Devon

After London, Nick and I headed to Devon in the south west of England to visit my brother, Stephen and his family, Sarah, Isabella, Givit the old dog (on the left), DeeBee the cat and JackBob the rescued cat! We had managed to find really cheap tickets on http://megabus.com/uk/. Apparently it works like Easy Jet: the earlier you buy your tickets, the cheaper they are. So we bought three tickets for about $15 (7 pound fifty). Two train tickets to Exeter, and a bus ticket from Exeter back to London for Nick. Very cheap! Even the conductor on the train commented on how cheaply we had managed to buy them! Definitely an option if you are ever traveling in a Megabus area (they operate in the US as well).

Anyway.... we caught a black cab from the City to Waterloo and were on our way again!

We arrived in Totnes on the Thursday afternoon. Totnes is a pretty English market town in the South Hams in Devon, halfway between Exeter and Plymouth (where the Pilgrim Fathers sailed from). It's a lovely little town which runs down a hill to the River Dart.


http://www.devon-online.com/towns/totnes/Welcome.html.

Stephen lives pretty much in the centre of town close to the High St and near the old Leech Wells, which we took Isabella to visit one morning. The Dart is only a fifteen minute walk as well and it's a lovely area with a walking trail along the river and lots of yachts...we spent a lot of time looking at the yachts and deciding which one we wanted to buy!!!


On the Friday morning, we took Isabella out for a walk down to the river. She was joined by a family of ducklings who obviously took a shine to her...who can blame them? She is so cute!!! Her favourite catch phrase at the moment is "not yet". So when Daddy asked if she wanted to go to nursery Friday afternoon, she said "Not yet daddy". Once she got there though, we didn't see her for dust...think she likes it there!


Friday evening we took a drive out to the coast to Babbacombe Bay near Torquay I think. It was lovely to walk along the beach and smell the salt air...something I really miss. Isabella had fun watching her Dad skimming stones and trying to join in.




Saturday was a big sporting day, so we couldn't go far...! In the afternoon, the England football team was playing (the REAL football to all you Yanks out there...the one where you actually use your feet to control the ball...novel idea, eh, for a game called FOOTball...). Then the evening was the turn of the England Rugby Union team. They were in the semi finals of the World Cup against France...so to accommodate the sporting timetable, we went to Bigbury on Sea.












Bigbury is a lovely beach, and when the tide is out, you can walk across to the island...Fortunately is was a very low tide, so we wandered over and had a look around the island before stopping for a swift one in the local. The ruin in these photos is the old hut on top of the island from where the locals used to watch for the pilchard run arriving for the fishermen...
...the local just happens to be called The pilchard, and dates from 1336...pretty old place to drink your pint...the crisps were expensive though!!! A pound a pack ($2)...I think the beers were expensive too, but luckily it was Stephen's round!!!






And yes, I have to say it...doesn't she look cute in her Crested Butte fleece top?!!!




After the successful semi final appearance by the England rugby team (we won't mention the football team anymore...) Sunday dawned bright and clear and with Nick itching to eat a real English Sunday lunch with roast beef, veggies, potatoes, gravy and Yorkshire pudding. We ended up at the Seven Stars in Totnes and it was lovely...something we still something we miss every week here in the US....


In the late afternoon, Mum and Dad arrived and so we had a little bit of a family reunion with curry and lots of wine...doesn't sound like the Manchesters, does it????


Monday was a lovely day, and as Isabella had nursery in the afternoon, we decided to head to Dartmouth with Mum and Dad for lunch.














I had no idea how lovely this whole area was. Dartmouth is a very pretty and very old town (one of the five Devon towns mentioned in the Doomsday book which dates from the 1080s or so...) which was which sits at the entrance of the Dart estuary. We had a lovely time wandering around the old streets and looking at the buildings and the estuary. I don't think we have ever seen so many yachts. Nick was especially partial to the teak and wood ones, and I have about 50 photos to prove it!




Mum and Dad drove back to Totnes, and Nick and I took the ferry. We managed to get grounded before we arrived in Totnes, but the tides were so low and coming in so fast that we were only stuck for a few minutes...certainly added to the amusement of the ferry ride though - we also saw a couple of seals in the estuary and a kingfisher and had a narrated tour all the way back about the history of the area. Next time we come we will definitely spend a day in Dartmouth exploring the old streets and both sides of the estuary. We also didn't make it out to the castle - add it to the list for next time!!!
http://www.devon-online.com/towns/dartmouth

The weather was absolutely atrocious the next day: torrential rain and mist. Since it was Nick's last day, we had planned to go up on Dartmoor as neither of us had ever been before.


The weather was so bad though, that we only managed to see Buckfastleigh Abbey and then found a nice pub for lunch called the Tavistock Arms where we stayed for a while...



