22 February 2013 – Trip: Knightshayes Court (NT)

Synopsis: A trip out to Knightshayes Court for Mum, sister-in-law Christine and myself. Arrived for an early lunch in the Stables Restaurant, then toured the house followed by the garden. Occasional snow flurry

Photo Set – Flickr

 

(selection of photos from Flickr photo set – use link above to view album)

It would seem we have to be thankful for the game of golf for us being able to visit Knightshayes Court (NT). Apparently the last in the Heathcote dynasty that owned Knightshayes were too busy playing golf to get around to having any children, and therefore the house was left in the guardianship of the National Trust, and hence is open to the public. So, I say, here here! to golf.

Knightshayes (NT) - Stables - restaurant

We arrived at Knightshayes around midday with a view to having an early lunch in the Stables Restaurant before beginning our tour of the house and garden. The Stables are, despite what one might imagine, light, airy, warm and comfortable. I suspect the horses didn’t have it quite so good. But having said that, even here in the stables the quality of materials and execution of the build is phenomenal. The Victorians weren’t ones to do things by half measures; I think we could learn a lot from them in today’s cheap and tardy times.

Knightshayes (NT) - house - entrance

 

The exterior stonework of Knightshayes Court is described by Pevsner as being of, ‘Hensley stone and Ham Hill dressing’. We were informed on entering the house that the first floor was not open today, as there were insufficient stewards on duty to open the upper floor. The majority of what’s to be seen is on the ground floor anyway, so we weren’t unduly concerned by this.

Knightshayes (NT) - house - medieval banqueting hall (pastiche)

 

From the entrance hall the first room we came upon was the huge medieval banqueting hall. How wonderfully romantic the Victorians could be in their architectural whims. This room struck me as a lovely reincarnation of the medieval that would do justice to any Gothic fable, and so totally unreal. What were they thinking of? My guess would be hogs roasting on the spit, hot and spicy mead flowing aplenty, minstrels strumming, and buxom serving wenches at guests’ beck and call, but that’s just my theory.

Pevsner: “The ‘traditionally medieval’ great hall was intended for ceremonial occasions: at the high end is a gallery with a pierced stone balcony (for addressing the tenantry) supported by four hefty Devonshire marble columns.“

Knightshayes (NT) - house - Crace ceiling

 

 

 

Anyway, back to Earth, and the next room we entered was much more modest in size, but was the first we came upon having an incredible Crace ceiling. Apparently these carved wood richly painted ceilings were at one time covered over with plaster ceilings and it has been the work of the National Trust to restore them to the grandeur we see today. Why would anyone not want to have these wonderful ceilings on display?

Knightshayes (NT) - house - billiard room

 

 

 

Of the other rooms it’s easy to imagine a bygone age: the elegance of a country gentlemen’s game of billiards; the dining room bristling with servants plying food and drink; the muted rustle of newspapers being read in the morning room under the brass Gothic chandeliers; quiet repose in an armchair with a good book in front of the fire in the library.

Knightshayes (NT) - house - drawing room

 

 

 

 

And then finally my imagination pictured cocktails being sipped in the drawing room before dinner, with sun streaming in through the French windows, and someone gently tapping out rag time tunes on the piano. We exited from the house via these French windows into a conservatory which is now used by the National Trust as a café area. This led us into the garden out front of the house.

 

 

Knightshayes (NT) - garden - topiary

The air struck cold as we ventured into the garden, but we were sheltered from the breeze by the tall trees of the garden, visible on the knoll just ahead of us. I’ve always rather liked the gardens at Knightshayes in that the area close to the house is rigidly formal, structured and elegant, but as one drifts into the trees, the garden extends but now becomes more natural and restrained. A very satisfactory combination of styles that provides something for all tastes. With a grand sweeping vista from the house itself, I’d say the Heathcotes had it pretty good.

Knightshayes (NT) - house - The Morning Room - "The Heathcote Works Outing to Teignmouth, 10th AUG 1854 by W.P. Key." View at National Trust Images

 

But I shouldn’t leave it at that. The Heathcotes were part of that Victorian breed of businessmen and philanthropists who did attempt to cultivate a working environment conducive to both owner and workers. A striking example of which is this rather lovely picture of The Heathcote Works Outing to Teignmouth, 10th AUG 1854 by W P Key. Therefore, the benevolence of the Heathcotes maybe said to attenuate the opulence of their moneyed lifestyle.

Archive photos show Dawlish railway's stormy past.

