Walk Diary

by Christine Lovelock

Updating today again - June 26th -excuse any temporary errors!
I am still waiting for quite a few photos from other people, etc.

Please note: for latest images, news, go to link June1st- June 9th, below, right, rather than scrolling down

Click on the dates below for links to pages with sections of the walk
or scroll down for whole walk on one page

(Preview, April 29) May 12th - May 20th (Bideford)	May 21st - May 26th	May 27- June 1st	June 1st - June 9th
Ash Down, Brent Tor, Lifton, (James Lovelock) Ashwater, Bradworthy, (sleeping with the turbines) Morwenstow, Meddon, Buck`s cross, Bideford	Bideford, (Nick Harvey MP) Barnstaple, Fullabrook, South Molton, Rose Ash (Big Art Challenge) and Two Moors way, Witheridge	North Tawton, Bow and Spreyton, Okehampton, Bowerlands (BBQ and Geoff Cox MP) Yes Tor, Yelland Farm	Okehampton to Hatherleigh, Hatherleigh to Dolton, Great Torrington, Higher Darracott, Winkleigh, The Wind Thing and John Constable (REF)

Artists I met on the walk

Date April 29th	Details of walk and links to web pages Preview walk, up to Ash wood, back through Pippacott and Whitehll This will be updated periodically as the walk progresses - I may not always have access to the internet.. For the moment I am setting up some of the pages in advance, with photos taken previously., and putting in a few thumbnail paintings of the areas that I will be passing through, either ones that I have done or ones shown onthis website by other artists. Before the walk started, I went on a Preview walk round part of the Fullabrook Site (April 29th, still primrose time)
May 12th	I took a number 86 bus to Brentor, visited Brent Tor itself, and walked from there to Foghanger, where I spent the night with Chris and Yvonne Burchell from WIFLAG, the group fighting the turbines there. I walked along small lanes and footpaths very close to the actual turbine site. Go to the Brent Tor page to see this walk, and the start on May 13th
May 13th	The Walk started at Brent Tor, near Lamerton, site of a proposal for two wind turbines. Henry Lewis came down from London to walk the first few miles with me, before dashing back by train to continue preparations for The Wind Thing. I also walked through Lifton, where a proposal for 5 x 5kw turbines is time-expired, and near Broadwoodwidger, where another wind farm had been proposed. I spent the night at my father`s home.
May 14th	Sunday I walked to Ashwater and saw two places where turbines had been proposed. My father, James Lovelock, and Sandy, his wife, walked the first two miles with me. Later in the day I filmed my father. If we can figure out how to do this, films made during the walk may be able to be viewed from the website later on. The photo is of my father and Sandy, on their way back home after walking a couple of miles with me.
May 15th	Into the area of search... if you don`t know what this is, go to the Devon Structure plan on the internet As my walk progresses, I learn more and more that the area of search - the area under threat of industrialisation - is the most unspoilt area of all. The photo is of Ivan Buxton from Ashwater - he and his wife Diane did a "Cameron" with the video camera, etc, from Brent Tor to my father`s and then to Bradworthy.. I walked from Ashwater to Bradworthy, where I spent the night at the home of Marie Hutchings, whose house is closest to the turbines there.
May 16th	I spent the day at Bradworthy, and also went to Wheeler`s Cross, on the other side of Bradworthy from the Forrest Moor turbines. Four more turbines have been proposed here, 410 ft high. I met several people with stories to tell about how the turbines have affected them. And visited AstroAdventures Follow the link to the Area of Darkness, which has much in common with the area of search. I stayed the night at Marie`s again, and heard the turbine noise.. The thumbnail is of a group of us at Wheeler`s Cross, more photos up Sunday night hopefully...
May 17th	Before saying goodbye to Marie, I took photos of the puppies. At midday I left Bradworthy, and walked to Crimp, just across the border into Cornwall. I stayed with members of the Crimp Action Group, where I had a memorable hot bath with whisky (to drink, not bathe in), and was taken down to Welcombe beach to see the location of George West`s painting. More photos and links below soon...
May 18th	I walked from the Crimp site through Meddon and the countryside between there and Buck`s Cross.Once again I walk through quiet lanes and find peace almost unheard of nowadays in our busy land. A large wind farm had been proposed at one time between Crimp and Meddon and beyond, and if the Crimp turbines are passed this other proposal could become active again. I was met on the road near to Buck`s Cross by my friend Rose (Rosalinda Smith) an ART Trek artist. The photo is of her in her studio. I stayed with her and her family for the night. More photos and link up soon... including some of their kittens.
