Synopsis: A late summer holiday focussed on the date of my niece Claire’s marriage to Dave. Tours of Dartmoor and Exmoor, plus visits to Brixham and Dartmouth, and a little mountain biking too.
(selection of photos from Flickr photo set – use link above to view album)
Helen, Laura, Can and Uwe arrived in England from Germany, late into the evening. On drive down to Exeter they stopped to purchase a KFC at Membury motorway services for their supper. They arrived just in time for their supper at 22:45, as the KFC was scheduled to close 15 minutes later.
At breakfast we all met for the first time, because I didn’t stay up to greet my guests, as I like my bed too much for that. Asking what they’d like to do this holiday, Laura and Uwe said they’d like to see Dartmoor sometime. As the weather looked very promising, I said I thought we shouldn’t miss the opportunity, and should think about making that our destination for today. We finished our breakfast and rather hurriedly made for Tesco where we picked up a picnic lunch and set off for the moor, with Can doing the driving, since they’d hired a car a Heathrow.
We made Haytor our first stop. A climb to the top of this tor is almost a must when visiting Dartmoor. I wasn’t altogether convinced I wanted to make the climb, but on the day I couldn’t allow myself to be outdone by the youngsters, so up I went up too. It actually isn’t all that difficult, made easier by steps having been carved into the granite at certain points. There’s just one point where a small leap across a gap on the tor is required.
After having explored Haytor I asked Helen and Laura if they’d ever seen the granite tramway (or railway), and they told me they hadn’t. We took a short detour through a jungle of gorse and ferns and fell upon the old granite railway that was once used to transported the tin and granite from the nearby Haytor quarries. It’s very unusual in that the tracks are made of granite, on which wagons were drawn by horses. This was the first stage in the granite’s journey, which connected with the Stover Canal, where the granite was loaded onto barges that carried it to the coast.
By now it was lunchtime, and so I suggested we pull off the road just below Haytor and eat our picnic lunch. It was very pleasant sat on granite boulders in the warm sun.
After lunch we drove over to Hound Tor, which isn’t far from Haytor, from the top of which it is visible. Hound Tor was an old favourite of ours, a place I’d bring Helen and Laura when they were young, as they liked to climb the rocks, something they’ve never grown out of. Today they, and Can and Uwe, were soon clambering all over the rocks. I believe it’s one of the best fun climbs on Dartmoor. This time I was happy to stand back and watch their antics.
We weren’t sure if we’d be able to visit Widecombe-in-the-Moor, since there were signs by the roadside indicating that no cars were permitted into the village because of the fair. However, I asked at the van selling ice cream and tea at Hound Tor, and they informed me that the fair was tomorrow, and that I would be able to drive into the village today. Doing so, we discovered many stalls in the process of being setup for the fair. I talked of our family’s connection with Widecombe to Uwe, who was interested to hear that we have a family link with Uncle Tom Cobley, since we are descended from his sister Jane.
At Widecombe in the Moor we paid a visit to its Church of St Pancras. One of the interesting things we came across was an information board which showed The Bosses on the Chancel Ceiling. One of these I noted was Wormwood. I explained that this connects the church of this Devon village with Chernobyl, site of the world’s worst nuclear accident. I didn’t have time to explain that wormwood is how the Russian name Chernobyl translates. In the Bible Wormwood was a star that fell to earth, poisoned waters, resulting in the death of many people. In the case of Russia’s Chernobyl, the ‘star’ may have been of man’s making, but there’s an uncanny echo of its fortunes in the Biblical story (Rev. 8:10-11).
Outside the church, near a yew tree, I took this photo of Helen and Laura. I have a historic photo of my mother and her mother taken at this very tree in the 1950s. Many years later, here we are again!
On our way back to our car we picked up some fudge, ostensibly for Mum (pictured left), but possibly a little more than we needed. Uwe was curious about our cider, and so we also picked up a bottle for him from one of the nearby stalls.
Heading out of Widecombe we picked up a narrow lane that climbed steeply out of the back of the village, ascending onto the high open moor once again. We passed some shaggy long-horn cattle as we went. Our next destination was Postbridge. We pulled into the car park so that we could take a quick look at the ancient clapper bridge that spans the East Dart River.
Our next objective was Dartmeet, which involved a drive over the central moor, giving excellent views as we went. Dartmeet is something of a tourist honeypot, usually thronged with masses of people, but on our late visit today we pretty much had the place to ourselves. This is another old haunt of ours, as Helen and Laura as children would love to play in the river, and bound from rock to rock. Once again, very little different to how the things transpired today.