Now back to reality for us, as we picked up ready meals and a bottle of wine in Tiverton’s Tesco for our evening victuals. We watched the new Anna Karenina film at home in the evening. What an amazing and thoroughly enjoyable film that is. Very arty in style, and therefore possibly not to everyone’s taste, but we enjoyed it very much. The perfect way to round off a perfect day.

Knightshayes Court: bedrooms and bathroom.

As on this visit of ours we didn’t access the first floor I’ve grabbed some images from the National Trust’s image library to provide here a flavour of the flamboyant bedrooms and bathroom at Knightshayes Court.

The Oriel window in the passage between the Bedroom and Boudoir at Knightshayes Court, Devon © National Trust Images

This ornate bedroom at Knightshayes Court, Devon © National Trust Images

The Bedroom at Knightshayes Court, Devon © National Trust Images

Moonbeams Dipping into the Sea by Evelyn de Morgan (1850/5-1919) © National Trust Images

A view of the bathroom © National Trust Images

The Bathroom © National Trust Images

I do love old bathrooms, and perhaps that’s why I have one of my own, although not as elegant as the one pictured above. I shall definitely be returning sometime to Knightshayes Court to see their fine example.

16 February 2013 – Walk: Torbay (11.1 Miles)

Synopsis: Walk included Paignton, Goodrington, Churston and Broadsands. A heavy early morning mist seemed reluctant to clear, but finally the sun burnt its way through giving a glorious warm afternoon.

Photo Set – Flickr -:- (Map)

GPS Tracklog Download (.gpx) Microsoft OneDrive -:- Google Drive

 

Tracklog and Photos - Google My Map

Tracklog overlay - OSM – ViewRanger -:- OS – WheresThePath

 

(selection of photos from Flickr photo set – use link above to view album)

Paignton - railway station from footbridge

The first thing that caught my eye, even before I’d left Paignton railway station, was that the station café had a delicious collection of saucy postcards. I’m under the impression these are not as commonplace as they once were. I’m a fan, and so was glad to see them. I suppose they’re not PC, but then, neither am I, so I guess that’s alright then.

Paignton - looking towards pier, just visible through the mist

 

 

Down on the sea front the mist was still quite thick, although the sun was striving to break through, but with little success. I could just make out Paignton pier through the mist.

Goodrington - cliff gardens on Roundham Head - Broom

 

 

I headed in the direction of Paignton Harbour which I circled round and then headed up the hill, shortcutting Roundham Head and making straight for the cliff gardens of Goodrington, a favourite spot of mine. Many a picnic meal has been spent on a bench in these gardens, taking in the view right across the bay to Berry Head.

 

 

Goodrington - steam train, adding to the mist - Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway

 

 

 

I heard the whistle of a train of the Paignton and Dartmouth Stream Railway. I hadn’t expected them to be running at this time of year, although it is half-term, and there probably are visitors in the area. I could just make out the steam train from the parapet of the road bridge, the train adding to the already plentiful supply of mist about the place.

Broadsands - 'The Field' (old picnic haunt of our family) - my lunch stop

I wasn’t too sure where I’d head from here. I decided to make my way to Broadsands via the road and decide upon my destination when I got there. There’s a picnic site that we in our family refer to as The Field, a place we’ve been using since we were children. The bench I selected for my lunch stop was shrouded in mist, with the sea lost in the mist, but it was a good candidate for the purposes of eating lunch.

Churston Court and church

 

 

After lunch I decided against one option, which would have been to have headed for Greenway (NT), primarily because I’d not prepared this walk, and there were too many uncertainties about such a visit, not least whether it was open. Instead I decided to walk in the direction of Brixham with a view to diverting on to the coast path at Churston Cove, just this side of Brixham.

Uh oh! no shortage of mud

I walked by Churston Court, trying the church to see whether it was open, but, as I suspected, it wasn’t. I continued on down the lane until I picked up a track in the direction of Churston Cove. Uh oh! trouble ahead. I came across this pool of muddy water spanning the track I was on, which caused me some consternation. I picked my way cagily along the one of the sides, hopping from stone to log wherever I could, and had nearly negotiated this obstacle when a party of 5 and one dog came upon me headed in the opposite direction. Their dog, a Dalmatian, named Helen as it happens, came towards me, seemingly amused that I was struggling with something that seemed to be causing him no bother whatsoever. Oh to be a dog!

Cutting through a wood on the approach to the coast

 

 

A little way along the track, at a place where there’s an information board, I deviated left into woods along a designated path, dropping down into the valley floor, and then following this out to Churston Cove.