May 19th	Rose and her husband Richard walked down to Buck`s Cross village and then I had a somewhat perilous walk along the coastal path and Peppercombe Beach at a stormy high tide. Arrived finally at the Burton Art Gallery and had tea and flapjacks with Rose, looking at paintings by other Art Trek artists such as Colin Allbrook. From Bideford I took a No.1 (or 2) bus home to Barnstaple. The bus was very late, and the journey very long due to a hold-up on the Link Road. My son David met me, and helped me carry my bags the last mile or so home.
May 20th	A rest day, to download photos, buy more tapes for the film camera, and upload the website. You could call it a rest, but it was harder work than walking... non-stop from 7am until 9pm, except for a trip to town to buy more video tapes.
May 21st Joanne Bell (on a sunnier day) My painting of the view from Fremington Quay With Nick Harvey, looking across at the Fullabrook Wind Farm Site hills	Bideford to Barnstaple Back to Bideford by double-decker bus (No2). Joanne Bell (North DevonFriends of the Earth) gallantly braved the rain and joined me on the bus. Joane was once also a member of the North Devon Green Party but resigned because of their policy of supporting wind farms. She is very concerned about the numbers of birds killed by wind turbines. She walked with me along the Tarka Trail from Bideford as far as the Yelland Power Station, where she turned off towards her home. Then I met Lyn Billington and her daughter Gayle, on bicycles. They cycled with me some of the way. Lyn and I were both once members of the Aldershot Farnham and District Ahtletic Club, and she was a World Veteran`s Marathon Champion. It rained so much I couldn`t take photos of her, Gayle, Joanne or the early part of the walk, but I will go back when the walk is finished to take some then. Then I met Jane Faust (Two Moors Way Campaign) at Fremington Quay, where I was able to sit in the warm with a cup of tea. We then met Alex Tutton from the Roundswell and Sticklepath News, and Nick Harvey, our local North Devon MP, who came to give me his support. More to come about this shortly. The rain stopped just in time for us to take some photos, and I then walked the rest of the way in glorious sunshine, to Barnstaple then along the other side of the estuary to my home in Bradiford.
May 22nd	Unforeseen circumstances meant that I couldn`t after all get to Bratton Fleming as planned, but I will visit it after the end of the walk. This is a painting of the little bridge at Luscott Barton. Today I have been walking vicariously too, and uploading the website non-stop, with hundreds of photos to download and rename and resize. Link to the site fighting turbines on the hills between Braunton and Ifracombe, www.cawt.org.uk
May 23rd	A painting by Reg Gale (Art Trek artist) of the lake at Little Comfort farm, just below Fullabrook Down. I met the CAWT group - and Reg Gale - at a reception up on the hills not far from the place where I am photographed on the Home Page. Today the Salar 15 th Anniversary Exhibition opens at Salar Gallery in Hatherleigh. Celebrating Tarka Country. Paintings, photography, poems & 3-D on rivers, estuaries, grassland, wildlife, including work from Ken Hildrew, Jen Bryant and Peach & Bill Shaw. Exhibition runs from May 23 - July 4. I have three paintings in the Exhibition as well, and I will be visiting the Gallery later on during the walk. www.salargallery.co.uk
May 24th A painting of Exmoor by Reg Gale.... Stella Levy With Stella, and Valerie Wray Leaving South Molton Lonely countryside Bishops Nympton Church A hen with her chicks	Deep in the Search Area Off to South Molton on the 11.05 bus (no 346). At South Molton I called in at Widgery Studios to see Stella Levy, this year`s Art Trek organiser. Stella is a photographer, and she has given me one of her images for the Artists Against Wind Farms website. As well as giving me a cup of tea, and plenty of encouragement, she gave me a big stack of Art Trek leaflets to distribute on the way. Yet again, I was glad that so many wind farm campaigners were helping me to do a "Cameron" by chauffeuring my belongings forward. In this case it was Valerie Wray from the Two Moors Way Campaign who arrived to pick up my belongings ( and the leaflets) before I started walking. I had met Valerie and her husband John in March when I helped them collect signatures for a petition against the turbines at Batsworthy Cross. They had very kindly offered to put me up while I was in the area. It wasn`t a bad day, I thought, as I started walking through South Molton, quite a relief because I didn`t yet feel on top form after Monday`s sore throat and slight cold. No sooner had I thought this than it quite typically began to rain. Up went the brolly, and I walked on up the hill beyond the town. I had decided to take a small road that branched off on the right, and once I was on it, and away from the busier main road, I was back in that quieter Devon that I have been walking through most of the time - the area of search and the area of darkness, the area of unspoilt countryside. Despite the rain, I could tell it was