Another remarkably sunny day on Dartmoor, gave us peaceful forest bathing and bright river walks.

Walking in a forest that is recovering from the hottest summer it has ever experienced, it was only planted in 1931, was made all the more peaceful because the grass has only been growing properly for about a month. Soft new grass in every direction made the forest floor look freshly upholstered in fresh green velvet. The perfect acoustic muffler

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Keep the word muffler in mind, you will need it later.

Although just to keep you interested the beautiful, beautiful day was pretty crisp. We were on Dartmoor and the air temperature was 5 degrees lower than at home. The first use of a wooly scarf, a muffler, kept the chill off our necks.

We did not experience the temperature of the crystal clear river water. Lola did, and made no comment. Muffled or otherwise. She was much more interested in snuffling out fungi than making idle chit chat about water temperatures.

She was also happy to be basking in dappled sunlit silence, next to the van, the queen of everything she surveyed.

Until she wasnt, a low rumble eased its way towards us.An invading force of more than 30 Land Rovers pulled into our idylic spot. Great big 4×4’s rolling into our space. Hefty thighed passengers jumping out to queue and somewhat overwhelm a horsebox coffee shop parked in a different clearing. In a moment we were surrounded by vehicles. Some provocatively threw up their bonnets.

Crowds of eager people looked into the inner workings. Others stood around in awe. Some even ventured to touch the still warm inner parts of another persons vehicle. We had been overwhelmed by an enthusiasts event. All over the forest car park knots of people touched, photographed or simply gazed at Land Rovers. Two hours of inexplicable motor joy. Then a secret sign, the crowds dispersed and the great conundrum of vehicle enthusiasts wherever they turn up. It seems that no matter how, pristine or beautifully restoratively engineered vehicles have been prepared and turned into festish objects, One aspect is deliberately left a little rough around the edges or even has the effect deliberately enhanced.

Exhaust Mufflers… Or Silencers, in the U.K. Car enthusiasts seem to love to make a noise with their vehicles . Deep,throaty, farty noises. Unexpected pops and bangs. Thus with a cacophony of unneccesary noises over 30 Range Rovers left the forest and we were bathed, once again in lovely silence.

Googling the words Range Rover and Bellever Forest showed us exactly what the noise was all about.

A strip off apparently! No nudity was noticed by us. I think that may have been a good thing. I am just thrilled to have used the word muffle 3 ways without ever seeing a shortened version of the word.