On Friday the 20th of May, I arrived at Paddington station and printed my tickets - then had about an hour to kill so went and drank an appalling latte in a cafe and made good use of their couch. I was sat opposite an older man- I'd say in his 50's, who had fallen asleep, mouth wide open, snoring away. Bless.
I went to find the bronze statue of Paddington bear so I could get a photo but there were people sitting all around the base of the statue- so perhaps I can do that next time! My train journey was pleasant. Three hours direct travel- although I had a one hour wait between changes. The countryside whilst it was still light was a pleasant change from the concrete jungle that is London town. I saw about 20 hot air balloons passing through Tiverton at sunset which was quite lovely! Apparently there is a hot air balloon festival!
I arrived at Barnstaple station at about 10:15pm, where David and Fran were waiting to collect me. Fran is my Dad's cousin, making her my second cousin. They live in Ilfracombe which is about half an hour drive from Barnstaple, and only minutes from the ocean. Oh! How I miss the luxury of the closeness of the ocean!
The room I was to stay in was on its own floor - it was like having a wing to myself! The view is to die for... ocean! Across from where there house is, you can see Wales. Unfortunately it was never clear enough for me to catch a glimpse, perhaps next time.
On Saturday morning we woke early and left their place at 7.45am... Destination? The Devon County Fair. It was like the Easter show, but much more impressive. There were hundreds of stalls, horse supplies, farming stuff etc as well as locally produced foods. I guess it is what you might call an agricultural fair? There was row after row of stalls, and we were lucky we were in the gates by 9.30am as it wasn't so busy- not like it was when we came to leave at about 3pm... There were thousands of people. The food tents were full of locally produced and/or grown goods from ciders and liqueurs, meat, pates and cheeses (oh, and fudge. I got some of that in honour of my Dad. NOM!).
Being we had the dogs (the most beautiful chocolate labs you ever did see!!) who are called Molly and Bella, we couldn't all go into the tent together. A friend of Fran and David's, Angie, came along for the day too, so she and I went into the tent first. Angie was a hoot- I had only known her for about half an hour- but she was right in there for the free samples- asking to try each variety and then saying she would be back later to buy the product as she didn't want to carry it around. I very quickly learnt how she did this and later followed suit! She was good value, a nice lady. I didn't buy anything from the day... I am starting to avoid buying things I am only going to either throw or give away, or ship home. It seems a little pointless!
When we had had our fill of the day and could stand the increasing crowds no longer, we left and David drove us to a local Pub where we sat by the river and had doorstop sandwiches- yum. Oh... And chips. How to make chips (which are already not *great* for you) even worse for you? Cover with melted cheese!! Yum!
We dropped Angie back to her car and ventured home... Where we all had "Nana naps" for an hour. Bliss. There's nothing quite like a nap on a Saturday afternoon! We decided to go out for dinner and walked down to the local pier. It's not the Viaduct but it is really quite lovely. There were a bunch of small fisherman's boats in the harbour which was lined with small sea-side shops, a couple of pubs and restaurants. We were all still full from lunch so had glasses of wine and nibbles, being the restaurants had closed by the time we were ready to eat! We walked home full of wine, hummus, bread and olives.
Sunday was a slow start... Which I loved! I woke at 6.30am (what is up with that?!!) so I read for a couple of hours and watched the ocean for a bit, pondering life, as you do. I finally got out of bed at 9.15am and got organised for the day.
We all hopped in the car (Molly and Bella too!) and dropped into Alban House, which is the care facility Fran and David run. It is a lovely, homely place and the residents all looked happy- although again with views to die for- so they should! After a quick tour we continued onwards to Woolacombe beach after dropping one of the residents at church.
Woolacombe beach reminded me of Long Bay Beach- but much wider and with more sand dunes. It was really windy and the wind was freezing cold but I really, really enjoyed the walk along the beach. I miss that so much about NZ. How spooky we are back home. The dogs *loved* the beach.