beautiful countryside. It was subtly different from the countryside I had been in up until then: perhaps more fertile, with richer soil in the valleys. There were horse chestnuts in bloom. We were higher up too than in West Devon, closer to Exmoor. The road wound down over a small bridge, and up a wooded hill towards Bishops Nympton. I stopped once or twice to take photographs, but it was difficult with the rain, I couldn`t hold the umbrella and use the camera at the same time. At the top of the hill I was in the open, and then - of course - the rain became seriously heavy. and I became quite wet. I plodded steadily on: I wasn`t in last week`s form and my legs felt heavy, but as the rain eased once more it was a pleasure to look around at the rolling countryside. I still have a vivid mental picture of a cow with her calf in a field near a small bridge, the hedge white with cow parsley, the trees weighed down with May blossom. The little road beyond wound upwards towards Bishops Nympton church on the skyline, and I was reminded of the Shire in the Lord of the Rings. This charming countryside could have been Hobbit land, and I felt as if the threatening turbines were like those lumbering orc machines that came out from Mordor. Bishps Nympton looked to be a lived-in village. There were people around, for the first time since South Molton. It didn`t take long to walk through the village, then I took the road towards Rose Ash that went up Quince Hill. With such lovely names it had to be lovely countryside, and it was. The rain eased quite a bit, so that I could properly enjoy it. The flowers on the banks were subtly different too from those of last week: purple vetch, mauve clover flowers, and buttercups in profusion, some fields looking golden from a distance. Somewhere going up Quince Hill I saw a hen beside the road. She was sitting quite still, looking rather odd, then I realised her feathers were fluffed out because she had a brood of chicks. One came out, and looked at me. I took a photo, and hope it will have come out OK (I can`t read my flash card yet). At the top of the hill, I called Valerie. She said she would walk to meet me. I told her to make sure she brought her umbrella: it was raining heavily again. We met at Rose Ash itself, and walked together in the downpour to their house, where they made me comfortable and dry and fed me magnificently. We had melon, a marvellous dish of white fish with prawns and new potatoes, vegetables and garlic bread, and a delicious fruit salad. John had said once that he painted a little... in a modest way. His paintings were amazing... I photographed them, and will put them online as soon as I can. Link to page about this walk
May 25th My painting - a pastel sketch John Wray loading up Everyone at work in the hall The children had a good time In the right corner - Npower representatives eating carrot cake The big picture	Batsworthy Cross .... The Big Art Challenge at Rose Ash Village Hall For once the weather was beautiful - perfect walking weather - but I didn`t have time to walk at all. The whole day was taken up with the event. We went early up to the Hall, making several trips. The event was based loosely on the "Big Draw" Event that Rolf Harris did at Parliament Square. John had built a large stand that divided into four sections so that it could be carried by car and then erected in the hall. The front was divided into 36 carefully measure squares, to correspond with a squared up version of my painting of Batsworthy Cross. It is complicated to explain in a hurry - the photos will be better. They had sent an image of the painting to a printers and produced several copies in various sizes for reference. Each person who came to paint would be given a square to work, and when it was finished it would be stapled to the board in the correct position until they were all completed. There was a curtain in front ot the giant artwork to conceal until it was ready for display. Valerie had also baked cakes. There would be tea and coffee and juice, and some bubbly for the moment when the curtain was to be drawn. Everything was beautifully organised and prepared, and when the set up was complete we went back to the house for some lunch and a short break before returning for the afternoon. It was great fun. There were people of all ages, from elderly to young mothers with small children. Many of them said at first that they couldn`t paint, but they took amazing care with their squares. Even those who chose a square of blue sky (because it looked easy) spent ages doing it, discovering touches of other colours in the blue that they hadn`t expected to be there, and looking for ways to reproduce the texture of the original pastel despite the fact they were using liquid poster colour, a very different medium. Caroline and Neil Harvey did the raffle, Valerie and a lady called Dorothy were mainly doing the teas, while John and I doled out the paper and paints. Time flew, and there was a real buzz of enthusiasm in the Hall. One thing no one had expected was that the Wind Energy Company Npower would come to support us! Simon Holt (from Reading