Sunny side up ... seafood at the Dart Marina Hotel's River Restaurant in Dartmouth.
Daniel Scott thickens his midriff as he wends his way along South Devon's coastal trails.
When antipodeans go walking, we call it something vaguely virile such as trekking or tramping, reflecting the rugged terrain we traverse. The English, on the other hand, call it ''rambling'', a gentler-sounding exercise that involves following muddy footpaths across a mildly undulating landscape and extended lunches at countryside inns.
The rambler is a hearty sort, invariably more than 40 years old, with chunky calves and a thickening midriff, who hikes in a group, overnights in bed and breakfasts and is often spied poring over an ordnance survey map.
It's on the second day of my visit to South Devon that I realise I've become the typical rambler. I am not alone. My walking companion, Phil, who's been a mate for 25 years - since I playfully kicked him in the nether regions at a uni party - has also grown middle-aged.
So here we are, two blokes in their prime, stretching dodgy hamstrings at a bench overlooking the River Dart, anticipating a pint of real ale in the next likely looking pub.
Our trip to Dartmouth and surrounds wasn't planned as a rambling holiday. It was intended as a food-inspired tour of one of England's underrated regions - often bypassed in favour of more fashionable Cornwall, further west - with a couple of walks thrown in. But that changed once we arrived at our guest house, Downton Lodge, in the sprawling hills above the historic port.
''We could send you on a different spectacular walk every day for a fortnight,'' enthused hosts Ian and Karen McMaster as they spread out local maps under the watchful eye of Martha, their large, wet-nosed poodle. ''Tomorrow, I'd suggest doing the estuary walk into Dartmouth,'' advised Ian, pouring earl grey tea. ''You can start at the front door and use ferries to criss-cross the river. You can finish up back at the Ferry Boat Inn in Dittisham - it's pronounced 'Ditsum', by the way - for dinner.''
The next morning, after a mountainous English breakfast, we set off down a country lane, clutching Ian's maps. Reaching the pretty village of Dittisham for the first time, we hail a water taxi and cross the River Dart to Greenway, the imposing mansion and gardens that belonged to crime writer Agatha Christie.
We climb the steep-sided eastern riverbank and are soon enveloped by the hush of ancient oak woods. For the next two hours, we don't see another soul. The only thing that stops us drifting into reverie are intermittent ''Beware of basking adders'' signs.
We descend again to the broad, yacht-dotted River Dart, walking beside it into the village of Kingswear, which tumbles down a bluff opposite Dartmouth. As we recross the Dart by ferry, Kingswear's 15th-century artillery tower and Dartmouth's 14th-century castle appear like canine teeth at either side of the river mouth.
Dartmouth has a long seafaring history and has been a base for the Royal Navy since the 14th century. The British navy's officer training college retains a prominent presence on a hill above the port. Every August, the town also holds a royal regatta. This includes rowing and sailing races and an aerial display by the RAF Red Arrows, during which fighter jets scream between the Dart's steep banks.
For the rest of the year, Dartmouth is a quieter proposition. Its picturesque quayside, winding alleyways and historic buildings, including the 17th-century Butterwalk, with its carved wooden facade supported by granite columns, make it ripe for unhurried exploration. It has several snug pubs, such as the riverside Dartmouth Arms, and a burgeoning restaurant scene.
By now it's past lunchtime and we ravenous ramblers wolf down fresh crab sandwiches and pints of Dartmoor Jail Ale in the Royal Castle Hotel. Sated, we hop on a ferry to Dartmouth Castle, take a two-hour walk along the wooded cliffs above it and pick up two more ferries to head back upstream to Dittisham.
It has been spitting with drizzle all day but as evening approaches, the clouds part and the River Dart is lit by golden sunshine. Arriving at the Ferry Boat Inn, we settle into a window seat, dine on tiger prawns and moules marinieres and watch the colours of the river intensify.
There's more food on the menu the following day. But today, instead of walking, we pile our ageing limbs into Phil's convertible and venture inland along country roads fringed by overgrown hedgerows. This area of Devon is in the vanguard of Britain's organic-food revolution and we visit two of its producers.
At Occombe Farm, near Paignton, the declared intent is ''to reconnect people with food, farming and the countryside''. The 60-hectare property has remained unimproved, without being drained or fertilised since World War II. Occombe's two-kilometre nature trail passes through orchards, woods resounding with birdsong, and meadows, where organic ruby-red cattle munch grass above rich, burgundy-coloured soil.
When I lived in London a few years ago, I received regular deliveries of organic fruit and vegetables from Riverford, a group of co-operative Devon farms. What arrived depended on the season but was always fresh and delicious. The company was launched in 1985 by Guy Watson from a small family farm deep in the Devon hills and now has a network supplying 47,000 veggie boxes a week to British homes.