We went and had brunch at somewhere called The Red Shed- David and I enjoyed the man sized all day breakfast... Mmmmm. We had to pick up the resident we dropped off at church and drop her back to Alban house before going home again for another wee rest. It's a hard life.
Something I had wanted to do whilst here was have a traditional Devonshire Cream Tea, so we walked to Chambercome Manor which was not far from their place.
Chambercombe Manor was owned by the Champernon family from around 1162. In the early 16th century it became the property of Henry, Duke of Suffolk father of the ill fated Lady Jane Grey. The Manor's most infamous ghost was found in a room, now known as the 'haunted room' (gee - how unexpected!). In 1865, the owner at the time was making some roof repairs and noticed that the outline of the window didn't have a room associated with it on the inside. After some further exploring in the area where the window was, the owner and his wife knowcked through a wall and discovered a four poster bed... and on it was a skeleton. Woo!
They had tours available but they lasted one hour and we didn't really have the time. Instead we had a cream tea- how amazing is clotted cream!? Oh my! I'm not even much of a cream fan... But this was good!!! Stuffed full we walked home again before I packed and David and Fran dropped me at Barnstaple station- destination London town.
I had an outstanding weekend- just the right amount of chill time and entertainment, and the company was excellent. It has been nice getting to know family whom I have never really had the opportunity to get to know before. I was so well looked after all weekend, which is just so nice when you're not around family often.
The best bonus of the weekend is that David and Fran have invited me to join them in Italy at the start of August. I am definitely keen, so my UK trip is postponed for a week now!! I love how I never really know what's around the corner and how my life is continually evolving- it's quite liberating in a way.
This time next week I will be in San Francisco... I hope the US of A (and my friend, Helen) is ready for me to wear flowers in my hair...
Until then....
Cheery bye :)
I went to find the bronze statue of Paddington bear so I could get a photo but there were people sitting all around the base of the statue- so perhaps I can do that next time! My train journey was pleasant. Three hours direct travel- although I had a one hour wait between changes. The countryside whilst it was still light was a pleasant change from the concrete jungle that is London town. I saw about 20 hot air balloons passing through Tiverton at sunset which was quite lovely! Apparently there is a hot air balloon festival!
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| They look so pretty, floating up there in the sky! |
I arrived at Barnstaple station at about 10:15pm, where David and Fran were waiting to collect me. Fran is my Dad's cousin, making her my second cousin. They live in Ilfracombe which is about half an hour drive from Barnstaple, and only minutes from the ocean. Oh! How I miss the luxury of the closeness of the ocean!
The room I was to stay in was on its own floor - it was like having a wing to myself! The view is to die for... ocean! Across from where there house is, you can see Wales. Unfortunately it was never clear enough for me to catch a glimpse, perhaps next time.
 |
| The view when I sat up in bed. The cats LOVED to sit on the window sill and watch the birds flying about. |
On Saturday morning we woke early and left their place at 7.45am... Destination? The Devon County Fair. It was like the Easter show, but much more impressive. There were hundreds of stalls, horse supplies, farming stuff etc as well as locally produced foods. I guess it is what you might call an agricultural fair? There was row after row of stalls, and we were lucky we were in the gates by 9.30am as it wasn't so busy- not like it was when we came to leave at about 3pm... There were thousands of people. The food tents were full of locally produced and/or grown goods from ciders and liqueurs, meat, pates and cheeses (oh, and fudge. I got some of that in honour of my Dad. NOM!).
 |
| I *love* it - a real cheese competition! You don't see these just anywhere! |
Being we had the dogs (the most beautiful chocolate labs you ever did see!!) who are called Molly and Bella, we couldn't all go into the tent together. A friend of Fran and David's, Angie, came along for the day too, so she and I went into the tent first. Angie was a hoot- I had only known her for about half an hour- but she was right in there for the free samples- asking to try each variety and then saying she would be back later to buy the product as she didn't want to carry it around. I very quickly learnt how she did this and later followed suit! She was good value, a nice lady. I didn't buy anything from the day... I am starting to avoid buying things I am only going to either throw or give away, or ship home. It seems a little pointless!