I believe) turned up with another man, and they stayed for quite some time, having tea and apparently very much enjoying Valerie`s carrot cake. They even bought some raffle tickets as well, perhaps hoping to win one of the best prizes, some energy saving light bulbs. I was hoping they would come over to speak to me (in my Country Guardian polo shirt, with its Clean and Green symbol) but they didn`t. It was quite a mystery why they came along, but rumour has it that they left sporting a "NO to Wind Turbines at Batsworthy Cross" sticker on the back of their car. Finally, at 7.30, the Press (from Tiverton) arrived, the bubbly was poured out, and Ashley Gray and I pulled the curtain to reveal the masterpiece. It looked fantastic - as the original was my painting I can be allowed to say I like the new version better. We will be bringing it to the Plough as part of the Artists Against Wind Turbines Exhibition in the Meeting Room so you will be able to decide for yourself. It had been a fantastic day, and everyone helped with the packing up so that it didn`t take half as long as it had taken to set it all up. I found another artist for the website, Jill Cronk, who brought round some paintings for me to photograph, and by 9.30 pm we were sitting down in Valerie and John`s dining room having another wonderful meal, lasagne this time, with chocolate cake for desert. www.twomoorscampaign.co.uk
May 26th I couldn`t take many photos because of the rain, but I was impressed with the number of posters everywhere A tree fell across the road shortly after I passed by, nearly dragging down an electricity cable. It was very wet and windy! Witheridge Church Resting my ankle on Jane`s sofa	Catastrophe! It was raining again. The plan for the day was to walk to Witheridge, then be brought back to John and Valerie`s again for one last night. I had been looking forward to this day, especially because for the first time I would be on the actual Two Moors Way. I set off at about eleven. If it was raining before I left, it was raining even more heavily once I was nearing Batsworthy Cross. And it was very windy too. I was high up in the open, with the wind roaring in my ears when my mobile rang. It made me think of Father Ted, who used to call his friend at all the wrong moments, so that he (the friend) would miss a turn, and drive off a cliff, or something similar. I managed to get my mobile out of my pocket to say hello. It was Henry Lewis, from London. "Hello," he said "Where are you?" I told him and asked if he could hear the wind roaring. He said he could. He said all this bad weather only enhanced my walk, demonstrating my determination to continue despite all difficulties. That was an interesting thought. He also said that the show was coming on really well, and the actors were brilliant. "It`s great what you are doing" he said, "You must keep it up after this is over.... go on to other places." "That`s a good idea" I said, thinking of Scotland, and Wales, and all the other places that are threatened, like the Essex Marshes. He said goodbye, and I walked on, cheered up despite the rain. I could see myself walking on like this for years. Then I fell over and twisted my ankle and wondered if I could make it another few yards. And just to help matters, when I tried my mobile it said "No network coverage." Suddenly the fact that there was never any traffic on these tiny little roads didn`t seem quite such a good thing after all. In fact it was, because having to hobble along it gradually became easier, and in the end I did make it to Witheridge, despite rain, ankle and a lucky escape from a tree that fell over the road. The Angel of Witheridge is a pub that welcomes walkers - it has a sign saying this in the doorway, which was very reassuring, as following my fall, I was not only wet but muddy as well. Several years before I had an Exhibition in the Angel, with twenty paintings that stayed there for about ten days. It was put on by Beaford Arts as part of the Beaford Arts Touring Scheme, and I got to know the village well, and to like it very much. Witheridge is what I would call a real village, with thriving shops and pubs and community life, and it is set in some beautiful countryside. The painting on the left is of Witheridge Church from the Two Moors Way that passes through the village - I did it for the Exhibition. I also got to know Ella Gheiss who runs the Pub, with her parents, so it was nice to see her again, and have a cup of tea there. Jane Faust from the Two Moors Way Campaign (who had come to Fremington Quay) came to pick me up. She had wanted to show me some other parts of Creacombe and the neighbourhood, but once again the rain was too heavy,. so we went back to her place for tea and toast. By then my ankle had swollen badly, and I spent some time with it in a bucket of cold water, which seemed to help. She took me back, and was invited to stay to supper as well by Valerie. We had soup, and something else that was delicious (I will remember later what it was) and debated the next day`s walk. By then my ankle was so swollen I could barely stand on it, so it didn`t look good.
