Stray off route following directions initially (6)
I believe the answer is:
detour
'stray' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with motion as well as being verbs in their base form.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'off route following directions initially' is the wordplay.
'off' is an anagram indicator.
'following' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'initially' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'directions' is 'd'.
'route' is an anagram of 'etour'.
'etour' put after 'd' is 'DETOUR'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for detour that I've seen before include "Deviation from the usual route" , "Temporary route" , "Deviation from direct course" , "A way round, say, road works" , "Deviate from planned route, go around" .)