Our visit to sunny Salcombe

Shell doorway 

We decided to pay a visit to the South Hams town of Salcombe yesterday, our reasoning being that it would probably be less manic on the Friday of a Bank Holiday weekend than it would be on the Saturday. We began at the Park And Walk car park which, like at Sidmouth, is at the top of the hill. Salcombe's costs £3 for a day (or £3.03 if you don't have the right change and pay by mobile). It's then an pretty 15 minute walk into the waterside centre (allow 20 minutes to get back!). We both loved the pictured doorway, liberally adorned with seashells, which is just past the town museum.

Salcombe has a wealth of independent shops and businesses, many of which cater to more affluent residents and visitors. We noticed that a significant proportion of the houses hereabouts are holiday lets and I liked this advertising tricycle. I suspect it does not get ridden up the hill out of town at the end of each day!

We regretted not having pre-booked a tour at Salcombe's gin distillery, but did make a point of sampling Salcombe-made ice-cream and sorbet - both excellent. At the Tonic Gallery, we were both impressed by Greg Ramsden's paintings. He has an incredibly ability to capture light and to see the beauty in boatyard scenes. There are two wood sculptures currently at the gallery too, one which, resembling a wing, is particularly beautiful, but I forgot to note down the artists' names.

Back on the streets, we walked right out to the end of town passing a private quay and a row of old boatyard workshops several of which it was good to see are still utilised by boatbuilders. Others are now studios for other creative businesses including Will Bees Bespoke which makes gorgeous classic bags and purses. I was sorely tempted here!

Strolling back to the other end of the waterfront I was taken with the sign above the old public water fountain. Dire consequences are threatened to anyone caught using it to wash fish!

Salcombe has a lot of food sling establishments ranging from bakeries and delicatessens to luxurious seafront restaurants and it took us a while to make up our minds what we wanted to eat and where. Eventually we settled on The Fortescue Inn, a lovely olde worlde pub. I can highly recommend the fish finger sandwiches and Dave enjoyed his locally-smoked salmon sandwiches too.

Looking back over to Salcombe 

We toyed with the idea of taking an hour long estuary cruise, but the wide sandy beaches on the opposite shore looked too inviting so, instead of that, we crossed over on the pedestrian ferry (£1.60 per person each way). The beaches are privately owned, but open to the public and were popular with sunbathers on Friday. A few small children braved the water and I took my shoes off to wander in the surf, but wouldn't have wanted to swim. The water is still cold! We managed to get quite a way up to and through rocks before the water became too deep to continue. In the time it took us to decide whether we should continue, we nearly got ourselves cut off! The tide comes in quickly up the sand although a rock scramble was still an option.

I did like Salcombe as a place to visit. It is a very pretty little town with lots of charm and plenty to do for a day trip or long weekend. I am not sure I would be so keen to actually live there though. It was busy enough on Friday. I can imagine it being so crowded as to be uncomfortable through the summer months and getting in or out by road would be a nightmare!

Happy Valentine's Day from Cambrils!

I hope your beloved remembered?! Dave and I exchanged

Street art on Cambrils prom 

cutesy cards this morning and went on a lovely walk up a dry river bed rambla this afternoon, returning by way of cami tracks through agricultural land where we saw wide fields of curly kale and Brussels sprouts as well as several different huge cactus varieties. The weather nearly bested us though - glorious sunshine as we started, spitting rain for the last ten minutes, and we had just closed our car doors as the heavens opened. Our walk was just a couple of hours and I was shattered by the time we got back to the car.

Street art on Cambrils prom 

The reason? I have actually got A Cold! In Spain! That's not the idea of coming out here at all, but it is the first of our three winters that I have succumbed. I've felt rubbish for the past three days and improved today so hopefully it will all be over within a week and we can get back to our usual hilly walks. Yesterday was embarrassing - after just forty minutes gentle strolling along the seafront promenade, I was happy to turn for home! However, I enjoyed spotting examples of the 'Hola!' street art along the route. There are lots of differently styled men and women, all wearing monochrome striped tops and saying 'Hola!' to cyclists, joggers and walkers. It was such a lovely afternoon that Dave even went paddling in the sea. I didn't capture that moment, but here he is wistfully gazing further along the coastline to where we might explore another day.

Dave doesn't want to turn back yet! 

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The sun shines on Sidmouth Classic Car show

A gloriously sunny Saturday afternoon was probably not the best time to

try and visit seaside towns along the south Devon coast. We set out from our campsite intending to explore Budleigh Salterton, but found that this was the weekend of their Literary Festival and the town was literary-ly full. So we retraced our route back aways and headed for Sidmouth instead. We nearly gave up here too as the car parks in town and on the seafront were packed solid. Instead, I caught sight of a sign that I had misunderstood on the way into town. Weekend Walks doesn't refer to a rambling club. It's the way to the Park And Walk car parks for Sidmouth. This great initiative sees the three Council car park areas turned over to free public parking at weekends to relieve pressure on the already heaving town centre. Most of the pleasant short walk is through a green park towards the seafront.

