I have had such problems with my internet connection for the past few weeks that I haven't managed to post anything. I have lost several attempts but managed to salvage this. The wonderful weather we had at the end of September is now a distant memory but we really did have a brief Indian summer. We have been promisd that all our broadband cables have been upgraded and that we will be having a much better service from now on - let's see if it works!
I could have called this post "My staycation" but there are certain neologisms that don't make it past my vocabulary filter. I had almost decided that "summer" was about to find a place at the other end of said filter, among the obsolete words and phrases, when the sun began to shine and a heatwave hit us for a whole week!
We had a guest who was making her first visit to Devon and she was as welcome as the sunshine because she made us see our area through fresh eyes. We realised that we had become blasé about the beautiful places around us and it was invigorating to explore them with such an enthusiastic companion.
Here are some of the places we went to during the glorious week at the end of September. I have to confess it was a whistle stop tour of the area but we did manage to show Ann most of the North Devon beaches. As well as a brief tour of Exmoor National Park. We covered the coast from Lynmouth to Appledore, with many walks, coffee stops, lunches and afternoon teas on the way.
Click on the map to enlarge.
Tuesday
We spent the afternoon viewing our nearest beaches, Saunton Sands and Croyde Bay.
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| Saunton Sands |
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| Croyde Bay |
With very few holiday makers around, we had quiet roads and even quieter beaches. Bliss!
Wednesday
We headed to the other side of the bay (called Barnstaple Bay by those of us who live on this side and Bideford Bay by those who live on the other!). We had morning coffee on Fremington Quay
before driving on through Instow to Appledore.
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| Appledore, looking across to Instow |
Then on to Westward Ho! to sit on the promenade eating seaside chips.
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| Westward Ho! |
Thursday
A morning exploring Exmoor, getting covered in mud as we tramped across a boggy field to climb to a viewing point. It was worth the mess because we had panoramic views of Exmoor all around us, Dartmoor in the distance on one side and Bodmin Moor on the other.
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| Exmoor |
Then on to one of the most beautiful places on Exmoor. Watersmeet is the place where the East Lyn River meets Hoar Oak Water in one of the deepest river gorges in Britain. It is part of the South West Coastal Path owned and managed by the National Trust.
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| Watersmeet |
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| Watersmeet |
It was very difficult to tear ourselves away from this lovely, peaceful place but we had more places to show our visitor and off we went to Lynmouth and Lynton and the Valley of the Rocks.
Well, I am going to have to try to finish this account tomorrow. It is taking so long to upload photos that I have run out of time. BT assured us that the new system will stabilise in about 10 days, that was 5 days ago so perhaps .................
Posts
The water is sparkling in that last photo, and the moors and beaches are beautiful. When I think of moors I imagine wild ponies.
ReplyDeleteTerra
ReplyDeleteThere are ponies on the moors. Each moor has its own unique breed of pony and Exmoor ponies are the oldest breed in Britain. They are not actually wild, although most people think they are because they roam free.
I'm glad you liked the picture of Watersmeet. The light was perfect and my camera was in a good mood.
Dear Mo, Why have I not been shown some of these places? Maybe you are blase about my visits and that my eyes are old. The areas that I have been to are on the regular grockle circuit so that tells me what you think of me as your relative! Consider this a reprimand which will be held against you until we see each other soon. Am returning on 23rd Oct so will be in contact then.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous brother
ReplyDeleteOur internet has been off all day again and now that it has come back on I find this message from you! Well, m'dear, you have been to some of these places but Exmoor is not so delightful in the middle of winter. Leave your Greek island in the summer and come to these shores and I'll take you to Watersmeet and across the moor.
M xx