May 27th Phil starts work and tells me how to treat the ankle With Phil Hancock (and the walking stick John Wray made me) Meeting a North Tawton artist	Phil Hancock to the rescue We woke to rain, again. And I could barely walk. The ankle had been painful in the night, and I have to admit that I was very worried. There was no way I could walk the 13 miles to Bow and North Tawton that had been planned. Caroline and Neil Harvey offered to take me there. There wasn`t a bus, but they consoled me by saying that this wasn`t an extra journey for them: they were going to look at a "Green" boiler, and would have made the journey anyway. And as someone said later, perhaps the "Green" boiler will save so many CO2 emissions that it will more than offset those made on this journey. After taking photographs of John`s paintings , and those of Jill Cronk - and having a quick lunch - it was time to say goodbye to the Wrays. John had gone out into his garden and made me a walking stick, which was a great help and may feature in photographs to come. We arrived at Nichols Nymet House that afternoon, home of Muriel and Paul Goodman and their two children, Emma and Charles. My ankle was badly swollen and although I tried to sound positive I was very worried. Would the whole walk have to be abandoned? Muriel had not long been awake after working nights (as well as running a bed and breakfast business with her husband Paul, she is also a midwife, and a bespoke picture framer), but she gave us all a cup of tea. When Caroline and Neil had gone, I went with Muriel over to Phil Hancock`s to pick up Charles, Muriel and Paul`s 14 year old son. He had been playing squash with Phil and his son. I wanted to see Phil so that I could thank him in person for my Country Guardian Pole shirts and baseball caps. As soon as he saw me limping, Phil rushed me into his house and set to work on my ankle. Are all wind farm objectors multi-talented? As well as running Splash Clothing, Phil has a talent for treating injuries, and while I was at North Tawton he worked miracles on my ankle. I can`t thank him enough, as I doubt that I would have been able to continue otherwise. Back at Nichols Nymet House I met an artist who lives at North Tawton. Her name is Deborah and she works at a gallery in Honition, and wanted to put something in a an Arts newsletter about my walk. We had an interesting chat (I kept my foot up, see photo) and then it was time for supper, smoked salmon and salad, very delicious. After a good session with ice and hot water bottles on the ankle, I fianlly went to bed with a PDJames book that Muriel had given me to read, and had a good night`s sleep.
May 28th This is a view towards the Den Brook valley that was done by C.Collins at the 2005 Paint it while it`s there Day Peeling potatoes with Diana, Paul`s mother	Sunday - a busy day No walking but a very busy day, filmed with my walking stick (more to come about that later), more physio, plus Sunday dinner of roast pork, carrots, peas, apple sauce, gravy and the best roast potates I have ever eaten (except the last time I stayed at Nichols Nymet house) I spent the afternoon at a very beautiful house and gardens meeting members of the Den Brook Committee. We had tea in the garden, and were photographed by Alan Quick for the Okehampton Times. ll the people I met were hoping that the developers would not appeal the decision to refuse planning permission for the turbines in the Den Brook valley. Also in the evening lots of hot and cold treatment on the ankle, and a chance to write up some of this diary in an email to my home address.. www.denbrook.co.uk.... watch this space too
<> <>May 29th The Goodman family This is a photo I have been sent that shows a balloon flying at the height of the turbines.	Paul Goodman`s Birthday and another busy day but no walking Happy Birthday to Paul Goodman. It was Paul`s birthday and I was very kindly asked to join in a family outing to Morwenstow where I had lunch with Muriel, Paul, Diana (Paul`s mother) Emma and Charles. They went for a walk while I rested my ankle in the car. Although it was dry, it was still windy and cold. On the way there we made a surprise visit to Sue and Pete`s, my hosts from the previous week - it was great seeing them again. Back at North Tawton there was another trip to Phil`s for treatment, and the ankle looked virtually better, although Phil said I should take it easy still, so reluctantly I decided to bus to Okehampton the next day, and only walk the last five miles. Phil told us it was his birthday on the 30th so we wished him a happy birthday in advance too. Suddenly it was a beautiful evening. I had arranged to stay the night with Maureen Thomson, Chairman of the Den Brook group, and just got to her house in tme to go out with her to Sampford Courtney for a very interesting meeting with the local Historical Society. We went to a tiny church at Honeychurch and then back to Sampford Courtney for a talk about the Prayer Book Rebellion (more about this if I get time).Infuriatingly I left my camera behind - it was such a golden evening, with the countryside and villages basked in the evening sunshine. Back at Maureen`s house we had a late supper and I had a bottle of my favourite beer. I also met her lovely dog Jack, and her two cats.
