Ever since Streetcar came into our lives (see our Windsor post), we've been waiting for the opportunity to visit some of the more remote areas of England that are only practically accessible by car. Despite the blessings of useful rail travel, our scope for taking weekend trips was limited mostly to London and a handful of other cities, only. So, with summer growing closer and closer, we decided to do what any self-respecting Englishmen would do: head to the West Country!
In general, the 'West Country' includes the counties of Gloucestershire, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, and others. Devon and Cornwall, in particular, are known as the 'holiday' counties because of their natural splendor, rural attractions, and sandy beaches. Knowing that we would only have a limited amount of time, we narrowed the scope of our visit to North Devon on the recommendation of one of Will's co-workers (whose family is familiar with the area). We chose this area because of its proximity to the coast (so we could see some sea) and to Exmoor National Park; a heavily forested wilderness.
Although neither one of us has ever been an avid hiker, we decided to change the game a little this time and experience the scenery. As you will see in our picture gallery, we were not disappointed. Coming from a place as flat as Indiana, Devon was exceedingly breathtaking. Impossibly steep gorges breaking down hundreds of feet into the sea; windswept hillocks teeming with sheep and cows; tractors, tractors, and more tractors. As Will's colleague warned us, time slows down in Devon. It did; we loved it. We started off at the village of Combe Martin with it's craggy bay and high hills. Following that, we drove to Braunton where we had fish and chips at Squire's (Award Winning!) fish restaurant. Having had a five hour drive from Cambridge, we had a picnic dinner in our room and called it an early night. The following day we headed East into Exmoor and the twin towns of Lynton and Lynmouth. From Lynton we walked along the precipitous South West Coast Path to the Valley of Rocks where we took our pictures with some mountain goats. We then came back towards town and walked down the (very) steep cliff into Lynmouth. From Lynmouth, we walked up the river into the National Trust's Exmoor property, Watersmeet. Like something out of a Stanley Kubrick movie, Watersmeet is a little house cum tea room in the middle of the woods. Only in England. After all that walking, we fortified ourselves with some delicious homemade pasties in Lynmouth, nearly killed ourselves walking back up into Lynton (the Victorians were smarter than us. They built a railway). From there we drove across the county to Hartland Point Lighthouse where we saw yet more, unique landscape.
This trip was also the first major test of Will's new UK license, as, on occasion, we had to turn down a single track or two. Nevertheless, everyone is fairly courteous about it and you just have to not be in much of a rush to get anywhere. In many ways, this trip was a tune-up for our big, Second Anniversary trip to Scotland; where, undoubtedly, we will be doing lots of single-track, rural driving. Of a brief technical note, we were driving a nearly brand-new VW Polo BlueMotion. In our 780 miles worth of driving we used 12.5 gallons of gas (approx.). You do the math. Note as well: Devon is NOT flat highway driving.
Oh and the food! We could go on and on. On our last night, we drove to Winsford, Somerset; a small village down, of course, a single track (we were stopped by shepherds so their flocks could cross! AND we forded a stream!). There, we had dinner in the Royal Oak Inn, a lovely old pub now gastropub. A gastropub is a place with a pub atmosphere (old furniture, wood paneling, beer) but gourmet food (wine, appetizers that aren't potato chips, no mushy peas). Will had a delicious meal of Winsford Lamb (yes, some relatives of the very same sheep we saw, perhaps!) and Jackie had an excellent vegetable dish.
We stayed at a lovely B&B called Bowden Farm. Our hosts were friendly and very hospitable. We're still getting used to the idea of a bed and breakfast; you're not quite a houseguest, but you're not quite staying in a hotel. It's kind of like Keanu Reeves; is he acting or isn't he? It's certainly more enjoyable. We're staying in B&B's throughout our time in Scotland so we should professional at it by the end of July.
Devon was an interesting trip. It was our first trip out into a place of natural beauty since moving to Europe, really. While we did more or less what we could in the area we stayed, we definitely felt like we could have stayed longer or, better yet, that we could go back.
