Blogs from Devon, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 7

We could have used another hour of sleep last night, but nonetheless, we were up and ready for breakfast at 7:00 with AIS (ass in seat!!) at 8:00. Perfect morning! We drove back through Bodmin Moor heading towards Cornwall and an immersion into the smuggling and tin mining culture of years past. We passed lots of fields with root vegetables, lots of fields with lots of sheep, lots of wind turbines, and lots of solar panels. Cornwall claims to be most eco friendly county in England. Another note of interest...Cornwall grows LOTS of daffodils and there is a lot of research going in to a possible treatment for Alzheimer’s and dementia treatment. Amazing! Cornwall produced 91% of the workd’s tin supply in the 1990’s. We made a good stop in Marizon, a Medieval town. While there ... read more

Folks, this is going to be a short one tonight! It is 9:00, we just got back from a wonderful meal, and we have to meet the group at 7:30 in the morning when we will have breakfast before starting on a LONG day of touring. Touring is NOT for sissies for sure! We have had a wonderful day. As the title indicates, I clicked two big items off of my bucket list today. They included seeing Stonehenge, which I wrote my high school term paper on way back ___ (fill in the blanks!) years ago, and seeing the Magna Carta in Salisbury Cathedral was another long held wish. Imagine doing both in the same day! I could write paragraphs about both, but I am tired and ready to hit the hay, so you are just ... read more

There are many great Dartmoor pubs. The Tavistock at Poundsgate is one of my favourites. It is in "the middle of nowhere" with hardly a house in sight, but has great atmosphere and the parking lot across the road is often full with people coming from near and far. It has its roots from the 14th century and you feel little has changed over the years. The thick stone walls and the low, beamed roof certainly would have some stories to tell if they could speak. Today Dartmoor feels remote and sparsely populated, but a few hundred years ago there was a large tin-mining industry on the moor and the tin was transported on horseback down the steep hills towards the coast. The Tavistock probably has its name from being half way between Tavistock and ... read more

4 weeks to take off and I'm not the tiniest bit anxious. Why would I be? I'm 66, in the prime of old age and I have very little idea how this trip is going to pan out. The spare room bed bedecked with 'stuff'. The bike chain oiled. The saddle polished. American visa with my pasty image staring back at me firmly stuck into my passport. What can possibly go wrong? We'll all have a better idea of exactly what can go wrong when I pitch up in Deadhorse in June 25th. Fondest regards and much love, Cyclopath aka Dr Slow.... read more

Left Brighton this morning for our long drive (by English standards anyway) to Beesands in Devon. Stopped for lunch in Weymouth, another seaside town (city really). Beach had a little more sand then Brighton, but still plenty of rocks! Then onto Devon, started on motorways, then country roads, lanes, tracks? Where is this place? We are now driving on narrow lanes (sealed but very muddy) with hedges taller than the car on either side that seem to randomly criss cross the countryside. The signs saying the roads are for single vehicles only, with passing places mean that when we meet another car, somebody has to reverse to a place where two cars can pass (usually us). Then we come across water, and a car. They reversed (and kept reversing), we drove through the water. Eventually found ... read more