Christmastime 2010

What is Meriel laughing at?


Hello again! Thought you might enjoy some Christmastime snaps :-)
The weather has stayed below freezing for days on end... we have the bottles of coke and lemonade etc stood outside the back door... when we come to pour them they are wonderful iced drinks!

We had some lovely news on the 23rd when Louise and Chris had a baby boy, Harry. That makes Meriel a Great Grandma!

Tim did his usual expert job under the tree and we all enjoyed some lovely presents - what was Fav GG smiling at?

In the afternoon we were able to chat to Phil on Skype and he opened his parcel...
I hasten to add... it wasn't just toothpaste! Skype has been great and it was lovely to catch up with him. He had been out with his mates and had had a really good time.

Bridgie has been doing lots of uni work but we managed to force her to join in some card games and watch some tv :-) Sevens and Hearts seem to be the favourite card games... and Meriel is a dab hand at both!

You can see how our house is still frosted up,

but it's lovely and warm inside.

We have burnt all our stored logs but it has been worth it. Keith has been on several walks out up on to the ridge or around to Stevington and as long as you are wrapped up warm and can keep your feet, it is glorious. He's also been totting for logs in the coppice across the road and has amassed a good haul - they need some sawing and drying out but should see us through the New Year.

On one of my walks out in the snow I couldn't resist doing this... on the golf course... in the middle of the second fairway! Needless to say... there was noone about!

I'm not sure what the Ladies of Pavenham would have made of me, but I loved it :-)

Now, what was it that Meriel was smiling at?
And finally a farewell from Phil..

Happy New Year

Christmas chill!

Happy Christmas!

I thought you might enjoy some recent pics...

we have had very cold weather with some wonderful frosts...

and then, yesterday afternoon, about 4 inches of snow fell in about an hour! Tim, Bridgie and Keith went out in the dark to go sledging and are out in it now!

Fav GG is decorating our tree... we've had real fires to cheer our room... it's been lovely.

Revelstoke Drive Sun 10th Oct

A rest day today :-)

After the usual lovely breakfast, we set off for a gentle stroll around Revelstoke Drive...

..the bit that we had missed the other day. It was lovely. We walked in a clockwise direction around the headland; passed by the ferryman's cottage with its restored sign...

an expensive ass...

and ended up back in Noss Mayo, at The Ship.

When the tide drops it is possible to walk across the river... we crossed one causeway to the other side of Noss but it was very slippy.

Looking across to Newton Ferrers

It is possible to walk across to Newton Ferrers but we decided a broken wrist or pulled muscle from a careless slip was not worth it... maybe another time! We returned to Jane and Roger who were hosting a bbq for all the B&B proprieters in the Noss, and they asked us to join them. J and R have a great knack for making you feel part of their family, there home is a real haven, we spent the remainder of the day in their restful company.

Hope Cove to Salcombe Oct 9th

Saturday morning dawned damp, grey and windy. After our usual sturdy breakfast we paid our bill at the main hotel and set off. There was a huge sea running with massive waves crashing on the beach and surfers already out there. Waves crashed over the little breakwater too.

This is a fascinating place and one I'd like to revisit although I think it would be a nightmare in the summer.

There are some quaint cottages at Outer Hope and are more gorgeous thatched cottages round the square in Inner Hope. From here we wound our way up on to Bolt Tail. It was very blustery and distant views were not an option but I loved it!

Looking back at Outer Hope

Like our day on the Lizard, it was atmospheric to say the least. The wind was so strong but I managed to keep the camera still for this wonderful specimen!

Parasol Mushroom (I hope that's right Big A?!)

We used the walking poles on this walk to give us some stability in the wind... they definitely helped!

Soar Mill was an amazing spot, this gatepost was once piece of driftwood washed up on the shore, it

has the inscription "Certified to accommodate 4 seaman" incised in a flowing script.

The scenery became even more dramatic, this is a stunning area, and with a big swell running and the stormy weather it was brilliant!

The path took us around Bolt Head to Starehole Bay. The path could be seen clinging to the side of the cliff around Sharp Tor. This path is the Courtenay Walk... you guessed it, cut into the rock by a member of the Courtenay family to give access to Bolt Head.

