The first Forum Walk in October was merely the first of a two-part day for Forum members, the leaders having pulled the stops out to give members something special to justify the trip out into darkest Mid-Devon.
The morning walk started at the Waie Inn in Zeal Monachorum, which was also our lunch venue after our circuit. Our route took us south out of Zeal, and led us along a narrow country lane to a new entrance to Hayne, a fine old house. Here we were welcomed by the owners, given a brief talk about the history of the property and allowed to explore the gardens, and the cider barn, now a welcome additional location for weddings and other social and entertainment functions. Our brief stay here over, our route continued generally southwards, past entrances to Reeve Castle, a somewhat mysterious large property mostly well hidden from public view by dense tree screens.
We left the lane at Lower Burston Farm, here taking to field paths, meandering somewhat, but heading generally northeastwards until we reached Tuckingmill. At the historic river bridge we paused for a photograph before heading steeply uphill on the lane, and very soon arrived back to the Waie Inn for a very good lunch.
After the break we drove to the entrance of the construction site of the Denbrook Wind Farm a few miles to the west, where, after a thorough security and safety briefing, we travelled in convoy down the lengthy site access road to the main site compound. Here we were given a short presentation by the developer's project manager. That over, we donned the proffered high vis jackets before taking to the site's internal hardcore road network to visit a couple of the turbine towers and other features of interest. The construction process is now virtually complete - all the turbines have been erected, and are in the throes of final commissioning. We were given a demonstration of some of the turbines in operation, noting the very faint sound the blades made as they rotated. With the towers some 75m high, and a maximum height to blade tip of some 120m, these structures inevitably impact on the country scene, but it has to be acknowledged that they do have a certain elegance about them.
We were fortunate in the timing of our visit, in what appears to be a short window between the completion of the main construction works and the successful completion of commissioning, when the site winds down to its ongoing operational phase.
The morning walk started at the Waie Inn in Zeal Monachorum, which was also our lunch venue after our circuit. Our route took us south out of Zeal, and led us along a narrow country lane to a new entrance to Hayne, a fine old house. Here we were welcomed by the owners, given a brief talk about the history of the property and allowed to explore the gardens, and the cider barn, now a welcome additional location for weddings and other social and entertainment functions. Our brief stay here over, our route continued generally southwards, past entrances to Reeve Castle, a somewhat mysterious large property mostly well hidden from public view by dense tree screens.
We left the lane at Lower Burston Farm, here taking to field paths, meandering somewhat, but heading generally northeastwards until we reached Tuckingmill. At the historic river bridge we paused for a photograph before heading steeply uphill on the lane, and very soon arrived back to the Waie Inn for a very good lunch.
After the break we drove to the entrance of the construction site of the Denbrook Wind Farm a few miles to the west, where, after a thorough security and safety briefing, we travelled in convoy down the lengthy site access road to the main site compound. Here we were given a short presentation by the developer's project manager. That over, we donned the proffered high vis jackets before taking to the site's internal hardcore road network to visit a couple of the turbine towers and other features of interest. The construction process is now virtually complete - all the turbines have been erected, and are in the throes of final commissioning. We were given a demonstration of some of the turbines in operation, noting the very faint sound the blades made as they rotated. With the towers some 75m high, and a maximum height to blade tip of some 120m, these structures inevitably impact on the country scene, but it has to be acknowledged that they do have a certain elegance about them.
We were fortunate in the timing of our visit, in what appears to be a short window between the completion of the main construction works and the successful completion of commissioning, when the site winds down to its ongoing operational phase.
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