Day 9 Brixham/Totnes to Menheniot
Quick facts:
Departure:Totnes
Destination: Menheniot Sportsman Valley Hotel
Weather: sunny H26 L14 Humidity 95%
Distance : 39.5 miles 63 km
Ascent : 2,129 feet
Descent: 2,326 feet
AS 8.92 mph
Check out Corner to Corner, Day 9: Brixham to Menheniot activity on Strava: https://strava.app.link/KAMTa99Qpsb
Another gorgeous morning to wake up to. Ralph is in Brixham and has about 11 miles to cover to get to Totnes where I stayed with my friend Ingrid. This 9th day of our trip I am officially calling the “Ingrid K Contribution Day”. We have already had other’s support us in fantastic non-monetary ways - but today is dedicated to Ingrid.
It is a luxury for me to sleep in and have a slow start to my morning. I did yoga, got a blog sent out and Ingrid and I had breakfast and chatted at her table.
In the meantime back in Brixham Ralph had decided that he wanted to redistribute the weight from the two rear panniers to an “in frame” bag. He bought one and it was on its way to be delivered to our hotel by tonight.
Totnes is a lovely hilly medieval town. Ingrid lives at the top of the hill of the main street off the Old Plymouth Road. We are going to Plymouth today so I saw no reason to meet Ralph at a coffee shop at the bottom of the hill. Instead he was happily eating toast (3 slices of homemade sourdough bread) with marmalade and tea at Ingrid’s when the news came that is in-frame bag was not delivered because the hotel could not be found.
Menheniot is a VERY small place. The Sportsman Valley is the only hotel. This didn’t make sense. It all became clear when it was discovered that there was an error in the postal code used in the shipping address- and it was an error in the first set of characters so it wasn’t even sent to the right FEDX depot.
Ralph sat at Ingrid’s desk I think talking to bots and on hold on the phone to connect to a real person. All finally got sorted out and Ralph should see his new top-tube bag on Friday. Now it was noon and we have some very hilly roads to cover and I hadn’t gotten on my bike yet!
Ingrid suddenly offered, as her contribution to Ralph’s Haven House project, to be our “bag sherpa” and drive our extra panniers to Menheniot. This is fantastic and we happily accepted. Off we went lighter in heart and baggage!
Now this is where those who have been following my blog will roll your eyes. I can cut and paste from the last blogs and say it was a beautiful, exciting cycling day. The weather is warm but really just fine. We sweated up the steep hills … and the evaporative cooking worked well to cool me off on the fast downhills.
Out we went toward Plymouth on the Old Plymouth Road waving goodby to Ingrid as we rolled away.
I was just on the main road down the little hill from Ingrid’s when I noticed Ralph had no paniers at all. He stopped and headed back to Ingrid’s to at least put a spare tube in his back pocket.
The landscape was lovely and the roads not too busy as we pedaled along.
Although Ralph has plotted cafes and pubs for coffee breaks and lunches, the countryside establishments don’t always cooperate by being open. Mondays and Tuesdays in particular. “Our” pub chosen for lunch was closed but a gas station’s fresh offerings are pretty good here in GB.
Plymouth was our next major stop with a surprise (for me) chain pulled ferry across the Plymouth Sound to Torpoint.
Off we went, choosing the back country lanes over the main A roads.
This sign telling us to keep out of a cattle pasture due to military exercises seemed amusing.
Quiet roads.
The hills certainly slowed us down. I texted Ingrid an eta of 6 pm …. But we blew past that and arrived at the Sportsman Valley Hotel at 6:30. She was waiting patiently there with our bags.
Our route had taken us to the village of Menheniot. The hotel is NOT there. This could be another reason the in frame bag couldn’t be delivered as originally planned.
My room was just lovely with a large tub to soak off my road grime and get ready for supper.
The proprietors Michael and Jill were enjoying the afternoon on the patio on Tuesday, their day “closed” too. They made a reservation for us down the road at the Great Trethew Manor Country Hotel. Ingrid had been waiting for us at the Sportsman. We quickly showered and she was our chauffeur to The Manor. It was a lovely spot to spend time on a gorgeous evening. Peacocks, hens and chicks wandered the grounds and an almost full moon rose for us.
Desserts were the finale for a lovely meal served by Linda and the staff at The Great Trethew. I recommend a visit if you are ever close by.
Safe cycling
Lorraine