Fingle Bridge

It's our last day here on Dartmoor and so this morning we were taken to see Fingle Bridge. We parked, crossed over the bridge and looked back at the pub ...

Then began a lovely walk in the woods along the riverside ...

The dogs ran free ...

and with the leaves on the trees changing to autumn colours it was beautiful ...

Just a few of the many photos that I took ...

We could hear the deer rutting in the woods opposite but never saw any sign of life ...

We retraced our steps back to the bridge ...

and then went to the pub for a coffee. Mike and Hamish posed on the little bridge on our way out ...

and then we made our way back to camp passing this sign on the way which made me smile ...

In the afternoon we went for a lovely cream tea at Bovey Tracey and we finished the day at Trago. We've had a great week here but unfortunately it's come to an end and we'll be homeward bound tomorrow.

Meldon Reservoir and Lydford Gorge

We woke this morning to a really heavy frost ...

We'd suggested that today we drive to Meldon Reservoir as this was somewhere that Jo and Paul had not visited before and we could hopefully have a walk on Dartmoor. We parked and walked down to the water. Crossing the dam with water on one side ...

and a lovely view over to the viaduct on the other ..

We then went through the gate ...

and tried to walk but it was so steep that we gave up and after taking photos ...

we made our way back down and went the other way which was much easier as it was flat! We found a little gate and went through it finding a picnic area at the end ...

Jo and I went off to try and get a photo of the dam ...

Looking further down the reservoir there is an island and a tor in the distance ...

It was very sunny but also very cold so we returned to the car and drove to Sourton where we stopped at the Highwayman Inn for lunch ...

This is the pub that we were brought to by the MX-5 club and we really wanted to show it to the others. After lunch we drove on down to Lydford Gorge as this was somewhere high on Paul's wish list of places to visit ...

We decided on the short walk to Devil's Cauldron and set off down the track ...

We crossed the bridge at Pixie Glen ...

At one stage we looked down and could see fish swimming in the clear water ...

Then it began to look more like a gorge ...

We reached the Devil's Cauldron and Jo and I went as near as we dared ...

but Paul and Mike went right to the end (where there was no rail to hang to!) and Hamish watched anxiously waiting for his dad to reappear ...

We then followed the river up to Tucker's Pool passing the way out which we'd be returning to later ...

With the water sometimes below us ...

but mostly beside us ...

and passing little features ...

we finally found the Pool where Hamish was very pleased to be able to have a drink of the beautiful water ...

After a brief stop ...

we retraced our steps back to the way out and walked up and out of the woods ...

It was then time for a cream tea at the cafe ...

Very, very yummy! As we'd taken the short route we hadn't seen the 90ft waterfall and so we drove to the other entrance where Paul went on his own to see it. We were all too tired to move another inch! He returned remarkably quickly and then drove us all back to camp.

East Devon Adventures

We woke to a beautiful morning of blue skies and just a few white clouds ...

We were off across the River Exe and into East Devon today starting with the Donkey Sanctuary ...

There were plenty of donkeys in the fields and a white one carved into the hillside ...

We had the dogs with us and they were allowed everywhere including the shop which was brilliant. Hamish began to make friends ...

as did Jo ...

The notice was a good guide but all the donkeys were very happy to be fussed ...

There had been some Royal visitors in the past ...

and after a final farewell to a chap in the hospital field ...

and being relieved of a few pounds in the shop, we made our way into Sidmouth. It was a lovely day for a stroll along the prom ...

The sun was glistening on the water ...

We wandered up the main street and topped up with some groceries before returning to the car and following the coast road to Otterton. We'd planned on having lunch at Otterton Mill but after looking at their menu we decided to move on and found the Rolle Arms in East Budleigh. Here we had a great lunch and both the dogs were given a biscuit which they thoroughly enjoyed! It was then a short hop into Budleigh Salterton where we parked up and walked along beside the sea ...

Budleigh has some lovely houses ...

The fishermen sell their fish from the beach ...

and back in the early 1900's my great grandparents had a drapers shop on the High Street. It is now a card shop ...

My dad used to tell me how he remembered travelling from his boarding school in Taunton to visit his grandparents here. Jo and I went into the church ...

It was then time to move on and so we drove through Exmouth ...

on our way to the National Trust property called A La Ronde. We arrived just after 4pm and at first we were told it was too late to go round the house as last entries are at 4pm. However after pleading with the girl on the desk she called through and we were given permission to go ahead. We really wanted to see it and didn't want to have to come all this way back on another day. So over to the house and in through the green doors ...

It looks quite small from outside but it is a tardis! Here are a selection of photos that I took ...

Up above us is the shell gallery which is too fragile to have visitors walk about so they have a webcam room which is situated next to the dining room and people can view it on monitors. Jo and Paul had a go at guiding the cameras ...

We walked all around the outside of this unusual house ...

and then made our way home to the campsite.