Meavy Oak Fair & Burrator Horseshoe Run

 Meavy Oak Fair 

and the 

Burrator Horseshoe

For more years than most can remember, the small Devon Village of  Meavy has hosted the  Meavy Oak Fair. This is a traditional village fair held on the green, overlooked by both the pub and church- giving their separate blessings in equal measures. Now, holding a village fair on the green of a Dartmoor village, even approaching mid-summer, is a risky thing, and success or otherwise is at the hands of the weather. Saturday didn't so much dawn, but blew in with strong winds and that delightful horizontal rain so loved by local people. Should make for an interesting race !

By late morning though, the weather had broken and it was almost a perfect summer day. Well, it wasn't raining. That will have to do. Being keen I decided to cycle the 11km to Meavy as a warm up, which went without incident. Upon arrival at Meavy  I was informed by Dotty [far right] it was a BAT photo time. Phew,  just made it. Oddly though, Dotty wasn't running! Ten BAT's are good to go.I like the Burrator Horseshoe. It has hills[Tors], it has bogs, it has views and it has a river crossing. What more could you want from a 10km Dartmoor run? As we all got ready for our jaunt across the Moors, the pupils of Meavy school were finishing their opening pageant- and very well they did it too. And then we were off! 

Up, up, up and away. Literally.   Uphill starts are so much fun. Good job I was warmed up after my cycle. Up to Burrator, short reprieve on the leat and around Burrator, before the rather spectacular climb up the north face of  Sheepstor. Actually it's the West face, but you get what I mean. It is steep. There are however quite spectacular panoramic views of Dartmoor from the top. I had every intention of stopping to  admire the view and take photo's, but my competitive gene kicked in and I had to keep running. I did enjoy the views though, but they will just be stored in my organic grey matter  and not in digital format. Sorry! After Sheepstor, the race is almost easy. Across Yellowmead Down, through the bog at base of Gutter Tor, up Gutter Tor [a breeze after Sheepstor] for more great views, over Ringmoor Down where a brisk wind helped cool me down, before the descent into Meavy and the ford crossing.  BATs fly like the wind downhill. I felt good the whole race (maybe I wasn't trying hard enough?!) and was 4th BAT home after Rebecca Mingo, Sarah Burns & Laurence Sargeant. Full results show how well BATs finished. Congratulations to Adam Holland and Jo Meek who were 1st Male & Female home respectably. After a quick change into our new race t-shirts, it was time for beer, which is always welcome after exercise.

 A swift run, and a swift half, whilst enjoying the Oak Fair saw the rest of the afternoon pass quit quickly. The clown show was rather good we thought. A cheese & tomato baguette, crisps, nuts and two pints of Ale [Jail Ale , Meavy Oak Ale] satisfied all the major food groups for nutrient replenishment and re-hydration.

It was a splendid afternoon, with good weather, good company and a lovely rural affair.

There was then the small detail of cycling the 11km home and negotiating the 1:20 gradient Denham Bridge. Maybe the second pint wasn't such a good idea after all!