Blogs from Devon, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 2

Well we are in Devon, but not near enough to any town of any size to register on Travel Blog. And that’s fine by me. We are in Scoriton and that’s near Holne. We are the only guests in the pub and as Julie is still in the shower I’m the only patron in the bar. Told Kevin (when you are the only person here you’re on first name terms with the barman) that as the only patrons he will be able to spoil as rotten and that it will be good for me to be treated that way as I’m here to audition for the role of king. Was funny until I saw his condolence book that the pub has started! Not sure he’ll let me put a note in now! I’ll do my best ... read more

SAT, 10 SEP 2022 - Day 3: Journey to Stonehenge, Bath and Exeter - Meet your Travel Director and commence your journey through the rolling green and golden landscapes of rural Wiltshire to Salisbury Plain. We tread in the footsteps of druids and pagans at Stonehenge, before travelling to UNESCO-listed Bath with its elegant Georgian façades and the centuries-old Roman Baths. Our home for the next two nights is the historic cathedral city of Exeter, where we will enjoy a memorable Welcome Reception this evening at our hotel.... read more

Big walk day. Plenty of elevation gain which is simply walking talk for lots of ups and downs. And about 20km again which when matched with the ups and downs is about right. Leaving at 9:00 sees us arrive just after 4:00 which is good. Not easy but good. The ups and downs correspond with streams or rivers meeting the sea so it’s all understandable and all geographically correct but it doesn’t make the walk easier! The track here is easy to follow as there is so little else around. A holiday park was our only detour and that was for icy-poles so we were happy about that. There were a few people on the track but significantly fewer than on the weekend. Those we saw were camping nearby and going for an ‘English walk’. We ... read more

Well really near Bideford at a small seaside village called Instow. Very comfortable in our room at the Wayfarer Inn. A pub so old it does not have to try to be ‘olde worlde’, it just is. There are enough knots and rope splices on the walls here the place could be training central for Boy Scouts. Mix that with those old bronze diving helmets, model ships complete with rigging, porthole windows and any other maritime memorabilia that seems cliche and you’ve got it except the stuff here is real. The Cindy Lauper music is not exactly in keeping but sea shanties may be a bit over the top. The stairs here are super steep, I think in an effort to counter our easy day’s walk. For the first time there was booking mixup with the ... read more

Brutal day but spectacular. Some (too many) very steep and quite long ascents meant the pace was pretty slow although surprisingly in line with the guide book recommendations. There’s an instant replay tomorrow with similar distances and similar ascents so this may be my final blog (PS Jake can have my golf clubs). Thank goodness for 2 pints of cider and a fish stew. Again there will be more photos than text but there haven’t been too many grumbles about that. Thanks Francis for getting us the our start at Lynton this morning. It was important that the luggage be dropped at a BnB address prior to 9 o’clock. That done Francis was again good enough to take us to the SWCP path. Our final chance to bail out was dismissed without thought, we had chocolate ... read more