Blogs from Devon, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 23

It seems a sin that having lived in North Devon almost nine years, I never once visited Clovelly until a few weeks before I moved away. And following the visit I regretted it deeply. It kind of reminded me of a smaller version of St Ives, Cornwall although much much quainter. Quaint is clichéd but is the only way of summing up a place like this. It is literally a living museum, as the place is indeed lived in. My Dad and step mum had come to visit for a long weekend, and one place Dad had always wanted to re-visit was Clovelly. His last visit being when he was a lad staying with an Aunt in not-to-distant Camelford. He remembered it vividly, and I was blown away by the views and steepness of the place. ... read more

An early start to our 16 day Cosmos tour from the Novotel in Hammersmith. First stop was Stonehenge found in an open paddock next to the M4. Then off to the Salisbury Cathedral. John found Spotted Dick Pudding which we all shared. Then went to Widdecomb-on-the Moor and saw Moor ponies. It was misty and rainy there. Went to Plymouth to see where the Pilgrim Fathers left for America.... read more

Just a short one this time. After a few hectic days packing, getting rid of stuff, making room for tools, getting paperwork sorted for travels and saying goodbye to family and friends I sat down this evening, the eve of our departure, for a quiet moment. When staring out to sea and seeing the sun glittering off the water and the boats sailing aroiund I felt inspired to write... so I grabbed the pen and notebook (thanks Liz!) and this is what I wrote.... Sunset at Sea... Sea shimmers, splashes, splishes, slowly slithers by, Spectrums sparkle sporadically, sun splits sultry sky, Surrendering to solitude, smooth ships silently fly. That's all for now folks, next time I post it will be from Guernsey or Cherbourg...thanks again for all the wonderful messages, gifts, cards, flowers and good luck ... read more

Geo: 50.3704, -4.14265We got into Plymouth about 2:30. It was pouring rain by now. I quickly had the receptionist call a cab for me. The cab fare was £ 3.00. I got to the Plymouth Mayflower museum. I had hoped for a lot of information about the Mayflower, but the exhibition was mostly about the growth of Plymouth. They had one floor out of the three dedicated to the actual ship and passengers. Downstairs on the first floor was the gift shop and Plymouth Visitor Center. I bought a postcard and magnet and then headed out to look around in the shops (picked up two thank you cards for Dave and Dylan) and to find a place to eat. It was still raining hard, and after looking up and down streets at various pub restaurants that ... read more

Today the sun was shining and we decided that we would take the opportunity to get out of Plymouth and investigate the surrounding area which is something that we don't do enough. We first headed out to Kingsbridge but that was pretty shut. After picking up newspapers in a "boutique" Morrisons we jumped back in the car and followed our noses. Twenty minutes later we found ourselves the delightful hamlet of Beesands. It is really just a row of houses, all of which look like they were probably once fisherman's cottages, a gastro pub called The Cricketers and a little shack that serves as the fish market and cafe. We sat outside and lazily munched a pannini each before wondering over to lean on the sea wall. This provided me with the perfect opportunity to test ... read more