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| Topsham - along the Exe estuary |
25 years ago, I couldn't wait to leave Devon. At age 20, I was ready to conquer the world. Bright lights and big cities was my dream - London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York. Now having bounded through all these cityscapes with their crowds and pollution (plus a decade in Boston and now back in urban jungle Hong Kong), the green pastures of Devon temptingly beckon. In fact, they have never looked more enticing!
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| Exmouth Cliff Walk |
A simpler life - full of nature, lots of walks - beautiful scenery to heal the eyes, calm the heart and soothe the spirit. And fresh farm produce and clean(er) air to nourish the body. This summer, we managed to make it down to South-West Devon for a quick look-around. Walks along the Exe estuary, my 1st ever visit to Powderham castle and an incredible day in Dartmoor gave us a taste of Devon life.
Heading down from London Paddington to the West Country, we had arrived in Devon for less than an hour and we were already sitting down to a Devonshire cream tea! The clotted cream was as good as I remembered it. In all my worldwide travels, I have never had cream as good as Devonshire clotted cream. Although the Devon way is to spread the cream before the jam, I always do the reverse. This way, I can spread a thin even layer of jam and scoop on as much cream on top as the scone can hold. Never mind that this is the Cornish way - it's the way that works best for a cream lover.
A 5pm walk in Topsham yielded some beautiful late afternoon light. Similarly, an early evening dinner at 7pm on a mixed weather day provided an incredible Turner-esque scene. The dinner was nothing to write home about (Passage House Inn outside Newton Abbot) but the view was inspiration itself.
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| Evening light outside Passage House Inn |
We couldn't have asked for a better day to visit Dartmoor, notorious for its fickle weather and high winds. The plan was to do some gentle walks to build up an appetite for a blow-out afternoon tea at Bovey Castle. We started by visiting the classic Haytor, which I have never been before! The views were clear at the top and there were wild Dartmoor ponies in the distance. Brilliant blue sky, sheep and greenery, we filled our lungs with clean Dartmoor air.
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| Wild horses |
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| Hay Tor |
At Hounds Tor, we tried to walk to the nearby ruins of the medieval village. We lost the designated path and ended up walking through the bushes.
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| Hounds Tor |
Onto Bovey Castle through those scary narrow country lanes. Bovey Castle was much grander than I had expected with a golf course, spa and afternoon tea in the main lounge with a huge fireplace. There was even a pink tea room with a large parrot.
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| Exterior of Bovey Castle |
We got the chance to look at some of the rooms (if we ever wanted to stay). These were beautiful but expensive - at least 400 GBP a night. Even better were the 3-bedroom country cottages with kitchens on the grounds - perfect for larger groups.
If anything, I certainly think there was more to do in Devon now than in my teenage years. Perhaps I was not looking in the right places? My nose was in my copy of Vogue and my mind was filled with designer clothes - not a fit state for appreciating what was around me. More likely, it is is my age and I have finally slowed to the Devon pace of life...What was once boring now seems the very epitome of bliss. Devon - wait for me! I will be back.
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Waiting for afternoon tea |
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