In the inimitable styles of Bill Bailey and Jack Dee; as the tides of hopeful bargain hunters wash up against the sea wall of the Argos book of laminated dreams, 2023 draws to a close. And with another year of doom and destruction looming into view through the fog of war, we have dipped our toes into the murky waters of the dark side; and gone ‘full cat’. Sure, we’ve chaperoned the odd furry feline in our pet-sitting career, but always in the company of their canine cousins. And so, we came to Chagford on Dartmoor, for the second time after a brief fact-finding sojourn to meet our charges and their owner. Now, I may not be the sharpest tool in the box but the task of trying to remember who was who defeated me for a while and was initially left to my wife. Two lovely cats, brother and sister, both black and white with very similar markings and with androgynous names - Freddie and Frankie. Luckily it soon became much easier as Freddie became the much more vocal one. He certainly knew when breakfast and dinner was due ! That said, cats are easy 😄 Feeding, watering and lots of play and cuddles and all was well. Such a pity that they are total rubbish at going for walks. Over the course of a very wet and windy stay we ventured out across hill and dale several times although F ‘n F chose to go just as far as the front gate. Well, who can blame them ? Dartmoor in winter is, basically, like a giant, water-soaked sponge you’ve had in the fridge overnight. We had hoped for ‘deep and crisp and even’ but what we got was wet and windy and wellington boots. Chagford, an old stannery town, long ago traded its extraction of base metals for cheese mining, with the spoils of hard labour on display in the delightful Fat Mouse dairy. Stinking Bishop sir ? A nice bit of Tilset perhaps ? Or just a hunk of Cheddar ? The temptation to play John Cleese in the infamous Monty Python sketch was almost irresistible. But that shop typifies this pretty, lively, if not a little touristy village with everything you need. Five ( and one half) cafes, four pubs, butchers, bakers, candlestick makers - they are all here. Just don’t even try to catch a bus anywhere (and expect to come back again). Trips to Bovey Tracey and Moretonhamstead uncovered a pair of interesting small towns ( the Cheese Shed in BT is a must - is there a theme developing here ?) and we can heartily recommend the Cleave Inn at Lustleigh. Our host’s home was lovely; comfortable, easy to clean and in a great location. Walks abound with picturesque routes along the River Teign, up into the surrounding hills, or further afield onto the heights of Dartmoor. We’ve grown really fond of this lofty, granite plateau over several tours - I just hope these ageing legs want to continue exploring. A diverted walk, courtesy of an uncrossable River Reign, took us through the beautiful grounds of the Gidleigh Park Hotel. And here we met Isaac - a lovely ginger tom that insisted in following us for the next mile. Worried that we were taking him far from home (and unable to take him back with us - Frankie and Freddie would not have been best pleased methinks) a chance encounter with a dog walker explained that Isaac's 'patch' was wide and often found himself driven back by car to his Chagford home ! So, if you see him roaming around don't worry - he knows his way home. 2023 has been our busiest year pet sitting yet, and with a greater proportion of ‘repeats’ than ever. The coming year is already in the planning stage with three encounters booked. That said we would love to get across the Channel again, after all the difficulties presented by the pandemic, brexit and the stupid ‘5 application rule’ inexplicably imposed by THS; unpopular with owners and sitters alike. And, perhaps, a re-jig of the way in which our ‘adventures’ are recorded. Given our all too frequent encounters with every type of awful weather, it might be best to arrange our trips by storm name, rather than month ! So, this time it’s storm Gerrit that has rather curtailed our exploits 💦 Next stop - back to Dartmoor with Buck, Logan and Hobbes in February. . . Brrrrrrrr 🥶
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'23 Adventures
January 2024
photosby Bobby ! |