Churston Cove from Fishcombe Point

 

The cove looked marvellous with just the hint of wispy mist lingering in the air. The sun was by now winning its battle with the mist which was fast evaporating. I climbed up onto one of the rock banks of the cove from where it was possible to see the breakwater at Brixham with the lighthouse at the end of it. In the other direction, looking back towards Paignton, the last remains of the thick banks of rolling mist could still be seen.

Elberry Cove

It was now time to start my return trek, this time along the coast path between Brixham and Paignton. The path was quite slippery in places, being very muddy with the occasional steep incline. I crossed Elberry Cove, a picturesque place with what seems like some kind of lookout in the corner.

 

Broadsands

 

 

Just around the corner from Elberry Cove is Broadsands, a very popular destination with visitors and dog walkers. I did a broad sweep along the beach with the aim of removing as much mud from my boots as I possibly could. Travelling by train, I need to look reasonably fit to board a carriage upon arriving at Paignton railway station.

Broadsands - those bloody steps!

 

From Broadsands there is a short lane that leads to foot of the railway viaduct, and then an awful series of steps to climb to gain the height of the railway. I always hate this section, but today I managed it without becoming entirely winded. I decided to explore a path through the residential estate from the top of the steps. I’d known for some time a path existed, but had not figured where it lead. I discovered that after meandering through the estate for a while, it came out on the main road just out of Goodrington. Following the main road soon lead me back to Goodrington beach. I skirted the beach and then walked through the park, picking up the path that follows the railway line leading straight to Paignton railway station.

 

 

It had been a rather impromptu walk, but it was none the worse for that. It’s always delightful to rediscover the beauty that’s right on our doorstep down here in Devon. How lucky we are.

Walk Statistics:

Total Distance: 11.1 miles
Moving Time: 4hrs 21min
Stopped Time: 58min
Total Ascent: 338 metres
Maximum Elevation: 71 metres

Buses: (none)
Train: from Digby & Sowton to Paignton (off-peak day return - £7.00)

02 February 2013 – Walk: Tiverton, Grand Western Canal (18.6 Miles)

Synopsis: A walk along the full length of the Grand Western Canal. Well, almost, as the footpath is redirected from the towpath around the breach that occurred in November. Full-on glorious sunshine.

Photo Set – Flickr -:- (Map)

GPS Tracklog Download (.gpx) Microsoft OneDrive -:- Google Drive

 

Tracklog and Photos - Google My Map

Tracklog overlay - OSM – ViewRanger -:- OS – WheresThePath

 

(selection of photos from Flickr photo set – use link above to view album)

This seemed the ideal walk for the extremely wet conditions we’re currently experiencing. Most of the route is along the Grand Western Canal towpath which is a gravel track largely free of mud. The connecting stretch, from the drop-off bus stop to the northern end of the canal, was along lanes. The only time I experienced any serious mud was when I chose to divert to the canal breach viewing point, and therefore the mud was just deserts for being so nosey.

This walk starts with a 4.8 mile trek from the bus stop to the northern most tip of the Grand Western Canal, which took me 2 hours to complete. The walk from here to the southern most tip of the canal at the canal basin in Tiverton, including the deviation to view the canal breach, was a distance of 13.4 miles, which took me a little over 6 hours to complete.

Bus stop, Ayshford, Waterloo Cross - The Waterloo Cross

On being dropped off at my bus stop I followed lanes and tracks that took me to the motorway which I crossed over a minor bridge. I then reached a railway line that had to be crossed, carefully, watching closely for high speed trains. I then walked through the quite un-noteworthy village of Westleigh, reached the canal towpath, and walked the 1.3 miles north to the northernmost point.

 

The Waytown Limekilns

 

On my way north I came across a series of lime kilns on the banks of the canal. An information board nearby gave the name of these kilns as the Waytown Limekilns. A brief history is given of their use and artist illustrations show how the lime kilns would have looked during their working life, through most of the 19th century. Barges could of course be loaded directly from the base of the kilns, and the quick lime then shipped to various farms along the length of the canal.

Northern end of the 'wet section' of the Grand Western Canal.

 

 

 

I actually chose to go no further than where the water is damned at Burnthill Farm. This location is often referred to as Lowdwells, for instance at the Tiverton Canal web site, because the lock at this point is named Lowdwell’s Lock, but please note it is not a place name, and therefore is not to be found on maps. The nearest village is Holcombe Rogus, about 1.5 Kms west of Lowdwell’s Lock. There is a short section of Grand Western Canal north of this point which is dry, but which I believe can be walked following a designated footpath.