This had been a very long day, cramming in as much of Dartmoor as we possibly could see in the one day. This meant we were returning to Exeter rather late for our supper, so we popped into Tesco and purchased some Lasagne’s for heating up at home as our supper.
Arriving at Budleigh Salterton we were ready for our lunch. We padlocked our bicycles to railings and walked the length of the seafront. Doing so, we came to the conclusion that a pasty lunch would be nice and easy, so we sought out a pasty shop. We came across a little delicatessen in the high street advertising the very wares we sought, and popped in and placed our order. The sausage rolls were spiced with apple and pear chutney, which were unusual, but very nice. We ate our lunch on a bench overlooking the pebble beach, and on this perfect sunny day, the views were quite stunning.
After lunch we chose to walk back through the town. We’d said we wouldn’t have an ice cream, as we were exercising, but somehow temptation got the better of us, and we all ended up with an ice cream on our walk back to our bikes. Perhaps it was my mentioning just how good the ice creams are in Budleigh Salterton that led to temptation. Anyway, everyone was persuaded it wouldn’t be the done thing to leave the town without having tasted of these, and jolly nice they were too.
We knew we’d be tired after such along cycle ride, so Laura suggested we have a Chinese meal in the evening, which seemed the perfect solution. From The Passage Inn in Topsham, where we’d stopped for a beer (Otter bitter), we texted Christine our intentions and invited her to join us, which she said she and Louise would be delighted to do. Christine offered to place our order for us, which was very helpful, as we still had a couple of miles to cycle to reach home. On reaching Mum’s place, our supper venue, Christine said supper was about to be delivered, which it was, and yes, it proved the perfect way to round off a thoroughly enjoyable, if very tiring, day on our bikes.
Cycle Statistics:
Total Distance: 35.9 miles
Moving Time: 5hrs 28min
Stopped Time: 2hrs 48min
Total Ascent: 727 metres
Maximum Elevation: 157 metres
Our plan was to spend the day in and around Exeter. We cycled down to the Countess Wear swing bridge and then cycled to the quay where we parked our bicycles. We had a quick look around the quay, the Roman Wall, the old medieval bridge, and Stepcote Hill. Then we met up with Mum for lunch at George’s Meeting House, South Street. As it was Burger Wednesday, guess what? Yes, I decided to have a chicken strip meal from the burger menu. I think Mum had a jacket potato, finishing off with one of her favourite puddings, a large sundae ice cream. How does she do it?
After lunch we all walked up to the cathedral. A priest spotted us as we entered the church, a lovely old man, who took time out to explain to us a little about the cathedral. He was keen to know where we were from. I explained that some of our party were visiting from Germany, after which he made efforts to point out German related aspects of the cathedral, such as a carving of St Boniface on the pulpit, and the chapel rebuilt after the blitz. On the wall of this chapel is a modern day plaque that commemorates a declaration of reconciliation between the mayors of Lubeck and Exeter.
Mum left us after lunch. We walked through town up to Northernhay Gardens. Helen and Laura wished to do a little shopping together, and so did Can and Uwe, so from here we went our separate ways. I said I’d spend some time in Central Library before out planned meet up in front of the cathedral.
As we’d had a big meal at George’s Meeting House, we decided we’d pop into Tesco and pick up cheese, crackers and dips for our supper, a long time favourite meal of ours.
We started today with the best of intentions, but things didn’t go exactly to plan. The plan was to take a boat trip across Torbay, sailing from Brixham on the ferry to Torquay, where we’d have a fish ‘n’ chip lunch on the harbour-side. The weather looked good for this as the sun was shining and the day warm. Mum and sister-in-law Christine said they’d like to come along too, so we were two cars heading out for the day.
On arriving at Brixham we parked our cars and headed for the harbour. As I approached the jetty I immediately felt something was up; where were the queues for the ferry? Back tracking a little to the ferry company’s ticket booth there we saw stuck on the door a single piece of paper with the word ‘Cancelled’ on it. No explanation of why! Enquiring at the information office (to be found in a shop) a young lady informed us the wind was from the wrong direction causing the sea to be too choppy for the ferry service to operate today.
This was all rather aggravating, particularly the difficulty at obtaining information about what was happening. I’d checked the web site of the ferry company before setting off from home, and there had been no mention of sailings being cancelled today. I could accept that there are sea conditions when it is advisable to cancel sailings, but information could be more forthcoming on the company’s web site, and the simple ‘Cancelled’ note appended to door wasn’t exactly helpful.
Still, we made the most of things, obtaining fish ‘n’ chip lunches from a harbour-side café and eating these in the sun on the harbour wall. It was a lovely place to be, and the fish ‘n’ chips were excellent.
