feel a little blessed as I waited for opening time at The Watermark in Ivybridge. It was the first day of October, I had a day off work during the week and had been lucky enough to choose one in the calm before the first of the season's proper named storms. With a coffee in hand, I had time to take a look at the map properly

It was back in February that I picked up a leaflet in my local library publicising the Two Moors Way. I recalled seeing signs for this during previous walks in the area but hadn't much of an idea about the route in its entirety. Now, having just moved to South Devon, an opportunity to take on a new challenge had presented itself.