From there, there wasn't a lot we could do. Sarah headed back home and we took Isabella on a drive and entertained her singing nursery rhymes all the way back...we did manage to see a few of the famous Dartmoor ponies, but that was as the mist raised and shortly thereafter it was back down and we sloshed our way home through the rain!
Isn't she starting to look all grown up?!





Nick left the next morning from Exeter and as Stephen and Sarah were both busy for the day I went out with Mum and Dad. We covered a good amount of the South Hams coast including visits to Inner and Outer Hope, both of which still have numerous thatched cottages set around old squares. It is easy to get lost in time and imagine that you are standing there in the 1500s or something. I especially liked the carved owls and pheasants that were attached to the thatched roofs...they were very realistic, and obviouosly worked in keeping the birds away.


They were beautiful little villages, and the coastal path looks absolutely gorgeous - another long distance hike to put on our list - but only when we have managed to buy an awful lot of very waterproof gear!!!



After the Hopes, we went to Salcombe which was absolutely lovely. The drive there was gorgeous and the town was in such a pretty location..it must be mobbed in the summer! Apparently it's also the most expensive place to live in England..I can see why...!

Mum, Dad and I left everyone in Totnes the next day to drive to Hull as Nick was flying back to Denver...we were very sad to leave but I had been able to spend a lovely week with them all. Isabella was such a good little girl the whole time. She was happy to go out for a walk, or paint, or just sit and play...what a treasure! She is so much fun to be around.

And just for good measure, here are some of the photos of Isabella that we took while we were here...thanks again for letting us stay guys...we had a great time...

London

After Lisbon, we flew to London and spent a couple of days with Leigh and Nigel (on the left). I have known Leigh since we shared our first flat together when we were at college, far more years ago than either of us wants to remember! Thanks to you both for putting us up, taking us to lovely and unique pubs (The Sword Inn Hand, The Tally Ho! and The Old Cross Tavern (?)), out for curries, and of course, the Races at Newmarket...now I'm hooked!!!

Our first day in London the weather was atrocious (surprise, surprise!)...cold, grey and torrential rain. We vetoed going into central London for the day sight seeing and instead hung out and caught up with Leigh and visited a lovely pub for lunch...

The weather was forecast to be much better the next day, so we booked a "flight" on the London Eye and kept our fingers crossed. The "Eye" was built for the Millennium and stands on the south Bank of the Thames almost across from Whitehall and Big Ben. if the weather is good, the views over London are amazing.

Your flight is in a "pod". There were about 12 people on our flight, but there is still plenty of room to move around and take photos as you go around.

The weather still wasn't great (so much for clear skies and warm temperatures...) but as we reached the top of the wheel, the skies did clear a little and the sun shone. We got some pretty cool photos from up there, it is definitely worth going up if it's something you have never done before. We purchased the (American!) Tourist package when we landed...large photo, key ring and fridge magnet!

After the Eye, we hit the streets and did a walking tour I had found online which took us through some areas behind Westminster Abbey that we had never seen before. This is the lovely old square around which the buildings of the Church of England headquarters are located.

From there, we walked down to the Horse Guards barracks and were caught by surprise as they changed the guard, something neither of us had seen before. It was very impressive and the horses were unbelievably well controlled and calm. Afterwards, we both commented on how the soldiers looked about 13...guess that's a sign of our age!!!

In St James Park they had the deck chairs out...wasn't quite the weather for sitting and enjoying the view though...

We spent the afternoon wandering around the sights (including Trafalgar Square, right) and looking at some of the old arcades along Piccadilly. The longest, and perhaps most famous, is the Burlington Arcade. Built around 1819, it is the original "shopping mall". The arcades are still maintained in style, with exclusive shops and the Beadles, who still sport period dress, including top hats. Unfortunately the arcades weren't decorated for the Christmas season yet because when they are, they are just beautiful.

We even went out to Highgate. I had heard that the cemetery was very atmospheric. Unfortunately it was closed when we got there, and some areas are accessible only with a tour guide, but we will try again next time we are in London...it was misty, and growing dark, the crows were cawing and the cats were yowling and the gravestones and angels were tumble down and overgrown with brambles and ferns and rotting undergrowth...definitely worth scaring yourself over!!! http://www.highgate-cemetery.org/

All in all, lots of fun! There is always so much to do in London, and we just scraped the top. Things topping the list for our next visit are St Paul's, the British Museum, gaining access to the Temple (the inner and outer Temple area is lovely and well worth a visit for the buildings and their history, but I still haven't managed to get inside the Temple itself), and the National Portrait Gallery.

Hmm...Maybe we should just move there for 6 months...imagine all the places you could see...!