After lunch we walked around the busy harbour-side, thronged with the more elderly tourists released on Brixham now that the schools had resumed. Mum then sat on a bench looking out on the harbour whilst the rest of us continued on as far as the sea water swimming pool at Shoalstone, which was closed.
After our little walk around Brixham I suggested, since we were so close, we drive on to Dartmouth. We headed for the Higher Ferry crossing of the River Dart, the larger ferry that is chain-driven as opposed to the tug-propelled Lower Ferry. We walked for an hour along the water front and the quaint streets of Dartmouth. As with Brixham, the place was very packed with tourists.
On returning from Dartmouth thoughts sprang to what we’d do for supper. Can had voiced his desire to return to the Swan Inn at Lympstone, as a meal we’d had there last year was most successful. We got stuck in traffic attempting to enter Totnes, so I took the opportunity to phone and reserve a table, the earliest available being 20:00. As it happened, the traffic delays were so severe, we didn’t arrive in Lympstone till 19:45, so our timing was just about perfect. I had a goat’s cheese curry, Can a burger, Uwe a large pot of mussels, others I don’t remember, but the meal was excellent, and washed down with a pint of Golden Dorset beer, once again the venue proved the perfect place to end a most enjoyable day.
It
Today was a very early start for Helen, Laura, Can & Uwe’s trip to Alton Towers, so I rather emphatically explained they could leave me tucked up in bed when they set off from home. My only other responsibility was to pick them up from Exeter Airport later in the day, since their hire car was due to be returned later in the day.
First job of the day was to collect our button holes, Christine’s and Sue’s too, from the florist Dunstans in Heavitree. Helen came with me as I was suffering a little with my back. Luckily I’d purchased and stored three frozen pizzas which was the perfect snack meal prior to our setting off for Taunton. The wedding took place at the Church of St Augustine, West Monkton. Claire and Dave walked down the aisle after the ceremony doing the skip dance of Eric and Ernie, danced to the Bring Me Sunshine song. And yes, the sun did shine. Their wedding reception was held at the Maypole Inn, Thurloxton.
After our night spent at a Taunton Travelodge, we drove into the centre of Taunton for a quick stroll before returning to the Maypole Inn where the extended family were meeting for Sunday lunch. We were quick to enter and order our meals, as Uwe had a coach to catch. It was nice that we could finish sampling a traditional English roast. Uwe then dashed, along with Laura and me, to catch a National Express coach from North Petherton to Heathrow for his flight back to Germany. Laura said her sad goodbyes.
Back at the Maypole Inn, we spent some time in the garden where we took some photos, especially of the eight granddaughters. Something of a family tradition that goes way back.
We returned to Exeter after lunch. Can had an online study course lesson to complete so we left him with his iPad. Laura, taking pity on me, kindly set about moving herself into the small bedroom so that I might return to my usual bed, as she felt that would help my back. It was a lovely thought of Laura’s, one I much appreciated. Helen and I felt we needed a little fresh air and exercise, particularly as my back was a little stiff from the driving, so we took ourselves off to Exmouth. We parked down by Orcombe Point from where we walked along the beach, back over the cliffs, passing the Geoneedle and then down the zig-zag path to our car. The hour long walk did me the power of good. It was lovely and sunny down Exmouth, amid the multitude of dog walkers.
That evening we decided to eat up leftovers from our cheese and dips supper that we’d purchased the middle of the previous week.
I dropped Helen, Laura and Can in town so that they might do some further shopping prior to lunch with grandparents Riki and John. They spent the afternoon with Riki and John at their new house in Topsham Road. Then, late afternoon, they walked back to my place.
In the evening Helen, Laura and Can have a meal with Christopher, Mike and Uncle Peter at George’s Meeting house, Exeter. I had to make do with sausage rolls and baked beans, which actually were quite delicious all the same.
During breakfast this morning, Helen said that she felt desperately in need of some exercise. Can was not keen on swimming but said he’d do a run, and Laura said she would too. The three of them got into their running gear, and I dropped them in the car down at Countess Wear swing bridge, so that they might run along the canal. On reaching home, I set off walking for Ludwell Valley Park where I met up with Helen running towards me about 2/3rds the way across the park. I gradually made my way home whilst Helen ran on, so that the three of them might bath before we set off for Dawlish Warren.
Our plan was to meet up around lunchtime with my sister Wendy and her family at Dawlish Warren. We settled on the Boathouse on the seafront as our lunch venue. It’s primarily a burger joint, and so it was burgers and chips, with plentiful dollops of sauce, all round, which proved very tasty.
