Ermington Parish Walks
No 1 - Beside the Erme - by Chris Wood.
This is the first of a series of walks that appeared in the Ermington Parish Magazine in 2017.
One way to keep fit is to give the heart something to get it pumping on a regular basis. We are blessed with plenty of hills all around the village so most walks involve at least one heart pumping climb. However this one is an easy one to start with as it follows the Erme for most of the way.
Starting from The Square, head off down Town Hill to the Plymouth road. Follow this (carefully as there is lots of fast traffic) to Plantation House then cross the road where there is a footpath sign and a gate taking you out onto the banks of the Erme. Then it is a pleasant stroll through the river meadows following the river all the way, except passing the sewage works, till you reach the Kingsbridge road at Sequer’s Bridge. I can’t find out who Sequer was or indeed Saker, which is an alternative spelling, but it is a pleasant old bridge and a Listed Building.
Cross the bridge then follow the sign for the footpath which returns along the other bank of the Erme. After a while you enter a piece of woodland and follow the narrow path which rises away from the river. When you come out of the wood the path goes straight up across the field and this is the only steep bit of the walk.
Ahead is the bottom corner of Ermington Wood In late April and May the wood is full of bluebells and well worth a diversion, but the direct path carries on across a wide field, usually full of sheep and with fine views of the village. It is downhill all the way back to the river again.
As you approach the back of the Care Home the path does a little shimmy to the left behind a barn and you are next to the Lud Brook just about where it joins the Erme. You emerge onto the Plymouth road over a stone stile and next to an old milestone telling you it is 11 miles to Plymouth. Turn left and cross the two bridges over the Lud Brook and then the Erme before going through the kissing gate and into the playing fields and back into the village passing through the Fawns Close bungalows.
Distance: 2 miles
Time: about 45 minutes
Terrain: mostly paths which can be wet after rain
Difficulty: moderate, one short climb
Livestock throughout so if you have a dog keep it on a lead
