A Year's Adventure in a Motorhome - Travelling UK Coastline - Week 44 - Kingsbridge - Dartmouth - Brixham - South Devon

 Tuesday 23 June Week 44

We begin this week’s tour in Kingsbridge, close to Dartmouth (South Devon). I wasn't really that impressed with Kingsbridge, there wasn't much there except for this teeny tiny cinema, which was also the town hall! It was so cute, I just had to put it on here. The Caravan Club site we stayed at was in a place called Start Bay, and I have to say it was a place of outstanding natural beauty with its very own nature reserve that you just basically walked through. You can sit on a bench and wait for your bus whilst enjoying the very friendly and fearless wildfowl.

This was the scene from our bus stop! Even the ducklings were completely unafraid of people. It was very relaxing and peaceful here. Start Bay was simply a tiny fishing village, with beautiful stretches of sandy beaches just behind the nature reserve. We sat out by this lovely little café and watched the world go by.

Another scene from the bus stop at Start Bay. We took a day trip out to Dartmouth, and at first, the place seemed familiar, but I couldn't think why. I then went to the local market that had a pet shop in it and remembered I visited here with Meg on her last Meggy Moo caravan holiday in May 2012! It's a very pretty town. We went on a boat trip around the bay and down the river. As you can see the day was glorious and made the place look all the more lovely to see.

I remember going to this castle too. We didn't go in this time, though, but it was an impressive place. I have been spoiled by so many over the years. Del and I were discussing this and I came up with a list of the best ones I've seen so far... Inverary - Argylle, Scotland, St Michaels Mount - Cornwall, Warwick and Arundel - Central England, and of Course not forgetting the charming Criccieth Castle - Wales, where I based the first book of The Beyond Series of Books, nothing like some great castles to create some spooky ambience in a story!

Del enjoying the sun, just before we get on the boat trip. Del on the boat, enjoying the boat trip down Dart River and to the mouth of the south coast.

This is Greenway, a Georgian Mansion set on a hill close to Dartmouth. It used to be Agatha Christie's home. You can see why she chose to live around here; the views are stunning, and a little steam railway passes her house; you can imagine her creating Hercule Poirot's character and plots around here. The last old steam paddle boat in the country, and we missed its trip out by a few minutes.

We also took a day trip to Brixham Harbour. I have a love for Brixham purely because I went on holiday there with my mum and dad when I was 16 and 17. These were the last summer holidays I spent with my parents until the whole family jetted to Cyprus almost ten years later! So, the place has a certain Old World 1980s and 1990s charm.

Another Picture of the main harbour from the other side. You can probably just make out the Golden Hind, where Sir Francis Drake used to circumnavigate the globe in the late 1500s. I'm not sure what significance Brixham has to Sir Francis Drake that would warrant a full-sized replica of the Tudor Galley Ship, but it does.

This is the Sea Water Lido which I wanted to see again because the last time I was here in 2012 it had been drained and the Lido Restoration group had run out of funds to finish the work, so it was great to see it fully restored and working again as I used to love going down there for a swim when I was a teenager. AND it's completely free. If I'd lived there as a kid, I would've been hanging out at this Lido all day long in the school holidays.... sigh.

We went to Brixham on a Saturday and we actually got to see an annual summer tradition of fishermen's trawlers boat race across Brixham Bay. It was actually very funny and enjoyable. The great big clumsy trawlers speeding (well as fast as they could go) through the sea, all honking their horns. As you can see, these two devils were thrashing it out to the winning post - Very Competitive. 

Now, you're probably wondering why I've put a picture of a house on here. This house was on the top road leading up to the apartments we used to stay in back in the day.. I used to walk passed this house every day on my holidays and was fascinated by it. Not only was it a great place to film an Agatha Christie Murder in Devon (If she had ever written such a story, of course), but it just looks really creepy and mysterious. I'd love to look around this place, but it's never come up for sale yet, but when it does, I'm dressing up in my finery, pretending I'm some rich heiress and I'm gonna go for a nosey around.

