Woken by my alarm at 05.30, get dressed and make a cup of tea and breakfast. Despite feeling rather bleary and not fully awake I remember to get my lunch out of the fridge and into my rucksack. I have lost count of the picnic lunches left behind over the years.
My train from Manchester Piccadilly departs at 7.25, and I leave the house at 6.25. The number 43 bus arrives just as I reach the stop on Palatine Road
At this time of the morning the journey into town is quick, so I get off the bus on Oxford Road
and follow the Rochdale canal to Piccadilly station.
I am hoping to pick up a newspaper for the journey, but neither WH Smith or the Coop have put their papers out by 7.15
So the first leg of the journey, to Birmingham New Street, is spent doing what I should have done ages ago: looking at the route and planning evening meal options and lunch options
The train is on time arriving at Birmingham. I have 15 minutes to get to the correct platform for the train to Totnes. So I finally pick up a Guardian newspaper to help pass the rest ofthejourney. I eat on the train, and meet Chris at the Signal Box Cafe where he has just had a late breakfast. Time for a cup of tea and a catch up before commencing our trek
It's a very pleasant day, as we follow paths and quiet roads, broadly following the river Dart towards Buckfastleigh
Spring is noticeably more advanced here: bluebells and wild garlic line the roadside and the oak trees are showing the light green of their early leaves
Before long the sky darkens and a light rain starts to fall. Nothing dramatic, but enough to lower the temperature and bring out macs and raincovers
This is a very gentle landscape of rolling fields, and we are making swift progress. We get our first sighting of Dartmoor on the horizon. It is below the cloud, which I take as a good omen for tomorrow
In Buckfastleigh we stop for tea and cake at a cafe. There is a woman there on day two of the Dartmoor Way. She says that the moor was grim this morning, wet and cold. I take this as a bad omen for tomorrow
We pick up supplies for our evening meal at the Coop and head on, looking for a suitable place to pitch camp
Which we find in this very pleasant field, hidden from view by its gently rolling nature
For my tea I cook some fresh pasta with a tomato and wild garlic sauce. I am impressed with myself. Chris makes something from his copious stock of brown lentils
We have a few games of cribbage before retiring to our tents as the evening darkens
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