Spring break to Devon and Somerset. - Thursday 14/3/24
We had arranged to spend the weekend in Tavistock in a cottage with a few family members, and decided to take the camper for its first trip of the year and
carry on for a few days after the family went home.
Arriving in Tavistock, we settled in and then went into town for a bit of a pub crawl. The next day we all went up onto Dartmoor to visit some of my favourite places,
and had lunch at The Forest Inn. Spending the evening in Tavistock again, the next day we went to Buckfastleigh, intending to catch the steam train to Totnes.
Unfortunately the railway was closed for 2 weeks for some essential works, so we drove on to Totnes instead. After exploring the town which seemed quite Bohemian,
we had a late lunch in The King William IV before heading back to Tavistock to attend a pub quiz in the evening.
On Monday the family left for home and we left for Bideford, intending to stay in the large carpark there which has some spaces at the back especially for campers. Unfortunately there was a large mobile fairground situated on the carpark, and though we could have stayed, decided against it. After taking a leisurely walk around the town, and having a coffiee at a cafe on the quay overlooking the river, we set off for Westward Ho! and stayed in the carpark there, conveniently situated near The Village Inn where we had dinner and a few pints.
In the morning we left for Barnstaple, spending a few hours window shopping. From there on to Baggy Point, near Croyd Bay and Woolacombe, where we stopped for a coffee and look at the view before carrying on to Ilfracoombe, then our stop for the night at The Old Station House Inn, Blackmoor Gate.
The next day we drove up to Lynton and Lynmouth, stopping at The Valley of Rocks for our morning coffee. The Valley of the Rocks is quite remote and I had heard it hosted a herd of feral goats. I went off for a walk to see if I could find any, but had gone quite some way, and never saw one at all. It was only on the way back, I spotted one high up on a cliff above me, only because it moved while I was looking that way. After I'd spotted that one, I then saw there were about twenty up there, but so well camoflaged they were practically invisible.
If you look closely you can see 3 goats in the right hand photo.
At Lynmouth we went up the cliff railway to Lynton.
The railway is a water powered funicular running totaly on gravity.
There is a storage reservoir at the top fed by the East Lyn river.
The two cars are linked by a continuous cable running around two pulleys at the top and bottom stations. Each car has a 700 gallon water tank between the wheels, which is filled each time it arrives at the top.
When the cars are both loaded with passangers, the driver releases water from
the bottom car whereby the top car becomes heavier and descends, pulling the bottom car up via the looped cable.
Upon arrival at the top station, its tank is refilled from the reservoir ready for the next descent.
After exploring Lynton and Lynmouth, we went to Minehead, and then on to Weston Super Mare and stayed the night at a Wetherspoon Hotel.
We broke our journey home the next day at a pub called The Flowing Spring, near Reading.
This was a really quaint little pub, which regularly featured bands in a marquee set in the garden. Inside the walls were literally covered in music related memorabilia.
