Peters Marland

Tuesday 27 August

We woke to a heavy mist which slowly lifted as the family came down one at a time to join Elaine and I around the table. However, it did not really lift until late evening. Merlin was entertained before breakfast by Elaine and Helen doing their yoga stretches.

 

After breakfast and sorting we headed into Great Torrington for the day. There was coffee with Helen before grocery shopping and a stroll around the square. By the time we returned to Helen's Gallery she needed help with some stick on signage so we helped with that until Cynthia arrived to join us for lunch at the Plough.

 

As Helen had a meeting in the afternoon Cynthia took us to her home to show us her beautiful patchwork. She also backs all her quilts with polar fleece as we do! As I had brought along some of my work to show her we had a bit of a show and tell together. Cynthia then took us up the road to a neighbour Maggie who does beautiful embroidery and painted fabric work. Both Cynthia and Maggie live in homes on a steep hill with beautiful views of patchwork countryside on the opposite hill. Two mediaeval long one-acre fields have been left intact as historical reminders of the fields designated as leper fields for the local leper colony. Between these fields and the ladies homes is the river Torridge which was the setting for the book “Tarka the Otter”.

 

While we were out Mike had taken Merlin to the vet and will have to take him back tomorrow for surgery on a mouth abscess. Helen arrived to collect us by about 5pm so we headed home with a short stop to help a lady we had seen fall as we drove past.

 

After another fabulous dinner Mike went off to a Parish Council meeting (local government is at the Parish level) and we did our normal chat, catch up on diaries and blog and a load of washing. Owen arrived home during this process and joined in with us for a while.

 

Wednesday 28 August

This morning, after hanging out washing and packing a picnic Helen, Elaine and I headed out while Mike's job was to take Merlin to have two teeth removed.

 

We headed towards Okehampton, Exeter then Buckfastleigh and Totnes with morning tea (a cream tea) at the Cider Press at Dartington.

 

We then found our destination which was Berry Pomeroy Castle. This castle was built in the 1400s by the Pomeroy family but then bought by Edward Seymour in the 1560s. He was brother of Jane Seymour and also of Elizabeth Seymour who is in my family line. The castle was quite huge and would have been magnificent in its heyday. After a slow walk around we enjoyed our picnic on the lawn outside the castle before heading towards home again.
 

 

Because Totnes was so crowded we decided to wind through country lanes then up over Dartmoor. As navigator I found it quite easy as I had my map and the signs were all correct. The highlights of the trip back were Hound Tor, trying to sing the Widecombe Fair song, and the lovely village of Chagford. All along the route there were many thatched cottages in various conditions.

 

We took a different route back on the more main roads as well, going via North Tawton and Highhampton and Sheepwash coming in along the road Elaine and I had walked yesterday through Woolaton. Home to get the washing in and settle in for the evening. It had started off a very misty day but by the time we came home was sunny and clear.

 

Thursday 29 August

Today is the halfway point of our holiday. We woke to another misty morning looking a bit ominous but after breakfast headed east to Burton Bradstock where we arrived at Hive Beach Cafe in time for lunch. Wow, what a lunch! Helen had a whole crab, Elaine and I shared a large Brill (flat-fish) and Mike had Hake and chips. The food was great.

 

We then headed west a bit to Lyme Regis to seek out the fossils on the beach. Helen decided to Park and Ride which made the trip down into the village much easier. We walked along the promenade then onto the course flint pebble beach and beyond to the narrow rocky area under the cliffs. Here there were rocks with lots of ammonite fossils both small and large. We spent some time searching through the mixture of rock types to find what we could.
 

This one was about 1 foot in diameter.

 

We enjoyed an ice cream on the way back along the promenade. It was about 4:30pm when we got back to the car and so headed for home (about a 2 hour drive).

 

Once home none of us really wanted much for dinner so we had a lovely platter of cheeses, tomatoes, crispbreads and bits. Then it was time for packing ready to leave in the morning for our next leg. We spent the evening typing up diary whilst listening to bell-ringing practice at the Peters Marland church just up the hill.