FAMILY - Dartmoor

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One place we wanted to visit and explore during our holiday was Dartmoor. The moor itself, the famous prison, and the villages in the valleys on the east side of the moor were all places we wanted to see.

After breakfast we headed north east to Dartmoor and drove through some spectacular scenery to Princetown right in the heart of the moors.  This is where the forbidding and infamous Dartmoor Prison stands bleakly on a remote hillside.


Then we turned north, stopping for coffee at Widecombe-in-the-Moor. We found an unusual place for a coffee break here; it included the village library, clearly acted as a community centre, and had logs stacked around the walls. The tables and chairs were made of cane wickerwork and heavily painted.

After our break we returned to the A38 at Bovey Tracey. The mix of cloud and some sunny patches send bright areas scudding across the dark, moorland hills - very beautiful to watch.

On the way back to Landrake we stopped for an hour or two at Buckfast Abbey to explore the gardens, the abbey itself (rebuilt on mediaeval foundations from 1907 and completed in 1930), and enjoy another coffee in the little restaurant. It seems extraordinary that this mediaeval-looking building is still less than a hundred years old!

Stopping at a supermarket on the way, we bought what we needed for a sausage and mash evening meal (using potatoes dug from our garden late on Friday). Paul and Vanessa joined us for the meal and an evening of TV and chat.

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FAMILY - Two journeys

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On Saturday 3rd September we set off for a week's holiday in Cornwall. First we travelled to Donna's parents near Poole on the south coast, then we continued to Plymouth and our holiday home in Landrake.

The first part was not a good journey. As we headed south the sat-nav diverted us through Winchester because of heavy traffic congestion on the motorway; the journey to Donna's parents at Broadstone normally takes a little over three hours, but today it took four.

Isobel had made bacon rolls for lunch and it was good to stop travelling, stretch our legs, have a cuppa and eat those rolls. Refreshed, we loaded their luggage in the boot and set off on the second leg of the journey to Cornwall, picking up the M5 and A38 from Exeter. For me these are old and familiar roads from years ago when I lived in the Bristol area. We passed the Buckfastleigh turning and headed through the city of Plymouth. The wooded sides of the A38 hide the city from view but we were soon at the bridge over the river Tamar and into Cornwall.

We quickly found Landrake and our cottage, there was a slightly musty smell in the old building (but it vanished once we opened a window, put the kettle on and began unpacking).

After settling into our little cottage Paul and Vanessa joined us and cooked us an evening meal of spaghetti bolognese. What a treat!

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