When we had had our fill of the day and could stand the increasing crowds no longer, we left and David drove us to a local Pub where we sat by the river and had doorstop sandwiches- yum. Oh... And chips. How to make chips (which are already not *great* for you) even worse for you? Cover with melted cheese!! Yum!
We dropped Angie back to her car and ventured home... Where we all had "Nana naps" for an hour. Bliss. There's nothing quite like a nap on a Saturday afternoon! We decided to go out for dinner and walked down to the local pier. It's not the Viaduct but it is really quite lovely. There were a bunch of small fisherman's boats in the harbour which was lined with small sea-side shops, a couple of pubs and restaurants. We were all still full from lunch so had glasses of wine and nibbles, being the restaurants had closed by the time we were ready to eat! We walked home full of wine, hummus, bread and olives.
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| Beautiful Ilfracombe |
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| Lots of fresh fish in these parts! |
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| Ooh... a cheeky wine... |
Sunday was a slow start... Which I loved! I woke at 6.30am (what is up with that?!!) so I read for a couple of hours and watched the ocean for a bit, pondering life, as you do. I finally got out of bed at 9.15am and got organised for the day.
We all hopped in the car (Molly and Bella too!) and dropped into Alban House, which is the care facility Fran and David run. It is a lovely, homely place and the residents all looked happy- although again with views to die for- so they should! After a quick tour we continued onwards to Woolacombe beach after dropping one of the residents at church.
Woolacombe beach reminded me of Long Bay Beach- but much wider and with more sand dunes. It was really windy and the wind was freezing cold but I really, really enjoyed the walk along the beach. I miss that so much about NZ. How spooky we are back home. The dogs *loved* the beach.
 |
| Amazing blue sky this direction... |
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| Hmmm....not so amazing blue sky in this direction! Loving the wind-swept hair :P |
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| So cool. I want to drive one of these around NZ one day. Or somewhere! |
We went and had brunch at somewhere called The Red Shed- David and I enjoyed the man sized all day breakfast... Mmmmm. We had to pick up the resident we dropped off at church and drop her back to Alban house before going home again for another wee rest. It's a hard life.
Something I had wanted to do whilst here was have a traditional Devonshire Cream Tea, so we walked to Chambercome Manor which was not far from their place.
Chambercombe Manor was owned by the Champernon family from around 1162. In the early 16th century it became the property of Henry, Duke of Suffolk father of the ill fated Lady Jane Grey. The Manor's most infamous ghost was found in a room, now known as the 'haunted room' (gee - how unexpected!). In 1865, the owner at the time was making some roof repairs and noticed that the outline of the window didn't have a room associated with it on the inside. After some further exploring in the area where the window was, the owner and his wife knowcked through a wall and discovered a four poster bed... and on it was a skeleton. Woo!
They had tours available but they lasted one hour and we didn't really have the time. Instead we had a cream tea- how amazing is clotted cream!? Oh my! I'm not even much of a cream fan... But this was good!!! Stuffed full we walked home again before I packed and David and Fran dropped me at Barnstaple station- destination London town.
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| Scone, Raspberry Jam, strawberries *and* Clotted Cream. OMG. |
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| Yeah, it was amazing. |
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| Oh! By gosh - a spot of tea too! |
I had an outstanding weekend- just the right amount of chill time and entertainment, and the company was excellent. It has been nice getting to know family whom I have never really had the opportunity to get to know before. I was so well looked after all weekend, which is just so nice when you're not around family often.
The best bonus of the weekend is that David and Fran have invited me to join them in Italy at the start of August. I am definitely keen, so my UK trip is postponed for a week now!! I love how I never really know what's around the corner and how my life is continually evolving- it's quite liberating in a way.
This time next week I will be in San Francisco... I hope the US of A (and my friend, Helen) is ready for me to wear flowers in my hair...
Until then....
Cheery bye :)
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