Blogs from Devon, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 34

The agricultural shire of Devon in South-West England has a long tradition of international trading with the manufacture of wool and other clothing related industries. Exeter, Devon's capital city, was started by the Romans but they didn't stay there for long. However, they did build a wall around their fort, a wall partly preserved to the present time. By the start of the 16th Century, Exeter became one of the major cities in England. Wool was traded and exported out of the country and prosperous Exeter became home for many rich merchants. Therefore, Exeter has many great buildings from the Tudor and Stuart periods. During the industrial revolution Exeter, lacking natural ressources, lost importance and wealth. During the beginning of WW2, Exeter became the target for bombing and big areas of the historic city were hit ... read more

Rosie Well there is one full day left to go and i'm all guide-booked up and have a mound of washing to do, i've packed an important notebook and and am now faffing about on facebook... This blog entry is really to see if it works. There seems to be a lot of HTML codes needed for anyone who knows what that is, I am not too good with it all but shall give it a go perhaps toodle pip.... read more

Ok so this is my first blog... I'm not quite sure how to work this yet but here goes. At the moment I'm in dark, cold Devon but all my planning for my flight out to Mexico on the 10th of January is pretty much done! On the whole everything is booked and paid for... * flights * insurance * vaccinations * visa * TEFL course in Tulum I've hopefully linked this to a map showing my route for the 6 months I'm away. ... read more

Hi people, Thought I would share my latest pics of my recent weekend away. I paid a visit to some friends in Ottery-St-Mary, Devon, Where, on the 5th November they have a traditional in the Village that dates back hundreds of years. The origin of the tradition isn't quite known, some say it's a pagan ritual, others, a way of fumigating shops in Ye Olden days, but today the right to carry flaming tar barrels continues. Seventeen barrels are selected and then over a 12 month period the insides are coated in coal tar, then on the night lit and carried by "barrel rollers" over certain stretches of road around Ottery, the barrels start out small,these are carried by small kids and then scale upto large beer barrels carried by men and women. The spectacle starts ... read more

Arriving in Plymouth still dreaming of castles and wild Cornish coastlands, I found a complete contrast in the orderly naval town. It has been an important base of the British Navy through all its major naval battles, from the attacks of the Armada and Napolean to the wars of the twentieth century. Unsuprisingly, then, my first view of the harbour encompassed small water craft of all varieties with a backdrop of enormous grey battleships. Birds and helicopters whirled overhead. I walked along the high esplanade known as the Hoe, admiring the magnificent views of the harbour. This broad swathe of city parkland was the site of Sir Francis Drake's famous game of bowls in the face of the approaching Armada, and has always been the fashionable place for the wealthy to promenade. It is cluttered with ... read more