It's called the Wolborough Coach House, and that's all I know. I would love to put this place in one of my own novels. But for now, I will just have to gaze up the hill and dream!

Don't forget to go to my YouTube Channel for more Travel VLOGS 

And my book Links here for The Beyond Series of Epic Urban Fantasy

 

or if you prefer crime and suspense, why not try The Mancunian Tales

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.

A Year Travelling the Coastline of the UK in a Motorhome - Week 43 - Plymouth - Looe - Devon

 Tuesday, 16 June 2015 Week 43

Last weekend we were moving into our new home, so it was a long trip up to Lancashire, then two whole days moving everything from storage into said new house, many thanks to our special friends who live locally for all your help💖. So when we resumed our tour last week in Truro, we moved on to a site in Looe.

I was getting close to finishing writing my next new Trilogy of Sci-Fi novels, so I spent much of my time hiding away in the van to get it finished... I ventured out one day to explore the town centre and harbour, and it was really lovely. It was just a shame the weather wasn't all that great. Talking about the weather, I was given a severe weather warning for the weekend. I was so looking forward to a good thunderstorm (I know, a bit weird), but I love storms, and I was promised one, then didn't get it. Very disappointed! 

We had a little look around the little fishing town and found the old Tudor Guildhall. Inside the Guildhall Museum, there was the usual hotchpotch of paraphernalia collected by the townsfolk over three or four hundred years - reading glasses, a crumbling Armada cannon ball, some scary dolls in a Victorian pram, to name a few, but nothing prepared me for the horror in this glass case! Actual Punch and Judy Dolls from the 1600s! Apparently, the odd puppet show was not created for scaring the life out of little kids at the seaside - No!

Once upon a time, when only the gentry could read, a puppeteer would go to the local courthouse, watch the trials of the local drunks, thieves and prostitutes, then name and shame them in an adult show at the town's market - a bit like a medieval tabloid puppet show! Some people were so ashamed of the ridicule that they went to what is now the local car park and hanged themselves! Nice Eh? For me, though, it just brought back nightmares of Punch and Judy shows I was forced to watch in the name of entertainment as a kid!

Another lovely view of the harbour at Looe, where we had a gorgeous seafood Tapas lunch in a very unspectacular seafood café by the fishermen's trawlers. The woman in charge was so rude to everyone, it was actually hilarious, and I decided it was an act to get more people through the door just to watch her at work in this open kitchen! Del said she was forgiven for her bad manners and curtness because she was an amazing cook!

So, no thunderstorms that were promised to me 😞, we moved on to Plymouth. I have to confess, I didn't think there would be much to see here, but the city is vast and there was a lot to see. This photo was of The Hoe, which meant something important in olden days! I had to look it up... it meant high ground...😃! There was lots of lovely green grass and lots of phallic monuments along the coastline. I guess the Navy wanted tell the Armanda lots of hard ass men lived here! A lighthouse on The Hoe! There were lots of other examples, but I didn't want to bore you all.

We did eat at a very posh restaurant for lunch, though. A big glass dome building along the main seafront, and I chose it because it said Food Serves All Day, and I was starving... Turned out we were eating in the famous TV Chef Gary Rhodes' restaurant and the food was deelish! Just had to show the presentation of the tapas finger food - Very Posh Nosh. My dad loved Gary Rhodes on TV, so I thought it was befitting to have a meal here... my dad would have loved it!

This is the Tinside Lido on the seafront of Plymouth. We decided to go down there and check what the water temperature was so we could come back on a sunny day with our cozzies! The lady said, "16 degrees!" At first, I thought she must have said that wrong and stupidly asked, "So what's that in Celsius?” She kind of looked at me, puzzled, then said: "It's two degrees warmer than the sea! 16 Degrees!" As you can see, no one is mad enough to go in! They were a lot harder in the 1940s and 50s because there were pictures everywhere of the place being absolutely packed back then. 