At Riverford, we again follow a self-guided walk while listening to Watson's passionate audio commentary about sustainable farming. As we pass beside fruit pickers and cut through pastures thick with barley, we learn about the farm's crop-rotation system, which leaves fields sporadically unplanted to allow the soil to rest. Only green manures are used and hedgerows and woods are maintained to protect indigenous wildlife.
As we tour the farm, I have the sense of returning to a gentler, less mass-produced era. Yet this type of farming delivers results, too, undercutting prices in Britain's supermarkets by 19 per cent a box and delivering produce to customers within 48 hours of being picked.
After Riverford, we backtrack to Sharpham, a four-hectare vineyard strung across sheltered slopes beside the upper reaches of the River Dart, for lunch. Sharpham is blessed with a mild microclimate and excellent soil, enriched by the Dart's tidal waters, and produces award-winning wines. The winery also makes superb cheese, using traditional techniques, from its own herd of Jersey cows.
For our alfresco lunch overlooking the winery, we combine a platter of creamy cheeses with a pinot noir that thrives at Sharpham.
Our epicurean odyssey continues that evening when we dine at Dartmouth's Michelin-starred restaurant, The New Angel, owned by celebrity chef John Burton Race. Race's reputation for fine food is surpassed only by tales of his eccentric antics, many of which we learn about from taxi driver Gwen on the ride into town.
Initially, I find the restaurant's austere ambience, London prices and nervy French waiting staff off-putting. However, as dishes such as poached Dartmouth lobster in light basil butter sauce and scallops with cauliflower cream and wild mushrooms arrive, that is soon forgotten.
We are treated to more fine fare the following night when we eat at the Dart Marina Hotel's River Restaurant, run by Savoy-trained chef Mark Streeter. He sources most ingredients from the teeming local waters and from South Devon producers and declares a preference for ''not over-muddling the food''. The results are spectacular, particularly my main course: a pave of wild sea bass, with chorizo, bok choy and mussel chowder.
On our final day, midriffs suitably thickened, we don hiking boots again, this time for a coastal walk south of Dartmouth. We begin at the windblown Start Point Lighthouse and trace the seashore along lumpy cliff-tops and behind remote sandy coves, where the sea gathers in greenish-blue pools. Huge rocks are strewn all along the coast, at the foot of steep cliffs, as if they are the ocean's playthings.
Wild though it looks, it's hard to fathom this coastline's dramatic past. Two stories stand out. The first concerns the night in January 1917 when the fishing village of Hallsands was so brutally battered by gales that it collapsed into the sea. The second event, which took place at nearby Slapton Sands, was a closely guarded secret of World War II.
On April 27, 1944, with US troops deployed for rehearsals of the D-Day landings, more than 700 personnel were killed. Authorities blamed the tragedy on passing German E-boats. But it later emerged from witness accounts that the men may have died from friendly fire, shot with live ammunition by fellow GIs who were assuming the role of German defenders.
These stories add another poignant layer to our experience of South Devon. What began as a journey in search of memorable food has uncovered a region full of character, varied landscapes and history. It ends, as befits newly enlisted ramblers, with a long lunch in a 500-year-old inn, the Pigs Nose, in the coastal hamlet of East Prawle.
Daniel Scott travelled courtesy of Visit Britain.
Fast Facts
Getting there
Qantas flies from Melbourne and Sydney to London, while British Airways flies from Sydney only to London. The fare is about $2090 low-season return including tax, via Singapore (8hr) and then to London (13hr 50min). Dartmouth is 275 kilometres and four to five hours' drive south-west of London. Trains travel to nearby Totnes from London's Paddington station; journey time four hours. See www.nationalrail.co.uk.
Staying there
Downton Lodge Country Guest House, at Dittisham, Dartmouth, has bed and breakfast from £80 ($132) a room a night. Phone +44 1803 722252, see www.downtonlodge.co.uk.
Touring there
Occombe Farm, Preston Down Road, Paignton. Phone +44 1803 520022, see www.occombe.org.uk. Free entry. Open daily, 9am-5.30pm; Sunday, 9.30am-4pm.
Riverford organic farm, Buckfastleigh, phone +44 1803 762074, see www.riverford.co.uk. Open February to December at weekends and every day during school holidays. Guided tours £5, self-guided free.
Sharpham Vineyard, Ashprington, Totnes, phone +44 1803 732203, see sharpham.com. Trek and Taste tours, including cheese and wine tastings, from £4.95 per person.
Eating there
The River Restaurant, Dart Marina Hotel, Sandquay Road, Dartmouth, phone +44 1803 832580, see www.dartmarina.com/dartmouth-restaurant. Three-course menus for £32.
The New Angel Restaurant, 2 South Embankment, Dartmouth, phone +44 1803 839425, see www.thenewangel.co.uk. Two-course dinners from £28.50. Bookings essential.
The Ferry Boat Inn, Manor Street, Dittisham, phone +44 1803 722368.
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