Devon
As England shut down once again, this time for the funeral of Her Majesty, we took the ferry back to Portsmouth, once again with perfect sailing conditions, and made our way to Winchester where Trudi and I were leaving our nice wee group with driver Dan, who was fantastic, to meet our next group with driver Samuel.
We got to Winchester Cathedral just as the funeral service had ended. What a pity. It would have been wonderful to sing along with the hymns in the funeral in one of the largest and grandest cathedrals in England. Anyway, it was still a deeply moving time to watch the procession, and to cast an eye upwards at the remarkably tall pillars of this amazing place. What a masterpiece of construction so many hundreds of years ago.
The experience with Samuel as driver was certainly not the same as with Dan, who was calm, careful and precise in every manoeuvre. Things didn't start well with a rather disrespectful comment about The Queen. You can have your own ideas about the monarchy, but should definitely not always make them public. I was shocked at the outset, and surprised because I have only positive memories of Rabbies tours.
Anyway, because we joined the group after the other 14 ( the bus was full), we had one seat at the back and one next to the driver. The front seat is very uncomfortable and for me somewhat scary because of the speed we drove, but views were generally great.
Because Stonehenge was closed on this special public holiday, much to my delight we visited Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door instead. A brilliant swap.
This area is a marvelous place for walkers. Once again, it was perfect weather for our visit.
Both of these very popular spots, apparently packed once lockdown was lifted, are only minutes away from each other by car, so I walked back from Durdle Door for hilltop views of Lulworth cove and the coastline. It is truly dramatic scenery.
At Durdle Door, the steep white cliffs are even more spectacular. Sadly, we only had a short time here at a place worthy of an entire day.
We arrived in Torquay quite late, with a quick stop at a lookout above the town, unfortunately littered with rubbish in the carpark, and with hedgerows in dire need of some care. It seems that this Devon town is very poorly funded - possibly another Covid victim?
Our next day was brilliant, with a brisk start to the day as we walked to one of the higher points of Dartmoor National Park. It was a stunning view from the top over one of my favourite areas in England.
Haytor, this massive chunk of limestone, is the highest point. The landscape reminds me so much of Castle Hill in N Z.
There is plenty of history in this area as well as the wonderful scenery. Here we stopped at Postbridge, a clapper bridge, dating back to the 4th century. There is now a newer bridge, still a few hundred years old, for the current traffic, but this narrow clapper bridge would have been used by horse and carriages despite it being very very narrow.
What do I love best about Dartmoor? It has to be the wild horses which roam the moors. Luckily for them, they were no longer required to be working horses in the tin mines by the end of the 19th century and were released into the moors. They are small but incredibly sturdy, perfect to endure the harsh winters. I loved the huge variety of colours, and hairdos! One stood the whole time in the car park, looking as if it wanted a ride. Punk horse was very affectionate!
It was a fantastic day, with lots of narrow , winding roads with hedgerows making it impossible yo see oncoming traffic, so I was very happy NOT to have been negotiating these picturesque, but tricky corners! Lots of wildlife as well as the cute little ponies, including loads of very pretty sheep with black heads and white bodies, and Galloway Belt cows, very attractive brown and white cows, with what looks like a belt around their middle.m
This area is a marvelous place for walkers. Once again, it was perfect weather for our visit.
Both of these very popular spots, apparently packed once lockdown was lifted, are only minutes away from each other by car, so I walked back from Durdle Door for hilltop views of Lulworth cove and the coastline. It is truly dramatic scenery.
At Durdle Door, the steep white cliffs are even more spectacular. Sadly, we only had a short time here at a place worthy of an entire day.
We arrived in Torquay quite late, with a quick stop at a lookout above the town, unfortunately littered with rubbish in the carpark, and with hedgerows in dire need of some care. It seems that this Devon town is very poorly funded - possibly another Covid victim?
Our next day was brilliant, with a brisk start to the day as we walked to one of the higher points of Dartmoor National Park. It was a stunning view from the top over one of my favourite areas in England.
Haytor, this massive chunk of limestone, is the highest point. The landscape reminds me so much of Castle Hill in N Z.
There is plenty of history in this area as well as the wonderful scenery. Here we stopped at Postbridge, a clapper bridge, dating back to the 4th century. There is now a newer bridge, still a few hundred years old, for the current traffic, but this narrow clapper bridge would have been used by horse and carriages despite it being very very narrow.
What do I love best about Dartmoor? It has to be the wild horses which roam the moors. Luckily for them, they were no longer required to be working horses in the tin mines by the end of the 19th century and were released into the moors. They are small but incredibly sturdy, perfect to endure the harsh winters. I loved the huge variety of colours, and hairdos! One stood the whole time in the car park, looking as if it wanted a ride. Punk horse was very affectionate!
It was a fantastic day, with lots of narrow , winding roads with hedgerows making it impossible yo see oncoming traffic, so I was very happy NOT to have been negotiating these picturesque, but tricky corners! Lots of wildlife as well as the cute little ponies, including loads of very pretty sheep with black heads and white bodies, and Galloway Belt cows, very attractive brown and white cows, with what looks like a belt around their middle.m
As we arrived back in Torquay earlyish, we took a local bus to a little fishing village called Brixham. It was very colourful and pretty.
We had a decent walk there and were thrilled to see a seal by a nearby cove, then enjoyed a lovely evening in a very cosy pub, followed by some absolutely fantastic fish and chips. You can't beat freshly caught fish.
Another fantastic day.
We had a decent walk there and were thrilled to see a seal by a nearby cove, then enjoyed a lovely evening in a very cosy pub, followed by some absolutely fantastic fish and chips. You can't beat freshly caught fish.
Another fantastic day.
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