We then went on a boat trip. This island used to be a prison. I wasn't at all surprised. I find places like this really creepy, as it would have been a place of misery, suffering and death. I must be a little bit psychic or something, as I get this feeling a lot when we visit places like this. Another couple I didn't like was Bodmin Jail and the World War Two caves in Jersey.

Plymouth is a huge Naval base, so here are some pictures of grey boats! A stealth grey boat! Apparently invisible out at sea!

And so, onto Kingsbridge. TTFN Xxx

Don't forget to go to my YouTube Channel for more Travel VLOGS 

And my book Links here for The Beyond Series of Epic Urban Fantasy

 

or if you prefer crime and suspense, why not try The Mancunian Tales

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.

A Year in a Motorhome Travelling the UK Coastline - St Michaels Mount - Minack Theatre - Lands End - Cornwall - Week 42

 

Tuesday, 9 June 2015 Week 42

This week, we have done a lot of sightseeing and cultural activities. We headed to St Michael's Mount, the most amazing castle tour in the UK (in my personal opinion, next to Arundel Castle and a night-time ghost tour of Trerice in Cornwall). We visited this place last May, but I had some experiences that I wanted to revisit to see if they had happened again or if they were just a figment of my imagination.

As it was a gorgeous day, the views over the Cornish coast were absolutely stunning. This is a view from the top of the castle looking down on the Mount's unique harbour and little hamlet. It's so quaint, I wish I could describe...

In fact, I already have! In my fourth book in The Beyond Series, called Lycan Lamia I've based Penhallow Castle (obviously an imaginary place) on St Michael's Mount, with its own village and harbour and resident ghost. 

I have recently returned to St Michael's Mount to film a VLOG on YouTube... Link below! The whole place just oozes atmosphere and creepy ambience, which I just love! Some beautiful terrace gardens here too, although the walk up and down the steep hill is not for the faint-hearted. I did feel very good about the amount of exercise I did.

Now this was one of the parts of the castle I wanted to revisit! Last time I came here,  I got the heebie jeebies as I walked from the map room to this staircase. Heebie Jeebies generally means for me, hair standing up on end and a feeling of someone tickling my head or blowing on my neck! I was really excited because I got the same feeling when I came back to exactly the same place on my latest visit and felt the same feeling. I asked a member of staff if this part of the castle was haunted, and they confirmed that the paintings swing on the walls quite regularly! So, I asked a member of staff about the ghosts and parts of the castle I thought were haunted. Once I’d got to the bottom of the mount, back near the harbour.

This gentleman in Stewart dress was in the above corridor where the paintings swing. I was drawn to this picture more than all the others and took just this and one other photo of a painting in a long corridor of magnificent paintings. If you look closely at the man's right hand, there is a very large orb! I say large because this painting is actually very big and hanging on the left side of the above staircase! Ooh! Oh, and before anyone says the lens is dirty, this photo was taken straight after the above staircase photo!

This photo is of a secret doorway with a winding stone staircase, which I assumed was a monk’s hiding place during the Dissolution of the Monasteries (thanks to King Henry VIII). It was in the Castle's chapel, and I noticed most people didn't seem to pay much attention to it, but my Spidey senses were on fire when I came up to it. Just like last time, my head was tickling and my spine shivering (just like it is now, I'm writing this blog). And also, just like last year, it took about six or seven attempts to take a clear photo of this tiny stone hole! In fact, this was the clearest photo I could get.

When I asked a guide about this doorway, she told us they found a 7-foot skeleton! Yes, a seven-foot human skeleton was down in the staircase, which seemed to have been left there with a leather jug (possibly filled with water). So the poor guy had starved to death in this hidden stone stairwell and was left there. How long ago, I don't know, but it's no surprise there is a presence here. I didn't feel scared, BTW, I just felt a presence or feeling. Here is a beautiful view of the battlements and bay from the Northern Terrace, which apparently is the other haunted area of the Castle!