May 30th Arriving on horseback The Barbecue With Geoff Cox MP	Arriving on horseback. Bus to Okehampton and walk out from Okehampton to stay with Mel and Ray who live only 675 metres from the site of the proposed Yelland Farm turbines. These turbines will be on the ridge of a hill facing Meldon Viaduct and Yes Tor, and if they are given the go ahead the will change the character of this area completely. I managed to walk most of the way, but it wasn`t easy as my ankle was still stiff. Thankfully, William a twenty year old cob came to my rescue, and I was able to arrive in style at my destination. More about this visit to come in a couple of days, including hopefully more photos of me riding my new friend William. The climax of the day was a barbecue in Mel and Ray`s garden, where despite a chilly wind a good crowd of supporters came along. We were also very pleased that Geoff Cox the local MP came along, and spoke strongly in our support. He said he was especially concerned about the damage these industrial wind turbines can do to rural comminities in Devon. . More updates coming, meanwhile we hear the actors are rehearsing hard. Don`t forget to book your tickets for The Wind Thing! We heard the news that the developers are appealing the decision to refuse the turbines at the Den Brook valley - very depressing for those who have campaigned so hard against this application..
May 31st Mel, looking at the turbine site, with Yes Tor in the background. Ray, with William	Looking at the area, and riding William again This day was spent in the locality as planned. I had hoped to walk around the site, but my ankle was still aching, so it was wiser to to rest it. I did however do some more riding. Mel and I rode up to Bowerland Cross to meet a photographer, to highlight the dangers of crossing the road there when on horseback. Later, Mel took me out for a drive to see the site from various viewpoints (riding was not an option for this, as it meant using several busy main roads to get there). Connie, Mel`s mother, and George, the poodle, came as well. We went to Meldon, looking back, and then to the other side of the site, where as you can see from the photograph the view across to Yes Tor would be changed drastically. That evening, we relaxed and ate barbecue leftovers: chili with rice, salad and also red wine, followed by choc ices.
June 1st View of Yes Tor from Hatherleigh Common. If erected, the Yelland farm turbines would be visible in this view The Salar Gallery	Goodbye to Mel, Ray and Connie and off on the trail again... Through more of the search area.... you can`t blame the Devon County Council for this - the government has imposed targets for renewable energy upon them. At one Planning meeting I went to, one councillor dared to ask, what happens if we don`t meet these targets? Why can`t they be given the choice to subsidise other forms of renewable energy instead, that not only leave the countryside unspoilt but would actually be more efficient? And help reduce ordinary people`s bills, rather than make a few developers very rich? I walked from Okehampton to Hatherleigh. A wonderful walk in beautiful sunshine, through blissfully peaceful countryside, with only the cuckoo and other birds breaking the silence. At Hatherleigh, I called in on the Salar Gallery, and saw the Exhibition there: Celebrating Tarka Country www.salargallery.co.uk I stayed the night with Sally Vick, the gallery owner (an artist herself, and also a keen walker) and had spaghetti bolognese followed by one of my favourite puddings, rhubarb crumble, with Ambrosia Custard.
June 2nd Sally and Helen near Jacobstowe	Walked from Hatherleigh to Dolton with Sally Vick and her friend Helen. The sun came out again and it was hot! My ankle could take no more by the time we reached Dolton (perhaps I had done too much on Thursday) so the last leg to Torrington was a bus-ride (still Green but I was sad not to walk it, as I had been looking forward to that part of the journey.) I caught the No.315 bus, which goes from Exeter to Barnstaple, and continued on toBarmstaple, home again. Came back to 275 emails including a worrying one about another proposed wind farm at Bickham Moor, near Rackenford (Two Moors Way area)
June 3rd This is a painting by John Wray of the Two Moors Way Campaign, a very large oil based on a smaller version of a Painting by Poussin.	Trip to Winkleigh by bus put off until later next week, so time to work on the website and catch up with some washing. Took a short walk to Somerfields for some shopping, with my very Green shopping trolley. I often wonder how to make shopping trolleys more fashionable. If only David Cameron or Zac Goldsmith or Bob Geldof or Jonathan Porrit would start using one. At the moment, they are associated with old ladies. It`s time they were associated with saving the planet.