 

The Great Western Canal at one time connected with the Taunton and Bridgewater Canal at Taunton. The original plan had been to connect The Grand Western Canal with the Exeter Canal, and thus form a navigable route between the Bristol Channel and the English Channel, but this never came about. The two reasons thought to have contributed to this were: (1) with the beginnings of the industrial revolution the south west was fast losing commercial trade to the northern counties, and (2) the advent of the railways which were set to supplant canals as the preferred method of goods transport.

The Waytown Limekilns - information board

From here I backtracked the short section of the Grand Western Canal I’d walked, stopping only momentarily to read the information board for the Waytown Limekilns. I then continued my journey onwards along the towpath in the direction of Tiverton. By this time I was getting quite hungry, so it wasn’t long before I sought out a nice bench in the sun on which to eat my picnic lunch.

Nine mile milestone

 

 

 

One of the things that impressed me was the fact that the milestones indicating the distance from Tiverton I found to be extremely accurate. The first of these milestones that I noticed was indicating nine miles, and when I checked my GPS route I found that this indicated 8.98 miles. From that point on I decided to make a point of searching out other milestones and found each was remarkably accurate in its positioning. I’ve a collection of geo-tagged photos of each milestone I came upon, which you can view from these links: nine mile, eight mile, six mile, three mile, two mile, and one mile. It might make an interesting geo-caching treasure hunt for children to pursue these.
 

The stretch from Rock Bridge into Halberton, which is not the advised detour, was rather an uncomfortable experience, since it’s along a busy road that has no verge, and therefore very careful vigilance was required to remain safe. This route would definitely not be recommended for a family with small children.

Grand old house, Halberton - Priory

Halberton is a pretty village, although rather busy with through traffic, but then, that’s not uncommon these days. I’d have liked to have visited the Parish Church of St Andrew (grade I listed), but I hadn’t the time, and had to settle on a brief glimpse down the lane. I did pass a superb old house in Halberton named The Priory (grade II* listed). There’s a sign on the house which reads, ‘Priory’.

 

 

Breach in Grand Western Canal near Halberton

I climbed the lane leading over the canal to a point where there is temporary access across muddy fields to a ‘safe viewing point’, from where it is possible to view the breach in the canal that occurred in November. It was, in that “once more unto the breach dear friends” tradition, worth the detour to view this deep gouge in the canal bank, and I wasn’t the only one taking a peep at it. I don’t know what was the cause of the breach, but I understand a statement has been made signifying the breach will be repaired. Gazing at the embankment I reflected on the feat of engineering required, in pre-mechanical-digger days, to have created this short but  impressive section of the canal.

Grand Western Canal negotiates steep sided valley

Back on the canal towpath again, I made a point of stepping in as many puddles as I could, in an effort to clean some of the mud from my boots that I’d acquired on my brief diversion. The sun was shining, the day warm, and there were many walkers, and the occasional cyclist, out on the canal towpath. Several kingfishers were to be seen skimming the water, taking a plunge once in a while, to spike their next meal.

The last of the evening sun

 

 

 

I approached the basin at Tiverton as evening came on and a beautiful sunset descended on my walk, and a typical evening stillness set in. The ducks were quacking away like mad making an incredible din, to the point where I questioned whether I’d ever want to live right on the canal, as charming as it seems on first appearance. A quick dash across Tiverton town, passing the venerable Old Blundell’s School (now in the care of the National Trust), Grade I Listed, in 1604 the second largest grammar school in the country (presumably to Eton), and I was soon in the bus station awaiting by bus home.

 

A truly superb day’s walk, especially for this early in the year. It was quite long as can be seen from the statistics, leaving me feeling nicely tired but refreshed from my exercise come the end of my walk. Definitely a good ‘after the rains’ walk.

I completed a previous walk along the Grand Western Canal in March 2009, that included a detour to Knightshayes Court (National Trust), which it is possible to read about in my post 14 March 2009 – Grand Western Canal & Knightshayes from my blog.

Note: the Stagecoach No.1 bus crosses Rock Bridge near Halberton, which potentially would provide an alternative (and shorter) walk start point out of Exeter.

Walk Statistics:

Total Distance: 18.6 miles
Moving Time: 6hrs 51min
Stopped Time: 57min
Total Ascent: 451 metres
Maximum Elevation: 124 metres

Buses: 1, 55, D