The Beauty of the Countryside

Historic houses, gardens and churches are all very interesting, but it's the beauty of the landscape that makes the southwest of England so unforgettable. Even as we travel down the motorways we're surrounded by rolling hills where the spring crops are growing in the fields and sheep graze. And everywhere you look are the hedgerows, lines of trees and shrubs that separate fields and line the roads; they're also home to hedgehogs which, sadly, are in decline.

We made two trips to explore some of this remarkable scenery. The first was to Prawle Point, a wild landscape of blustery cliffs, raised rocky beaches and secluded sandy coves. Words are inadequate, so let me share some photos.

At the top of the point there's a visitor's center and the Prawle Point National Coastwatch Station. Originally a Coastguard station, it is now manned by volunteers.

The visitor center is loaded with information about the coast; I was particularly impressed by this image - thank goodness it wasn't this windy on the day we visited.

Signs illustrated the many types of ships which ply the waters off the south coast, wildlife on the cliffs and Prawle Point's place in history.

We went next door to the Coastwatch station

and met the volunteer on duty.

I'm always amazed by the dedication of volunteers who man places like the Coastwatch Station and RNLI sea rescue. They receive no government funding and rely solely on the generosity of visitors and the public. He was a charming fellow and told us all about the work they do at the station and shared stories about his experiences.

Leaving the station we walked a bit more of the Coastal Path.

It was a lovely walk, and it made me want to walk more of the Coastal Path. There are companies that will arrange a long hike for you and take your luggage from inn to inn so you don't have to carry a huge pack. There's an idea for the future.

We hiked back to the parking lot and on the way home stopped at the Pig's Nose Inn.

It's a great traditional country pub.

You can read more about it on Bruce's pubwalk blog.

The next day we headed out in the opposite direction to the hills and tors of Dartmoor. For American readers, a Google search nets this definition: a tor is a large, free-standing rock formation, often found on hillsides or hilltops, particularly in the southwest of England. It can also refer to the hills themselves in that region, especially on Dartmoor. The drive to get to Haytor, our destination, was along twisty-turny roads with gorgeous scenery (and livestock) all around us.

I love the way the trees grow together over the roads to form a sort of green tunnel.

It's a bit difficult to get great photos when you're barreling down the road, and from time to time you have to slow to a crawl because the animals have the right of way.

This foal was so tiny!

At last we arrived at Haytor.

It's a long, slow walk to the top, but the views along the way are wonderful.

Slowly but surely I made my way up to the top of the smaller rock.

I started up the taller rock but started sliding so, being a sensible old lady, I decided to claim a partial victory and stop halfway.

Haytor isn't the only tor in the moors as you can see on the map below.

Someday, I would love to hike on the moors and explore more of them, but there was a pub down the road calling Bruce's name.

There was more pretty scenery along the way.

We found the Dartmoor Inn in Merrivale.

This must be the place to go because parking was nearly impossible. We went inside and the smell of grilled meat was intense. I forgot to mention that this trip was on a Sunday and the English have a longstanding tradition of having "Sunday lunch." This usually means roast beef or lamb served with mashed potatoes, vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy. At the Dartmoor Inn, the order of the day was steak. They have a giant fireplace where they grill chateaubriand, tomahawk steaks and t-bones. Each steak serves two people.

I went outside and sat at a picnic table while Bruce took pictures of the pub. A gentleman came over and asked if he could join me. We started talking and I found out that he is from Switzerland, he's 72, his wife died 5 years ago, and now he is spending his life traveling the world by himself. He has a mobile home which he tows along and to get around he has an e-bike. He must be incredibly fit if he can handle these hills on an e-bike! We discussed the issues of the day and the state of the world; we didn't solve the world's problems, but enjoyed our chat anyway.

Our break over, Bruce got behind the wheel and we drove back to our digs, enjoying some more scenery along the way.