WEDNESDAY, 20 MAY 2015 Week 39
I thought I'd start off with a funny photo. Del is making
a new friend in the Gnome reserve. Haha!
Actually, we had a day out driving around Dartmoor as it was our first week of
the Devon and Cornwall leg of the journey. I have been to both counties before,
but never really explored North Devon, so we packed quite a lot into a week.
As we are moving into a new house when
we've finished travelling, I've decided to get ideas for our garden. I
want gnomes and a pebble bubble fountain! I'm being serious! A day out in Devon wouldn't be complete without a
cream tea.
This is Hay Tor or Haytor, but it is the highest point
in Devon and apparently Del informs me it is the scene of Sherlock Holmes in
the crucial ending of The Hounds of the Baskervilles, although we're not sure
which Sherlock Holmes as there have been so many remakes of an old theme and
character...
I only know the modern ones like Johnny Lee Miller,
Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch, but I digress.
This is the stunningly beautiful village of Widdecombe
on the Moor. The village green is usually full of grazing wild horses from Dartmoor, but they seemed a bit shy the day we were there. There is a story about Tom
Cobely, who went to
Widdecombe Fair on an old grey mare, the song begins...Tom Pearce, Tom Pearce, lend me your grey mare.
All along, down along, out along lea.
For I want for to go to Widecombe Fair,
With Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, Peter Gurney,
Peter Davy, Dan'l Whiddon, Harry Hawke,
Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all,
Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all.
We had a day out at
Ilfracombe. These were tunnels that led down to a private beach where rich Victorians bathed in without exposing themselves to the riff raff and
upholding their reputations of decency!! Weird lot the Victorians, but they did
invent just about everything (except aluminium), so I guess we can let them off
for the odd idiosyncrasy. This
is the main Harbour of Ilfracombe. (My spellchecker offered Beachcomber as an
alternative to Ilfracombe... hmmm.) Apologies in advance for lots of harbour
pictures, but that's what it's like down in the South West - quaint coves,
private beaches and harbour towns. Very pretty though.
On the drive back to Croyde, Del took me to Lynton. He
hasn't been here for about thirty years, but was pleased to find this mountainside railway, and it was a mountain way high up.
Look how high up it is? You can't even see the top. Down
at the bottom was the gorgeous and hidden bay of Lynmouth. Just so pretty and
out of the way from tourists. Lovely!
On the way back to the top of Lynton, you can make
out Lynmouth Bay at the bottom.
Back to the bay of Ilfracombe for a moment... This is an enormous statue
looking out to sea called Verity.
It's meant to represent Law, Truth, Justice and
Integrity, but half the statue has been stripped of skin to show muscle tissue
and the baby in Verity's womb!!! Very clever of the sculptor, but quite an odd
thing to have in a traditional fishing town. There were a lot of objections around its erection in 2012... Can't possibly think why
You can just see a house on a hill in the background to
give you some idea of the scale of the thing.
The pretty village scene above is Clovelly, recommended by Amanda, and we
wouldn't have known it was here if she hadn't mentioned it, so thank you.
What a thoroughly lovely fishing village, so unique as no vehicles can access
it. All supplies are carried around the steep, winding, cobbled streets by
sledges or donkeys! It has changed for at least two to three centuries. It is so
quaint.
The only thing is you have to pay to see it, I guess
it's to pay for maintaining the place, but people still live here. Charles
Kingsley, the writer, lived most of his life, and much of his work was inspired by the lovely Clovelly! This was inside his cottage.
By the time we got to the bottom of the steep hill, my
thighs and knees were aching, so we sat and enjoyed the views and warm
sunshine... then caught the Land Rover bus type vehicle back to the top for us
lazy lot that can't be bothered walking back up. (They have built a tarmac road
behind the old part of the village to access the hotel.) Just in case you're
wondering.
A view of the harbour from about halfway up the
village. See the red boat? we were sitting there when I took the picture above.
Well, I'm off to sunbathe cos it's gorgeous outside. I'm going to blog about my
gliding experience separately, as I thought this was already a long blog, so
look out for that later in the week.
My New Book Lemurian Dimensions, is due out on sale on 1st May 2025 - You can pre-order the paperback by contacting me, or order on Kindle Here.
My Link Tree QR Code: All social media in one place.
No comments:
Post a Comment