Saturday 22 September 2012

Part IV

We ended up being at Dartmoor National Park on the same day as the Widecombe-in-the-Moor Fair. Our original plan was to head there for the morning, go to the fair then head off for a walk & picnic lunch. The roads to Widecombe were closed off & we didn't have enough time to park & wait for the shuttle so we decided to go to another Dartmoor town instead.

After some harrowing driving we finally made it to the village of Chagford. It was lovely, we had ice cream & bought a chocolate cake from an honesty box (it was possibly the best chocolate cake I have ever eaten, although I don't think I'd make the crazy drive into Chagford again for it!) as well as having coffee at a cute little cafe that doubled as a whole-food store.  

Dartmoor was beautiful. It would take a lot of dedicated time to get around and see everything but we managed to get to a village & then head off to climb the hill (it felt more like a mountain) to Haytor & have a very cold and windy picnic lunch. 

Dartmoor (It's a bit creepy really...)
Church cemetery in Chagford

We spent the next few days driving around Devon and even made it down to Plymouth. It was a miserable rainy day but fun all the same! We had afternoon tea at the River Cottage Plymouth Canteen & Deli where I promptly fell asleep after all the driving I'd been doing. 

South Devon Chili Farm
Plymouth Sound (with bonus rainbow to make up for the bad weather)
Devon Cream Tea is one of my favourite things but if I see clotted cream any time soon It will be too much for me to handle. We had a few too many of these indulgent afternoon teas...


I made Ben eat the rest of my scones this time. I just couldn't continue. I think they gave us a whole tub of clotted cream... 
All in all we had a really lovely time away - Ben went to a Cheese-making course at River Cottage on the Thursday while I spent my time at a yarn shop in Bridport before taking myself to Lyme Regis for a wander & lunch by the seaside.

On the way home we drove past Stonehenge but didn't stop. It was a fleeting visit.

It's back to city living for now & for once I am glad to be back on public transport!

Xx