The day was lovely, and perhaps unseasonably warm. After lunch we walked along the seafront towards the sandstone outcrop named, appropriately enough, Red Rock. For some unaccountable reason, brother-in-law Colin felt the need to enter the water, so shorts off, one hand holding up his underpants, in he went. His extolling the water as being warm were not consistent with the expression on his face.
We returned to Wendy and Colin’s for tea. Adam sat with his feet in a bowl of soothing water, since he had tripped pushing the child’s buggy. I had picked up a bottle of ‘Ginger Tosser’ beer from Tesco, and presented this to Adam as a present for Charlie. The name just seemed so appropriate for Charlie with his ginger locks.
Coming back from Wendy & Colin’s we decided we would top-up our food supplies with a few ‘make do’ provisions for our evening meal, so, something I rarely do, we popped into my local Lidl. There we purchased pasties, a chicken pie, and some salad items. That evening Helen and Can shared the pie whilst Laura and I finished the sausage rolls I’d previously purchased in Tesco. Laura and Helen made up a lovely salad to accompany our meal. The pasties went in the freezer for another day, surplice to requirements on this occasion.
I asked at breakfast what the others would like to do in the remaining days of their holiday. Can expressed a desire to see Exmoor and we were all in agreement with that. I quickly drew up a list of places to visit using Google Maps to plot a route. The day was going to involve a lot of time in the car, but the scenery, if only the fog would clear, would, hopefully, more than compensate for that.
This is the route map of our Exmoor tour that we undertook today …
View Larger Map
I had intended for us to walk up to Dunkery Beacon, the highest point on Exmoor, but this was shrouded in mist, so there would have been little point in doing that, so we drove on (for views from previous visits I made in 2008 see: photo 01; photo 02; photo 03). We passed through the picturesque village of Porlock and I told of the stories Dad would tell of how, when we were young, many cars would struggle with the steep (25%) incline, and yet his old faithful motorbike and sidecar (Triumph Panther and Watsonian double-adult sidecar) would ‘fly up the hill’. As we approached Lynmouth I briefly pulled over beside the road at Wind Hill so that we might take in the view. By this time the last remnants of the lingering fog were fast disappearing as the sun burnt through and the day brightened, and from this point there was a spectacular view of Lymouth lying far below.
We didn’t stop in Lynmouth but instead drove up to Watersmeet to briefly take a look at the waterfall and the National Trust tea rooms to be found there. A lovely scene, and one that’s always popular with tourists.
After a little foolery on the bridge, caught on camera, we made our way back to the car for our next destination. Watersmeet warrants more time to explore its environs, but today was to be a whistle-stop tour of Exmoor, so we had to be soon on our way.
Our next destination was to be the nearby Valley of the Rocks. We followed a path up the hillside leading towards the rocky outcrop that hugs the coastline. There are usually goats to be seen clambering over these rocks, but today we saw none. We scrambled up onto the ridge and looked out to sea. Helen, Can and Laura decided they would like to make for the highest point, called by some the ‘Castle’, but lacking the same zest for adventure, I said I’d meet them back at the car.
As we drove down through the Valley of the Rocks I glanced to my my right, and noticed that the café was called Mother Melldrum’s. Having recently read Lorna Doone I recognised the name instantly as, ‘Now the wisest person in all our parts was reckoned to be a certain wise woman, well known all over Exmoor by the name “Mother Melldrum.”’ (Lorna Doone, p.110). She is a soothsayer who spent her summers living by the Devil’s bridge, Tarr Steps, and her winters living in the Valley of the Rocks, described as being ‘… quite at home with our proper modes of divination.’. In the book she is disparagingly referred to by the local priest, as The Witch of Endor.
Next up, Ilfracombe. I chose to use a minor route that follows the coast to Combe Martin, as this was the most direct route. It felt like a perilous journey, as the lane (toll £2.00) along which we travelled was very narrow, even for Devon, and in places clung tenuously to the cliff side. It is a fine drive, although perhaps not for the faint hearted. Can filmed parts of the journey on his mobile phone, I think for the purpose of showing his friends back home, since in Germany there is nothing that quite compares with this.
If you’re interested in finding scenic road routes across Exmoor, or anywhere else for that matter, I recommend the Via Michelin web site. The scenic drives are shown on this map as roads lined with an adjacent green band, of which you’ll find there are many on Exmoor. Incidentally, the route we took between the Valley of The Rocks and Combe Martin is not one that is recommended by Via Michelin.
