Our favourite swimming spot

Summer time means swimming! We are so lucky to have a multitude of beautiful places to choose from, most within walking distance of home. Chagford has a fabulous outdoor swimming pool, but I'll save that for another post, as we also love to swim in the local rivers. Although today was rather overcast, it was very hot and muggy, so we set off for our favourite river swimming spot.
Out of the village we walked, wending our way up Meldon hill, and out towards Stiniel, a tiny hamlet of a half dozen little thatched cottages.

There is water everywhere in this lush and green land of ours. It springs from the earth on every hill, and trickles from the high rock walls that bound the lanes, and flows in narrow leats under and alongside the granite dwellings, converging in every valley bottom in peat stained, but crystal clean rivers.

From the thatched longhouses, we climb the steep and narrow hill to the top of Stiniel Down. Here is the path through the shoulder high bracken, between the overladen Rowan trees, which leads down to the valley and the river.

At the bottom, is Langaford Bridge, and the River Bovey, where we turn left and follow the water downstream.

In front of the bridge the water is about 4 feet deep, and there is a rope swing in the trees. You can swing out from the bank, and land with a splosh in the icy water. It is deep enough here to swim the ponies too, which we often do, although not today.

Instead, we continued on, along the river bank and through the gnarled trees. Everything is covered in a rich carpet of moss - rocks and tree trunks alike.

This is a land truly inhabited by magical creatures

The river narrows, and quickens,

until each can find their own private pool!