Following the Camel Trail (didn't see any camels!)

Once upon a time there was a railway which ran from Padstow inland to Wenford Bridge, a matter of about 18 miles, running alongside the River Camel and carefully engineered to follow the river valley as levelly as possible. Since it ceased to function as a railway back in the 1960s it has been resurrected as a hiking and riding (bike and horse) trail and is hugely popular with visitors to Cornwall. Or at least part of it - the 8 miles from Wadebridge to Padstow, largely along the estuary with views of golden sand and seabirds when the tide is out and the possibility of fish and chips or something posher on the coast at the end of the journey - is hugely popular.

Go the other way, though, and it's a completely different story. Inland from Wadebridge the trail passes mostly through woodland along the river valley, although the river itself is often quite a distance below the path. There are sunny stretches and (welcome) shady patches, birds and flowers and butterflies abounding but hardly any people, and those that we met were well worth meeting.

The day began with one or two minor logistic problems involving motorbikes with dead batteries (lifts can be arranged) and no reservation for lunch (picnics are nice). A somewhat reduced party of four dogs and three humans convened at the car park by the Borough Arms at Dunmere to walk, well, as far as we felt like, really, which turned out to be a nicely appointed picnic area in Shell Woods, just a bit less than five miles from our starting point. Because this end of the trail is so quiet we were not constantly having to marshall dogs at the side of the path out of the way of careering cyclists, and they were freer to explore, dashing down to the river wherever it was possible and generally racing about as they do. At Helland Bridge the path crosses a road, but apart from this it is flat, gently curving and free from hazards all the way.

Since joining our pack the spaniel, Harvey, has become quite adventurous. He has discovered a passion for swimming, and having been taught by the master swimmer, Ty, he follows his favourite technique of barking all the time he is swimming. Which got us into a little bit of trouble, just past Helland Bridge. The dogs had dashed down to the river. Ty and Harvey were swimming (loudly), Jake and Megs were paddling. We were joined on the path by two more people and their three dogs, who also went down to the river to play. Lots of fun was being had by all until a lady on the opposite bank asked us to stop, as the noise was scaring her piglets! Very embarrassing.

We joined packs then for a mile or so, until they turned back and we stopped for our picnic lunch. The return journey passed pleasantly but without incident, although we did try to visit a pottery but it turned out to be shut. We had done almost ten miles in about four hours, including our lunch stop and several dog paddling stops. Nice easy strolling, enough to be tiring but not too exhausting, and on the flat I can keep up quite easily!

We took a slight diversion on the way home to join Ron and the gang at the Inn on the Shore in Downderry. Ty insisted on being taken down to the beach, but when he got there he was quite happy to come back and lie down after five minutes. The beach was quieter than I would have expected, with very few people playing, considering the perfect seaside weather. The sea was looking beautiful, flat and blue and inviting. Sadly, (!) I had forgotten to pack a swimsuit, so I settled for liquid inside on the pub terrace instead of a refreshing swim. So did Ty, so he must have been tired.