June 4th This is a photo of some of us at the Plough in April, talking to Henry . It includes Joanne Bell who walked with me near Instow (I couldn`t take her photo then because of the rain)	Shock news! If you ever plan to lose weight by doing a marathon walk around Devon wind farm sites, staying with wind farm campaigners, think again! I have to admit here and now that as well as all the other good reasons for doing my walk, the raising awareness of the issue, the giving support to lonely campaigners, the being close to nature, etc.... I had one ulterior motive... I wanted to lose a few pounds. Today I weighed myself, and I am heavier than when I started, thanks to all the wonderful meals I have been given on my way. Was it the Foghanger tart, the Goodman roast potatoes or the Morwenstow lemon meringue pie that added them on? I could go on and on, and still leave some delicious meal out by accident. All I can say is that despite the weight gain it was all worth it, and thank you to everyone for such wonderful hospitality and support every step of the way.
June 5th	Still limping and having to rest, but more work on the website, and preparing for the Exhibition - framing the pastel of Batsworthy Cross that was used for the Big Art Challenge. The photo on the left is from the Press Launch in April at the Plough - I am talking about the walk, and Ray from Bowerlands is holding the map of Devvon for me.
June 6th One of my Torrington paintings This is a painting by Gillian Cronk, an artist I met at Rose Ash. It was displayed in the Exhibition	To Torrington to set up the Exhibition. This time I travelled by car, firstly to save my ankle (it`s about a mile and a half to the bus station) secondly because I was being given a lift by someone from the CAWT group who brought paintings and displays for the Exhibition. Thanks to everyone who came over to help. I had planned to visit the people living closest to the site of the three (proposed) Higher Darracott turbines, but had to abandon this, as I was still limping badly. Back home again on the No.71 bus, still having problems with the ankle and worried about doing the last leg on Thursday. Also on the bus was Jon Hooper from the Green Party: We had a long but amicable argument about wind farms, neither of us changing the other one`s mind. The walk home was difficult as the ankle was troubling me.
June 7th Blackcraig Hill, Dumfries and Galloway Henry Lewis, talking about the show this April in the Meeting Room at the Plough In the vicarage garden with the puppies - Bridget and Clarissa Hummerstone	Artists Against Wind Farms Exhibition at the Plough (June 7 - 9) The painting on the left is called "Hen harrier hovering over Blackcraig Hill" This beautiful hill is where the Artists Against Wind Farms website was launched, in the presence of Professor David Bellamy, who sent a message of support at the beginning of the walk. The peace and serenity of this hill is under threat, see www.glare.org.uk as is much of the Scottish Landscape. Back to Torrington again on the No.71 bus. There were still some adjustments to make to the Exhibition, and I want to give special thanks to a friend of mine, Tricia Martin, from Torrington, for the help she gave me in hanging the last paintings, which made such a difference to the Exhibition. Henry Lewis and the cast of The Wind Thing came down to Torrington, by train to Umberleigh, continuing the Green Theme, with the last part of the journey on one of Henry`s favourite branch lines, the Tarka Line. I would like to make the point here that our emphasis on Green travel is not just a gimmick: neither Henry or I own a car. We don`t wear hair-shirts either though: Henry did not expect the cast to walk the last eight miles from Umberleigh to Torrington. Caroline Harvey fromt he Two Moors Way Campaign gave them a lift, and after they had settled in,they went out to do some street theatre in the Square. More details about the cast. I spent the night at Torrington Vicarage, in Calf Street, staying with my friends the Hummerstones. Jeremy Hummerstone is the vicar of Torrington and he had kindly put details of my walk in the Church Newsletter. His wife Clarissa (who has helped me with this project in numerous ways) was extra busy this week, but made me welcome despite this. They have seven children, all grown up now, and when many years ago my house was in a state of collapse, they gave me and my three children a home for more than six weeks. Ever since then, the Vicarage has seemed like a second home, and it is always a pleasure to visit them there. More photos of puppies to come as soon as I can upload them. Visit the Church website, especially if you are of a libertarian nature (some very interesting links)
