Katy dropped us at the quay and it was from there onto our next colourful host, Jonathan, who runs the Hill View House with partner Suzanne. Their eco B&B is a five-storey late Victorian house where the décor varies from rustic country style to 1950s – a hint at Jonathan’s past as an interior designer. His attention to detail is unwavering – spotless rooms, cards next to every toiletry detailing its ingredients in full, and the offer of gluten/vegan/dairy-free and diabetic options for breakfast.

Hill View fulfils its eco pledge on many levels – recycling, low energy lighting, insulation, energy efficiency, water-saving initiatives, use of local suppliers and eco cleaning products are among the policies that have earned it a Green Tourism Business Scheme Gold award.

For breakfast the fresh coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice, raspberry fool with oats, porridge with fresh fruit and croissants were just what we needed for the cycling ahead.

It wasn’t the only good meal we had in Dartmouth – the town has a quality of restaurants disproportionate to its size – many of which had boards outside on the Saturday night we visited, saying tables were unavailable up to days ahead. We’d booked ahead at Sails, a bright and modern restaurant that contrasted with the stuffy Dartmouth Yacht Club below it.

The waiting staff at Sails were amiable and efficient, and the food sensational, with local ingredients and imaginative dishes such as seared scallops with smoked bacon, garlic butter and cream, roast spring lamb with stilton and port sauce and leek mash, and Cointreau and strawberry shortcake filled with cream. The wine list was equally good with imaginative and classic choices of New and Old World wines from £11.45 a bottle. The best seats are the two in the bay windows that look across Dartmouth Harbour to the colourful terraced houses of Greenway.

Dartmouth has much to explore – cobbled streets with interiors and trinket shops, art galleries, a fudge shop, boating suppliers and cafes, including The Singing Kettle (6 Smith St, tel. 01803 832624, closed Mondays), which is renowned for its homemade puddings. It also hosts a number of events including a regatta in late August, a food festival in October and various events organised by the Dartmouth Film Society.

After Jonathan’s hearty breakfast we packed our rucksacks and pedalled out of Dartmouth on the bridal path that follows the headland towards Stoke Fleming and Blackpool Sands, our lunch spot. It had been a challenge packing three days worth of belongings into a rucksack that I could carry, but now I was happy, maybe even a bit smug, about the freedom of carrying everything I needed on my back; and without wishing to sound too much like the Littlest Hobo, the freedom to take whichever route we wanted.

Unfortunately for our weary legs, we’d chosen another thigh-crunching hill, this time with a muddy section that tested our off-roading abilities (poor) and finally led us to Blackpool Sands after an hour of scenic undulations. We locked up the bikes and retreated to the sea to wash the cow pat splatters off our calves.

Blackpool Sands is as famous for its beach café as it is for its golden arc of sheltered beach, backed by a steep slope of pine trees and pasture. The Venus beach café, one of a chain of eco-friendly cafes in the West Country, offers delicious pasties, pies, pasta burgers, salads and desserts using mostly local suppliers and some organic produce. The clear-sided marquee keeps diners sheltered and dry and is heated with eco-friendly radiant heaters. This year has seen it branch into evening meals too, with lobster and fillet steak among the choices in an atmospheric beachside setting.

We dined on burgers, Luscombe cider (one of the many excellent ciders on offer in Devon) and ice cream, before briefly glancing at the number 93 timetable before deciding better of it and tackling the hour and a half’s cycle back to Dartmouth.

For the return trip to Totnes we did take the tourist board’s advice this time and caught the River Link cruise, a 75-minute commentated saunter along the Dart. We were shown the Britannia Royal Naval College, a striking red brick building overlooking Dartmouth, told about the villages of Stoke Gabriel, Galmpton and Dittisham, where we passed our old friend the Ferry Boat Inn, and were pointed out the birdlife – kingfishers, herons and great white egrets.

If you only have a day in Totnes, there’s a gentle cycle that takes about 20 minutes, to the Dartington Cider Press. The cycle path passes through woods and on a flat riverside path, passing meadows, an old watermill where the water wheel still turns, and some cool ancient woodland. It is manageable for children and avoids any traffic. The Cider Press no longer produces the local tipple but has been converted into a hamlet of shops and restaurants.

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