On reaching Ilfracombe I made for the Tesco superstore, as we were in need of sustenance. The plan was to purchase a picnic lunch and top up with fuel. The latter wasn’t so easy. I’d come to expect fuel at most Tesco superstores, but, be warned, there is none at Ilfracombe. I left my party to purchase some lunch whilst I sought out some fuel, but I had no luck. With lunch in hand, we returned to a hilltop car park with a view over Ilfracombe, and laid out our picnic in the sun. It was time for a little R&R after our intensive sight seeing.
Back on the tourist trail once again, we left our car where it was, to take a walk around Ilfracombe. Ilfracombe has a stunning location on the north Devon coast. We completed a circular walk including the rather unusual statue at the mouth to the harbour. Panoramic Photosphere view of Ilfracombe – from the chapel on the hill.
As if all that wasn’t enough, we still had one more place to visit. My intention was to visit the important historic site of Tarr Steps on our return over Exmoor. This would be only a minor detour from our route, which involved the scenic road out of Ilfracombe, then picking up a different route over Exmoor to our outward journey, which would also be scenic (Via Michelin). Tarr Steps is the single most impressive clapper bridge in the Southwest, possibly the UK, and our late (18:30) visit meant we had it to ourselves, which was perfect. Extensive repairs to the bridge were required following a severe deluge last winter.
As it had been quite late when we’d eaten our picnic lunch in Ilfracombe, we decided that we’d have a light supper of soups and garlic bread, all of which could be found around about my house. This obviously seemed insufficient for Can, so we stuck one of recently acquired pasties (see Tuesday above) into the oven to supplement his soup (Soups: Laura and I butternut, Helen carrot and coriander, Can chicken broth).
As it was to be the last day of Helen, Laura and Can’s summer holiday visit to England, we wished to plan a day in which Mum would be included. As Mum no longer has the stamina for anything arduous, we thought a trip to the National Marine Aquarium would be something that we’d all enjoy, and Mum could come too. On this visit we noted that the layout and displays had been changed from what we’d previously known, and that it had been changed for the better. It proved to be a thoroughly entertaining visit. We’d visited the aquarium a number of times before, many occasions when Helen and Laura were young.
We’d purchased a picnic lunch in Tesco before setting off for Plymouth, not sure how our day would progress, or where and when we’d eat lunch. As it transpired, we discovered that about half-way around the National Marine Aquarium there was a sign pointing to an outdoor picnic area. This was just what we needed, and it appeared at a most opportune time. We sat down and ate our sandwich and yoghurt picnic on the benches surrounded by a multitude of school children.
Here are a few photos I took on our visit to the National Marine Aquarium today:
On completing our visit to the National Marine Aquarium, we had time to spare, so we strolled the short distance to The Barbican from where the Mayflower sailed to America. Then we continued on up to The Hoe, and took in the views across Plymouth Sound. As I stood gazing at the information board regarding the Tinside Lido a gentleman came over and started chatting to me. He remembered the lido in its heyday. I asked him about a pier that once existed nearby and he pointed out to me the stone lugs in the wall which were once supports for where the pier once stood.
Later that day, we had our evening meal at Tiffin Wala curry house, Heavitree, Exeter, joined by David, Christine, Sarah & Louise. Perhaps we might think of curry houses as being a relatively new English experience, but apparently the first curry house opened in London in 1809. I, and Can, had the Tiffin Walla Special, on pillau rice, which was very nice. Mum had a mild sweet curry, with nan bread, which was just to her taste. Laura had Chicken Tikka Misalla, and Helen had Ceylon Chicken. David’s family seemed to have mostly Chicken Kormas, although David I think had Chicken Biryiani. It was a spur of the moment decision to eat at this restaurant, although Can had said he wished to sample an English curry house. Once again, this proved to be a very successful meal, the service being impeccable. We rounded off the evening with a cup of tea back at Mum’s, with a doughnut for those with an appetite remaining (we’d bought an assorted 12-pack in Tesco that morning).
Helen texted Christopher with good wishes for his HGV licence examination. He seemed to immediately respond with a thank you message, and the news that he had passed his exam.
Well, this was a strange thing: a KFC meal in reverse. That is to say, our usual habit was to KFC it at the start of a holiday, not the end. Here Helen, Laura and Can were to do it on their return journey as well as outward, and I was to get my first KFC of the holiday after all.
Whilst travelling up to departures at Heathrow Terminal 5 I noticed that the lift was made by a certain German manufacturer named Schindler. It suddenly dawned on me we were travelling in Schinder’s Lift. I asked Helen if she had seen the film. She replied, “Seen the film? I was in it!”
Sadly, this was the end of another lovely holiday. Until next time, it was adios to Helen, Laura and Can!
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