Two Dogs and an Awning

Category: Devon

  • Withypool to Tarr Steps

    Withypool to Tarr Steps

    Many years ago when I worked in Taunton and stayed there during the week I regularly went out walking in the evenings after work. My favourite location was the Quantock Hills and occasionally I would venture onto the Brendon Hills. Very rarely, during the long summer evenings, I would manage to get onto Exmoor. One walk that I never managed has remained on my tick list for a long time, the circular route between Withypool and Tarr Steps.

    As I take the dogs for an early morning stroll there are signs that this could be a fine day. There is a bit of spring mist in the valleys, but on the hilltops the sky is clear and the sun has a pleasant warmth to it. It is back to the Coachman for a mornings work before we can get out and really enjoy this lovely spring day.
    (more…)

  • The Punchbowl

    The Punchbowl

    Following a wet and windy weekend at home we head off on our first trip of 2016. Part of the fun of caravanning is the planning and Lynnie and I sat down with a map back in November and identified parts of the country that we had yet to visit. So during 2016 we will make our first caravan trip to Scotland and also parts of England we have not previously visited. Of course, along the way we will revisit a few of our favourite sites.

    Our first site of the year is located in Devon between Tiverton and South Molton and as we head west we go through an almighty downpour. But by the time we arrive at Plymptons Farm, just outside of the hamlet of Roachill, it has eased to a steady drizzle.
    (more…)

  • Alpacas

    Alpacas

    Today is a moving day so just a short walk in the morning, then pack up for the off. We have been staying on Collacott Farm CL just outside of Fremington. We have been treated to a week of great views over the River Taw. May who runs the CL has lived on the farm all of her life and during one of our chats she told me that she has never tired of the view and sees little point in going on holiday when she lives in such a place.

    (more…)

  • Ice Cream! She Screams

    Ice Cream! She Screams

    After yesterdays walking marathon Lynnie has requested a short, easy walk with a Hocking’s ice cream included. So far we have walked a fair bit of the Tarka Trail, without making a dent in the whole 180 miles. As the name suggests the trail follows the route taken by Tarka the Otter in Henry Williamson’s 1927 book of the same name. The novel is highly acclaimed but I have not read it, Lynnie has and tells me to add it to my reading list.

    (more…)

  • The Long Walk

    The Long Walk

    When I was a teenager someone lent me the book ‘The Long Walk’ written by Slawomir Rawicz. It tells the tale of a Polish Army lieutenant imprisoned by the Russians in a Siberian Gulag following the German-Soviet invasion of Poland. The book claims to be a true account of his escape with five others, although subsequently this has been challenged. They journeyed south for 6,500 miles including across the Gobi Dessert, Tibet and the Himalayas finally reaching British India in the winter of 1942. When I first read the book it was said to be a true account, but when I re-read it about six years ago doubts had been cast on its authenticity. Either way it is a cracking read and one of my favourite books.

    (more…)

  • Westward Ho!

    Westward Ho!

    As a teenager Lynnie’s mum, Miki, moved from South Wales to Bideford. She met Lyn’s father Tim here and always talked fondly of her time in the area particularly of Westwood Ho!, this is the first time we have visited the area since Miki passed away last December.

    (more…)

  • Greenhouse Envy

    Greenhouse Envy

    One of the things we have noticed since travelling is that we forget which day of the week it is. We decide that today must be Friday. I have also stopped wearing a watch, time does not matter anymore, the dogs tell us when to get up.

    (more…)

  • Powers Off

    Powers Off

    A rainy morning in North Devon so I take the boys for their early morning walk, forty minutes walking the lanes as there are no footpaths close by, then it’s a leisurely breakfast and catch up on a few jobs.

    (more…)

  • Surfs Up

    Surfs Up

    There are a few minor challenges to our new lifestyle, obviously the space we occupy is significantly smaller than being at home. Whilst the facilities in the van are good there is a limit to the amount of hot water that you can get in the shower, so there is no hanging about and we both miss the luxury of just being able to stand in the shower knowing that it will not suddenly run cold.

    (more…)
  • Fremington Quay

    Fremington Quay

    After a day back in Salisbury on Monday for a couple of appointments we awake on Tuesday morning to rain. We know that we are going to get rain on our travels, but the least welcome time to hear the pitter-patter on the Unicorn roof is when we wake on a moving day.

    (more…)