June 8th Daisies at the Reservoir, which would be just below the turbines Foxgloves Torrington ahead The Plough Arts Centre John Constable, seen here with Noel Edmonds	The Finish of the Walk The walk ended officially today. The last leg of the walk was from Higher Darracott, the site where three turbines are planned, back to the Plough Arts Centre in Torrington itself. Clarissa drove me out to the Darracott Reservoir by car, not having a pony and trap or any other suitably Green vehicle. Not knowing how my ankle would be, I didn`t dare risk walking both ways, especially as I was to be filmed on the way back, and had to be able to walk properly. She then left me to walk back after we had looked sadly at the field where the turbines will go, unless a last ditch attempt to stop them (at the European Court of Human Rights) is successful. Left alone at last, I took hold of my trusty stick, and began to walk again. The ankle had been so painful that I was very apprehensive, but - as if by magic - it was better at last, and for the first time since the accident I could walk without a limp. It was wonderful to be walking properly again, and to be alone in the quiet countryside. May 13th at Brent Tor seemed a long time ago. Then, it had been shivering cold, with a grey sky, and primroses and bluebells on the hedgerow banks. Now, it was hot, with a blue sky, ox-eye daisies on the Reservoir bank and foxgloves in the hedgerows. It was bliss, to be walking on my own again, in the Devon countryside that I have come to love so much. In the distance, above the hedgerows, I could see the steeple of Torrington church, and the chimneys of the little town that has been called the English Jerusalem, perched as it is upon a hill. I lived in Torrington for 12 years, from 1986 until 1998, and the countryside around it has been my foremost inspration as an artist: how fitting it was to be finishing my walk coming up the hill to this little town. At a bridge, less than half a mile from the Plough, I met the TV crew who had filmed me walking at North Tawton back on May 28th. They are working on a documentary about the Den Brook Wind Farm application, and had come up to film the finish, and the evening`s show, when Den Brook members would be present. We met at a little bridge, in the bottom of a valley. It was very hot by now. They filmed me walking up and down, then wired me up, and followed with cameras for the last part of the walk. By the bridge, we could have been in the depths of the country: the only sound you could hear was the water in the river. We went up into as Lane, past the Roman Catholic Street, and suddenly we were iin the busy modern world again, with the traffic rushing by on Calf Street. In the distance I saw Gabriel Hummerstone, another Art Trek artist (a stonecarver) just going into the Vicarage. We crossed the road, and went up Potacre Street, then right to the Plough, where a crowd was there to greet me. And a finishing tape, held, I think, by John Constable. It was a strange finish for someone who once used to run flat out, but very welcome. In all my years as a runner though, I was never met by an all singing all dancing cast! And of course, Henry, who had been there at the beginning, on that cold grey day, dancing a jig on the road from Brent Tor. And so many friends there to greet me, including to my delight Mel and Ray Quirke, all the way up from Bowerlands near Okehampton, Ashley Gray from the Two Moors Campaign, and Muriel Goodman from North Tawton, among others. Plus ITV and reporters, as well as the documentary crew. It was very hot. We all went into the Plough, while Henry and the cast went off to do some street theatre in the Square, enlivening Thursday morning shopping for the residents of Torrington. For me it was almost over: for Henry and the cast the big moment was to come. June 11th note: Watch this space for more news about the evening, the show, the debate, Friday`s second visit to Higher Darracott and Saturday`s visit to Reg Gale`s Open Day. I am updating the website as fast as I can, but will also be very busy in the next few days, getting ready for the Art Trek (Open Studio event for the North Devon Festival) I normally spend a month getting ready for this event: this year I have only four days to get my neglected house and garden into a presentable state! For more about this, look at the North Devon Festival website or my own artists website: www.chrislovelock.co.uk The Wind Thing at the Plough Arts Centre, followed by debate with John Constable (Renewable Energy Foundation )and Ricky Knight (Green Party) speaking. The subject of wind energy that is being debated is of special importance to all those who live in Torrington and the surrounding area, since the three turbines at Higher Darracott will - if erected - dominate the landscape, and make it increasingly vulnerable to further development (as at Bradworthy).
June 9th	The Wind Thing at the Plough Arts Centre, also a power point presentation by John Constable
June 10th	Open Day at Reg Gale`s House in Ashford - painting in the garden.