Synopsis: A picnic from the car park on The Ness with screaming animals from the small zoo for accompaniment. Then a walk through the rather secret Homeyards Botanical Gardens.
(selection of photos from Flickr photo set – use link above to view album)
We had been having a good spell of weather, so it made sense to get out and enjoy it. I suggested to Mum, we make a trip down the coast. Picnic supplies, courtesy of Tesco. My tea making kit was loaded in the car and we were on our way. I parked in the Ness car park and set up our picnic table on the grass perimeter of the upper car park. The views are a little obscured, but we had the benefit of being in the shade of a tree. I got my first sighting of an all-electric car, something of a novelty, but of course it also represents the future of cars. Interesting.
I thought it would be nice to walk into Shaldon through the gardens that are set back on the hillside. I wasn’t however sure whether there was safe and easy access to the gardens from their upper reaches. I left Mum sat in the shade whilst I went off to explore. I found a gate under an arch off of the corner of Donkey Lane that led into the garden near a rather enigmatic memorial stone that commemorates the services of nurses during the 1941-1945 Burma Campaign.
The nearby, so called ‘castle’, was where Mrs Homeyard would take tea and play bridge with her friends. All very romantic, and the sort of pursuit of the privileged few. The Homeyard’s Botanical Garden, as it is known, was once the private garden of the family who made their fortune from (probably quite specious) cough medicine. So, if you’ve ever had a cough, you’ve probably contributed to the creation of this garden, at least that could be so if you’re relatively long lived.
Following upon Mrs Homeyard’s death in 1944 the gardens were sold to Teignmouth Town Council for a nominal sum. The gardens were opened to the public in 1955. I only discovered the garden a little while back, and think of it as a secret garden, as it takes some searching out. There’s not even a sign from the centre of Shaldon to indicate the garden exists. The garden, although little more than a park, is very tranquil, offers excellent views and does contain some interesting planting, even if an injection of funds would be required to fully revitalise them.
We then continued our stroll through the garden exiting at the lower western end of the garden from where we walked to the shorefront of Shaldon. It was hot and sunny and the small beach was crowded, the crowds cooling themselves with an occasional dip in the water and a more than occasional ice cream. Children were jumping off the jetty into the water.
Shaldon is a charming and attractive place to spend a summer’s day. It had been a nice day-trip.
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