Most of our morning was spent traveling from Fowey to Tavistock (bus, train, bus, taxi – ’nuff said). We arrived in Tavistock in the midst of their pannier market but hopped back on the bus (really!?) for the short ride to Lydford Gorge. This is the deepest gorge in southwest England and its tallest cascade, White Lady Falls. We started at the waterfall end and hiked through terrain whose layered geology definitely reminded us of Ithaca. Approaching the fabled Devil’s Cauldron, we saw evidence of turbulence in years past, like a tunnel carved from a previous stream, now dry. The cauldron itself is narrow and dark, reachable only by a path without a safety railing in some places. The pictures don’t really do it justice – you’ll just have to visit!

The gorge gets its name from the town of Lydford, whose history goes back at least to the time of the Danelaw and Alfred the Great (10th century AD). The town’s rather swift decline and stagnation thereafter means you can still see the defensive structures he put in place. The more recent stone building now called Lydford Castle was actually used as a courthouse and prison – the term “Lydford justice” was not used admiringly.  
We came back Tavistock by bus (the kids have been great with all this bus travel) and saw expansive views of Dartmoor, including a nice panorama of Bren Tor – castle structure on a hill – our first glimpse of the famous Dartmoor Tors.

We dined in Tavistock on pizza and ice cream from the local coop grocery store, then walked the mile to our B&B (Mount Tavy Cottage) on the outskirts of town. The establishment is really like a small farm – the 10 acres includes a large garden plus 3 dogs, 2 cats, 1 horse, numerous guinea fowl, ducks, sheep, and a parrot; R was over the moon.
By the way, check out the crazy oversized rhubarb – honey, we shrunk the kids!

Of course, the Brits don’t celebrate the 4th of July, but Susannah did get to see some fireworks tonight while sitting on the porch to tap into the wifi connection.  Turns out the neighboring boarding school was having its end-of-term ball and threw in some fireworks for the festivities – perfect timing!