Once in town, we were firstly surprised by the extent of the croquet

C-type Jaguar 

courts and the number of players enjoying a game. Where other towns go in for bowls, Sidmouth does croquet. I used to play as a child because my grandparents had a croquet set kept at the ready for our visits and, of course, a large enough flat lawn on which to set up the hoops. It's a fun game and I was reminded of the Oxford students we saw playing at Balliol College last summer.

We struck lucky as the Sidmouth Classic Car Show had taken over the cricket club for the day and dozens of vintage vehicles gleamed in the sunshine while live trad jazz played from an outdoor stage. Entry to the show was free with strategically placed donation buckets being shaken by volunteers. Most of the cars were British and European makes although Dave was pleased to get to see a couple of American models too. I forgot to write down the full names of the cars I liked best so I hope just giving the overall make and model doesn't annoy any experts and enthusiasts reading this post. You can always Comment further information at the end!

Austin Seven 

There were two C-type Jaguars, the silver one pictured and a green one as well. I learned that they were developed as racing cars for the Le Mans 24 hour race which a C-type did indeed win. Several automotive clubs turned up en masse an parked together including the Devon Austin Seven Club.

Wolseley 

I liked the colours of the older cars like the Wolseley pictured above and the two tone Riley RMA below. I hadn't known of the make before and there are more pictures of this beautiful car on the Grace's Guide website.

Riley RMA 

The final car that I just had to include, purely for its literary connections to one of my favourite book series, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , is this Ford Prefect!

Ford Prefect 

We visit the Northumberland coast - Newton and Bamburgh

Our plan for today had been another good walk, this time a thirteen miler.

Me paddling! 

However, upon waking to the same glorious sunshine as yesterday, we quickly changed our minds and decided to go to the seaside instead. A glance at the atlas showed us that our nearest potential villages were the pairing of High Newton and Low Newton, about a half hour drive away. We were glad of the air conditioning in the car! Both villages are small and cute with a narrow road heading towards the old Low Newton village centre which is now pedestrianised. An official car park close by is Pay and Display, but at just £1 for two hours. There was plenty of spaces at 11.30 and it was crammed when we left shortly after 1pm so the lesson is Get There Early.

From the village, St Oswald's Way leads left and right. We went right

Dunstanburgh castle ruins in the distance 

towards the ruins of the fourteenth century Dunstanburgh castle which we could just make out in the distance through haze. I was quite excited to be walking along a bit of St Oswald's Way as I had heard Clare Balding talk about her journey there in my audiobook version of Walking Home (my review here). I think I remember that she did the whole 97 miles. We just did about three quarters of an hour today! The path is, unsurprisingly, well worn and signposted and is also very pretty here. It is maintained by the National Trust. We couldn't always see the sea, but did pass by a dozen or so little wooden chalets up on the cliffs which we presumed were holiday homes. I loved this adorned bench:

Bench on St Oswald's Way 

After passing a golf course, we turned onto the beach proper which is a

huge expanse of golden sand. Being used to grey Sussex shingle, it was an incredible sight! We immediately took off our shoes and socks in order to paddle in little shallow rivulets and also in the sea. The rivulets and pools left by the tide were deliciously warm. The sea was so cold it was painful on my ankles after just a couple of minutes. There were a few people swimming though and several enthusiastic dogs bounding through the waves. I was particularly taken with the colours of the seaweed against the sand, especially in the shallow pools. An ice cream van had set up shop in the car park by the time we returned, but we decided to wait until the afternoon which was a mistake because the glorious blue skies had clouded over by then so we didn't fancy ice cream anymore.

Lunch was in Beadnell where we took advantage of a handy bench to

Drinking fountain in Bamburgh 

spread out our picnic. We didn't stay long though because it didn't have the picturesque appeal we were after. There is another large sandy beach there and it was busy for a weekday with walkers and families. Our final visit of the day was Bamburgh with its imposing and remarkably complete castle. We gazed up at it and took a turn around the town where I also saw the elegant drinking fountain pictured. We could have toured the castle, for a price (£10.50 each), but decided against as, although it was now overcast and spitting with rain, we preferred to be out in the fresh sea air. Posters around town were advertising croquet on the castle lawn. Apparently the local club is now into its third successful year! Bamburgh village is much smaller than its castle would suggest and is mostly geared up to tourists I think. There is a nice greengrocer where we bought strawberries for our dessert tonight. I managed to be dissuaded from piling into either of the olde worlde tea shoppes!

A fortuitous wrong road on the way home took us past Weetwood Bridge

Weetwood Bridge 

which we had to pull over a take a closer look at. A sign informed us that its existence was part of the Flodden 1513 Ecomuseum about which we knew absolutely nothing so I have been looking around their website this evening. Commemorating the famous battle between the Scots and the English in 1513, in which James IV and many soldiers were killed, the Ecomuseum is a collection of sites of interest connected with the battle. All are outdoors and without walls. It's a great project.

"Weetwood Bridge has been much altered over its existence but is thought to have first been constructed as a crossing point over the Till during the early 16th Century. The bridge lies on the direct route from Wooler Haugh where Surrey’s army camped on the 7th September 1513. It would have offered the army the best crossing point over the Till for its heavy ordnance and other equipment as it marched to join the Devil’s Causeway north of the river and onwards to Barmoor Castle on the 8th September."

Now I just need to find a good historical novel about this period and these people!