Devon was lovely.
Granted, it rained non-stop. But that didn't put me off it one bit.
The roads are really narrow, and driving along them is terrifying.
But: there is no place like home, and Devon feels like Home. There are harbours everywhere, plenty of sea, rivers, and pretty colourful houses.
Oh, how I love rows of beautiful colourful houses - like beach huts, all lined up neatly. We saw some beach huts in Torquay which were amazing but it was raining an awful lot and my little camera doesn't like the wet that much.
We camped in a tent. It rained and poured, and the tent was just fine. We stayed at the Dartmouth Camp Site right next to a field of sheep who merrily baa-d the entire trip. I half expected a sheep to come and snuggle up with us out of the rain, but they kept to their side of the fence.
Dartmouth itself is a beautiful little town filled with plenty of coffee shops, restaurant and arty places to explore. There were lots of home stores (selling hand-made things) and lots of sweet shops. We bought super sour sherbet bombs (!) and Fizz Wizz popping candy, just for the fun of it.
It did rain for almost the entire trip so our planned hiking was postponed. That being said, the rain let up for us just enough to explore the coastline and to see have a little walk around many of the neighbouring towns and villages.
We caught a lot of boats and ferries! It was so much fun to go out on the river (and here you can see my in my incredibly red rain jacket - all prepared. At least you wouldn't lose me in a crowd) - that was definitely my favourite part.
This looks less like England and more like a tropical island paradise! I can imagine that it must be such a hot spot in the rain-free bits of summer.
This is a sight we're more used to seeing at home in South Africa, so it was quite a treat to see a bold splash of colour on an otherwise dreary day! Devon is full of colourful surprises, though, and just when you thought that the locals couldn't get any wetter, they held a craft market and antiques fair in the middle of the harbour.
Also, there was some creative gardening in celebration of the Queen's Jubilee!
... and what is a birthday without cake? We visited Anne of Cleves Tea Rooms in Totnes on my birthday proper (after a little browse - and buy - in Creative Crafts and Needlework just up the high street!) and sat down to a proper afternoon tea of Devonshire Scones with Cornish Clotted Cream.
On the way out we also walked past Roly's Fudge and bought some delicious clotted cream fudge which was incredible. I'd go back to Devon, even if it was just for the fudge.
I suppose the best thing about the break wasn't that we experienced a wonderful new corner of England, or that we ate out at Devonshire eateries and made new friends with some of the locals, or even that we walked about, went on boat trips and almost came home with a Boston Terrier. Oh no. The best thing about our trip was that we were away for a short break, together, and that we enjoyed the adventure of a rainy seaside holiday with lots of reading, plenty of chatting, and absolutely no computer.
Granted, it rained non-stop. But that didn't put me off it one bit.
The roads are really narrow, and driving along them is terrifying.
But: there is no place like home, and Devon feels like Home. There are harbours everywhere, plenty of sea, rivers, and pretty colourful houses.
Oh, how I love rows of beautiful colourful houses - like beach huts, all lined up neatly. We saw some beach huts in Torquay which were amazing but it was raining an awful lot and my little camera doesn't like the wet that much.
We camped in a tent. It rained and poured, and the tent was just fine. We stayed at the Dartmouth Camp Site right next to a field of sheep who merrily baa-d the entire trip. I half expected a sheep to come and snuggle up with us out of the rain, but they kept to their side of the fence.
Dartmouth itself is a beautiful little town filled with plenty of coffee shops, restaurant and arty places to explore. There were lots of home stores (selling hand-made things) and lots of sweet shops. We bought super sour sherbet bombs (!) and Fizz Wizz popping candy, just for the fun of it.
It did rain for almost the entire trip so our planned hiking was postponed. That being said, the rain let up for us just enough to explore the coastline and to see have a little walk around many of the neighbouring towns and villages.
We caught a lot of boats and ferries! It was so much fun to go out on the river (and here you can see my in my incredibly red rain jacket - all prepared. At least you wouldn't lose me in a crowd) - that was definitely my favourite part.
This looks less like England and more like a tropical island paradise! I can imagine that it must be such a hot spot in the rain-free bits of summer.
This is a sight we're more used to seeing at home in South Africa, so it was quite a treat to see a bold splash of colour on an otherwise dreary day! Devon is full of colourful surprises, though, and just when you thought that the locals couldn't get any wetter, they held a craft market and antiques fair in the middle of the harbour.
Also, there was some creative gardening in celebration of the Queen's Jubilee!
On the way out we also walked past Roly's Fudge and bought some delicious clotted cream fudge which was incredible. I'd go back to Devon, even if it was just for the fudge.
