When H asked what I might like to do for my birthday at the end of July, I jokingly said I wanted to go away somewhere, not imagining for a moment it would be possible. After all the work of the St Swithun's festival and playing in a recital, H was fairly worn out so I think a few days away appealed to him too. So, the Monday before my birthday we took ourselves off to Devon. We chose Torquay as a base almost as a joke - we rather like old-fashioned hotels and the Grand had that feel about it. We had a room with a sea view and rather enjoyed the 1950's air to the place. The staff were excellent and they served a really good breakfast so it was a good choice.
We have been to Devon on many occasions - including our honeymoon many moons ago, so we intended to visit some familiar places, give our National trust cards a good work out and eat nice things.
For once the weather was on our side. Having stopped at Tyntesfield (pictures below) on the way down, and had a good cream tea on arrival, we took ouselves off to Brixham where a brass band was playing on the quay and just enjoyed the evening sunset.
Tyntesfield (just outside Bristol)
Our first stop the next morning was Darmouth - in glorious weather it really was like the Riviera but sadly since I've been back my phone has died so my photos aren't currently retrievable - all the photos in this post have been taken either from the National Trust sites or Tourist information, hence the disparity in size.
After a trip over and back on the river ferry, we went to Coleton Fishacre. A lovely NT house which was built by the D'Oyley Cartes of Savoy Hotel and Opera fame. If you get the chance, please go. The house is lovely, but the gardens are spectacular and go right down to the cliff edge. H was also allowed to play the piano in the main salon and thoroughly enjoyed himself - drawing quite an appreciative audience.
After lunch we went on to another small NT property, then to Totnes and Buckfast Abbey - a place we both know very well and have visited many times. The first time was in the early seventies when there was just the Abbey and a wooden shed selling rosaries etc. It has now expanded to a real tourist attraction and, sadly, lost some of its early charm. In those days a monk would greet visitors to the Abbey and others would be working in the grounds and the shop, but now all is done by guides and other employees. However, it still remains a geat achievement for the small band who founded and built the Abbey church itself and the community continues to thrive. I once ran a conference based there, and we used to take student on the Medieval English course there on day trips when I worked at the University in Cardiff, so it was like seeing an old friend. Later in the day when most of the visitors have gone it is still a very peaceful place. H would have like to stay for Vespers but we'd booked a table for a birthday dinner so we postponed that to the next day. Dinner was excellent.
More to follow..
