Skimmers and paddling

Today we went exploring somewhere new - Harpford Woods. I had heard that the River Otter provided nice river beaches and paddling spots, and linked in with a walk in Harpford Woods, so we packed up our wetsuit booties, some snacks and off we went. 

Also, I needed to take the kids out of the house for the day as my paramedic husband was working nights and was having a heavy run, having just finished a 14 hour night shift and back in tonight so his available sleep time was limited, and it's always harder to sleep during the day, when everyone else is out and about.

We parked at the small car park, up the road from the Bowd inn and followed the signs down into the woods. 

Some wooden steps lead straight down into the woods, and there were signs that outside the summer months there could be quite a waterfall.  

There were some little wooden bridges along the path, and at one point there was a brief dialogue...

"Mum we've walked so far we've gone into another country." "Oh, over a bridge, like to Wales?" "Yes!"

We really hadn't walked that far by this time. 

A little way down we took a right turn out into a field of crops with stunning views 

and followed a tunnelled tree line down into Harpford village, with plenty of low overhanging branches to swing on. 

From there we made our way across to the river and walked along the banks down to Newton Poppleford. We also crossed the disused railway line cycle track from Tipton to Budleigh - this is on the to do list for a bike day in the near future, as is a potential paddle day.

The park in Back Lane is pretty good, and a big football field area as well.

For future reference we decided this would be a better car park for us, we could still do the circular woodland walk, then finish up at the river and park. 

We sat in a meadow opposite the park and had some snacks, at a huge picnic table, then we explored the river a bit more and found some stony beaches. 

We also watched a family of ducks, dipping under the water and when they moved quickly they seemed to be running over it.

After a while of skimming stones we headed back up, through the woods this time, along a permitted path, which eventually joined back up to where we had gone out into the field earlier on. 

It was quite a hill back up, and a bit overgrown in places, but it all added to the adventure. 

There was also a path continuing to Bowd, but we needed the quickest route back to the car park as Oliver was getting pretty hangry and needed some encouragement on the walk back.

On the way home we stopped off at Greendale Farm for some well deserved pasties and sausage rolls, these were definitely worth the drive, delish!