Devon!

Anyone following me on here or Facebook will have seen that last weekend, Kellie and myself nipped across to Devon for a long weekend.  I didn't really mention it before, as I kept thinking "Oh, that's weeeeeks away" and then, all of a sudden, it was a few days till we left, and then it became "Shiiiiiit got to sort everything out!"

In my defence, I was ready, packed and sorted almost TWO DAYS before we were due.  Someone was still getting their shit together the night before we left.  Tut Tut...

Anyways, we set out early Thursday morning into London to get on a coach. Now, yes, that might seem a bit of a strange way to travel in this day and age, but the mathematics was simple. Return trip on the train: £50 each. Return trip in a car: £80 for petrol. Return trip in a coach: £12 each.

So, we left London at 1230 Thursday, and set off across the great expanse of England. Now, I'm not completely sure, but the furthest I've ever been in that "kinda sorta" direction is about 30 miles west of London. Yeah, big-time traveller me ;) This journey, however, was pretty much right across England. 350 miles or so.

Nice.

Pretty much the entire journey was spent with me pointing out scenery to Kellie. Because I could. Big hills, big views, vistas, all the rest of it. OK OK, I admit, I love looking, and like to share what I see. Plus, it was all new to me. Every time I went past a road sign saying "Place X - Y miles" I visualised where I was on the map. Exciting stuff...

The journey there was pretty much a straight shot, no real traffic or anything to speak of, and once there, we were met by Kellies brother, James, and his wife, Kat. From there, they drove us back to their little flat in the tiny sleepy village of Ashburton. Wow, talk about postcard-worthy. My friend Stuart lives in the little town of Evesham, and I thought THAT was sleepy when I was there, but Ashburton is something else.

The plan for the weekend was pretty much "Do f$ck all" and I think we almost managed to achieve that. James & Kat, however, are moving this week (Oooh today actually) from their one bedroom flat, into a very large, very old cottage up on the moors. I'm talking granite walls that are two to three feet thick, with a hearth/fireplace I can STAND in dammit! The downside to someone like me... EVERY single doorframe in the place smacked me in the head... Being that they are less than six feet high. Even the ceilings in some part caused me concussion.

Their new place is outside of Ashburton, in a "village" called Poundsgate, on Dartmoor itself. And I use the term village very loosely. Let's see... Six cottages, a pub, a phone box, a bus stop that has one bus a WEEK... erm.... Yep, that's the entire village.

The pub, however. Wow. The Tavistock Inn. For all you American sorts, picture the stereotypical English Country Pub, and you're not far off. Roaring fireplaces, pub-based cats, ales on tap or in casks. And everyone that walks in is known by everyone else already there.

So, between helping decorate the front room of the cottage, and hanging in the pub, we managed a bit of sightseeing too. The moors are amazing, and I was fascinated by the fact that little streams appear from nowhere, run down beside the road, cross the road, then disappear off into the wilderness. The River Dart was beautiful and borderline White Water rapids - where people canoe and occasionally fricking DIE.

Even the couple of days that were a bit grey and miserable didn't bother me - and I hate grey and miserable - and it just seemed normal to me.

The journey back home was a little longer, bit more traffic, and tinged with sadness as Kellie misses her brother... We didn't get back to Kellies till half ten that night, and were pretty much shattered.

So, if you ever decide to head to somewhere pretty, head to Devon. A big thank you for James & Kat for letting us sleep in their living room and for driving us around and showing us the sights. It was an excellent weekend!

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3 Responses to “Devon!”

Posh Totty said...

Sounds lovely, but am curious as to what kind of car you may have traveled in for £80 petrol money? .... My car could of done for half that.

Stuart Wilson said...

Sounds like you had a lovely time!

BTW... We're coming to visit Basildonia next week. Would be great to catch up with you, and finally meet Kellie!!!

Jodie said...

I would just like to say, i bet even though Kelly wasn't packed in time, she wasn't phoning someone to double, and triple check they'd done everything/packed everything/sent everything for the kids :p
You may have been packed, but you were far from ready!