Later we went to visit the Minack Theatre, a homemade theatre built by Rowena Cade over her entire. She bought some land in the 1930s by the sea, with lots of rocks and dramatic coastal views at the bottom of her garden. As she came from a life of privilege, she was able to spend most of her time creating this stunning outdoor theatre... More climbing up and down steep steps, but the views and gardens were spectacular.

This beach was at the bottom of the Minack Theatre. A secret cove, and we went down there to sunbathe for a while as the weather was so gorgeous!
This is part of the evening show we went to see called The Seagull. Which was quite apt as a Seagull kept landing on the props throughout the play, which made me chuckle. 

It's a Victorian play about the Bohemians wanting to make it big as actors or writers and those who had sold their souls and already had made it. Everyone was in love with someone else, and no one seemed to be in love with the same person. The innocent become corrupted, and the corrupted are sad and cynical. I still loved the play, though. The only thing I was disappointed in was I sat for three hours on grass and stone, my back froze with the freezing evening and I missed the final line spoken in the play because someone coughed close to me. I ended up clapping at the end and not actually knowing what had happened until we'd got back to the car and I asked Del what the punchline had been!

From a cultural disappointment to a major stop off at a tourist point... Lands End - the furthest point in the UK. As we've already been to John O'Groats, I wanted to document this point of the trip too. We even had official photos taken, which hopefully will arrive back home by the time we get back, but look at this, our tour blog name on The Sign Post! Cool or What?

We went wildlife spotting. I was hoping to see a seal or dolphin, but all I got to see was a shag! It's a coastal bird, by the way. Rude people who are sniggering at the back! A lovely view of the end of the UK and the First and Last Cafe!

Del pointing at Penzance... we went to the Dolphin Inn for a lovely seafood lunch, but we saw no pirates!

Don't forget to go to my YouTube Channel for more Travel VLOGS 

And my book Links here for The Beyond Series of Epic Urban Fantasy

 

or if you prefer crime and suspense, why not try The Mancunian Tales

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.

A Year in a Motorhome Travelling UK Coastline - Mullion Bay - Lizard Point - St Ives - Cornwall - Week 41

Tuesday 3 June 2015 Week 41

We have had a hectic two weeks, so I'm two blogs behind now. Here we stayed a few days in St Ives at the lovely Polmanter Park, which had a swimming pool and clubhouse, so we spent quite a lot of time around the site just relaxing. This was also where I won £99 on a line at bingo! Never normally win anything, but I did win big time. 

There was a short, but very hilly walk to St Ives Harbour and beach area, so we walked down into town and caught a local bus back up the hill. Look at the lovely views and beautiful, clear blue sea and skies... so pretty!

Views, views... and more pretty views... Ooh, and we found a Seafood restaurant to die for, so we ate there a couple of times.

We mainly sunbathed and walked around St Ives as we just wanted to relax before the mad moving weekend that was looming. Oh yeah, and I got attacked by the local yob of the Seagull community. There I was enjoying my Cornish pasty and the huge bird just flapped around my head, tried to knock off my sunglasses and nick my lunch!! It reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds!! I may be psychologically scarred for life!

We then headed to Mullion Bay Holiday Park for almost a week. and decided on a day out to Lizard Point, which is the most Southerly Point in the UK. We were going here anyway as we'd been to the most Northerly Point in the UK back in December! How fast this trip is flying by, hey? It was rather bleak and very windy today, but we braved the weather and had a great walk around the coastal paths.

We also headed to Mullion Cove, which was devoid of people, compared to when Del and I visited last May. The tide was in and the harbour walls were getting a bit of a battering, so we decided to visit a chocolate factory and a cider tasting farm instead. Yum!

As the heavens opened, we found a pub called The Witches' Ball. It's a very 'old world pub' with lots of witchy things inside to make me feel right at home... I won't be writing about this place in My Books, but it was interesting, and I loved these posters and ornaments (below).

Don't forget to go to my YouTube Channel for more Travel VLOGS 

And my book Links here for The Beyond Series of Epic Urban Fantasy

 

or if you prefer crime and suspense, why not try The Mancunian Tales

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.