Amazing! From here it was a gentle stroll into Salcombe

where we caught the bus to Kingsbridge where found our usual lovely cafe! The bus took us on again to Yealmpton, and rather than wait for ages for another bus we decided to walk back to Noss Mayo from there. We found a beautiful path next to a flowing river,

walked deserted narrow lanes,

crossed someone's garden...

(these were apparently a birthday present!) and then along the 'main' road back to Noss where we stopped at the pub for a hot chocolate. It was lovely ot be back with Roger and Jane, we realy did feel part of their family, we had a warm welcome 'home', I had been so looking forward to returning there.

Bigbury to Hope Cove Oct 8th

After a good sleep and a nice breakfast Val dropped us off at the start of todays path.

This took us across fields and around to the bridging point of the River Aune, very like walking along by Malpas and St Clements

but to get there we had to walk along a tidal road...

the only one in England (?) ...very exciting! We caught it just as the tide was going down and and only had an inch to walk through - it reminded us of the road near Ruan.

Val had told us that cars were regularly swept away here... an especially tricky drive at night!

The path then took us along old roads and across more fields to the estuary mouth at Bantham with surfers riding the waves and lovely views across to Bigbury. We stopped here for lunch ... fruit cake and cheddar... yum!

An Addendum for yesterday...

when the tide is in, you need the sea tractor to get across to Burgh Island from Bigbury!

We found today's walk a pleasant one but not quite as inspiring as many of our other days have been. We did walk alongside a golf course which I appreciated, and these rocks,

Thurlestone Rocks, were interesting, but our end point Hope Cove was delightful. We enjoyed a lovely cream tea, later had a warming soup in front of a roaring fire in the local pub, and watched surfers ride huge waves and then a lovely sun set.

Not sure if this has worked but a little video of the surfers and sea lovers amongst you! These waves were huge!

Wading the Erme! Oct 7th

...or Noss Mayo to Bigbury!
Over breakfast, Tim and I decided that we wished we could stay longer with Jane and Roger.

We had already booked the next couple of nights, but decided we would come back on the Saturday and stay the Sunday as well. What a lovely decision that was.

We set off happily at about 9am, deciding to head straight up the coast on Revelstoke Drive,

Revelstoke Drive

leaving the headland behind us to do on the day we returned.

The headland, Gara Point, for Sunday - you can see the Drive winding its way along.

The book told us that this carriage drive was built in the C19 to encircle Lord Revelstoke's property and impress his guests! It certainly impressed us and made for lovely speedy walking at the start of the day.

We took a little detour to see the church of St Peter the Poor Fisherman. A wonderful little church, Tim knows the details - I can never remember - but the link will tell you more :-)

Church of St Peter the Poor Fisherman.

The views along the coast were lovely...

I even found some trees for Jac :-)

St Anchorite's Rock came into view which was very impressive from a distance, less so close up!

We had been careful about choosing the dates for this part of the walk and Tim has to take all the credit for it for forward planning! We had to reach the River Erme at low tide because the only way to cross it is to get your feet wet! There is an alternative - a 9 mile walk inland! So, Tim had carefully timed it for us to arrive at low tide, and also at the time of some of the lowest tides of the year!

It was a big challenge in our minds as we didn't know how deep it would be and because of all the warnings about taking care.

As it turned out it was rather fun! We took our boots and socks off and rolled up our trousers, tucking in or tieing everything to the backpacks.

We set off with a little trepidation across the sand between the two slipways... that is as detailed as the directions go! Our feet got used to the cool sand so by the time we reached the river water our feet were acclimatised. We decided the I should lead the way through the river as I had some walking poles (which we then shared) and they were so helpful. The river bed was pebbled and the water flowing fairly fast so you had to concentrate fully, but it wasn't as cold as we expected and it didn't come above our knees.

Once we were across, we took some time to dry off and re-boot.

We did get cold doing this and were glad to stop soon after in a sunny spot for lunch with a lovely view of the estuary we had just crossed and a feeling of success/relief... the unknown was over. This estuary is supposedly on of the most unspoilt in the country - it certainly is beautiful.

From here on the walk was strenuous with several steep ascents and descents. This beach I loved - how amazing the rock formations were - they look like a painting and not real!

Sorry...I can't choose the best...

here's another...

just stunning! More steep paths took us along to Bigbury where Burgh Island sits.

Here we called Val who came to collect us and take us to her house where we were staying. Long baths awaited and a lovely meal out at the local pub!