North Devon Yearbook

Instow Beach

2012-02-05T23:00:00.003Z

Instow in winter is place of driftwood and dunes, but arrive at any given daylight hour on a weekend and you are bound to encounter dog-walkers also. My dog loves it and whined this morning when I didn't open the car door quick enough.

If you are lucky you might chance upon a parking space along the narrow sea front where, once all spaces have gone, cars can only travel in single file. I usually opt to park in the dunes-end car park, a small patch of potholes and sand next to, strangely enough, the dunes. This means me and the aforementioned dog get to start our walk along the paths that criss-cross through the dunes and the dog gets to run round sniffing like a mad-thing.

It can be windy on the beach in winter, but the sand is usually wet and doesn't blow around too much. The beach is at the edge of the river Torridge, not the sea, so opposite are views of picturesque village Appledore. And if you don't have a dog to worry about you can always pop into The Boathouse for a quick drink or a leisurely meal - ideal after all that exercise.

Saunton Beach and the Sands Cafe

2012-01-01T17:38:00.002Z

Time for a breath of fresh air after being stuck inside for days. Lots of other people had the same idea as us and took their dogs for a walk along the beach. It was very bracing. And, despite it being New Years Day, the Sands Cafe, placed fortuitiously between beach entrance and car park, was open. So after running the dog ragged we left her in the car and went for a drink of hot chocolate.

Parking charges still apply to Saunton car park, although rates are reduced in the winter months to £2. We did notice, however, that as we left the hatch was closed, so, if you want to save a few bob, arrive after 3.00 and you may be lucky. Hot chocolates in the cafe cost £2.95. They also serve cooked meals and snacks.

Molland

2011-12-24T21:59:00.002Z

We picked Molland today for our traditional Christmas Eve walk. It's a tiny village three miles off the A361 near South Molton. We parked up outside the church, alongside lots of other people, we struggled to find a space! Then followed the guidebook for a 3.5 miles walk through the countryside. We went through farmland, over moors and into woods. Many of the fields had sheep in and we had to keep our dog on a lead in those parts. Not that she was much interested in them. She spent most of her time with her nose in hedges or tussocks of grass sniffing out mice and pheasants. In one field we were followed by a horse and a donkey.

We also passed lots of other walkers, some with dogs and some without. There was only one part where we thought we'd got lost. Thats because it took ages between one set of directions and the next. Daughter No.2 moaned a few times, "The guidebook says 'easy'! I'd hate to find out what 'moderate' is!" But the thought of Pizza Hut spurred her on. We all had muddy wellies by the time we'd finished, but on the whole it was a nice little walk with lots of pretty scenery to look at. Just not as pretty as last year in the snow.

Charles and the Tarka Trail

2011-11-21T19:57:00.003Z

Yesterday we took the dog out for a nice long walk. It was a bit longer than I thought. We looked in the 'Circular Walks on the Tarka Trail' booklet that my dad got me and decided to go to a place called Charles. We'd never heard of it let alone been there. It's a tiny little village out in the back of beyond between South Molton and Combe Martin. To get there you have to go up some very steep, very narrow country lanes. The book says the walk starts by the church, but as far as we could make out you can't get near the church in a car.

So we parked where we could and off we set - 2.2 miles, said the guide book. We found our way onto the Tarka Trail and down to the river. It was all very pretty - and muddy - but we expected that.

We tramped along for what seemed ages. The book said we should go up hill after a while. Surely we can't have missed the uphill bit, we thought, there are steep valley walls to one side and the river on the other. Eventually we got to it and found our way back onto the country lanes, whereupon we decided, as we had been walking for over an hour, that we ought to take the short cut back to the car. We made our way up a 20% gradient hill. The view was pretty good at the top but I'm afraid my legs were in too much agony for me to apprieciate it much.

It was at this point that we discovered the line in the guide book that none of us had read. Length of Tarka Trail: 2.2 miles, Length of walk: 4.7 miles!!! Oops!

The dog had a lovely time. There were hundreds of pheasants everywhere. She went mental. Look closely at the photo and spot the white dot in the distance. That's my dog disappearing from sight. Willow's best walk ever.

We had fun until the uphill slog back to the car. And daughter no.2 took some lovely photos for her art homework. I'll post them on North Devon Photo blog tomorrow.

Woolacombe Down

2011-10-02T18:35:00.003+01:00

This afternoon I took a break from painting the outside of my house and went off to enjoy the October heatwave with a nice walk. I dragged daughters 2 and 3 with me, the dog dragged us.

After turning the wrong way at the end of my road, we eventually made it to Woolacombe and parked in Marine Drive car park for £3. At the entrance to the car park is the start of the footpath up to Potters Hill. We climbed up and around it until we reached the sign that says 'summit' and opted not to go that way as our legs were already aching. We followed the path along towards Woolacombe Down, where an equally long climb awaited us but with stunning views of the beach that made it worth while. My daughter said, 'The people look so tiny!' Plus there was a handy bench to rest on and enjoy the drinks and snacks I'd packed in my bag.

The walk in all on National Trust land. At the top of the Downs horses were roaming free. We kept and eye on the dog but she just ignored them, preferring to sniff around in the gorse instead. After our quick rest we followed the path back down to Marine Drive and into the sand dunes behind the beach. It was very pleasant and mostly flat, and there were plenty of blackberries around if we'd wanted to pick them. There was the option to walk along the beach but the children decided they didn't want to. I don't know why they don't like the beach. They're not normal.

It was a lovely walk, although my legs are killing me now, and we finished it off nicely with a stop in Woolacombe for an ice cream. Who'd have thought, ice cream, shorts and t-shirts in October!

North Devon Hawk Walks

2011-09-03T18:55:00.005+01:00

How about this for an experience? Falcolnry, but not just watching, actually getting to have the birds fly to and from your arm! It was amazing.

We didn't have the best weather in the world, after all the sunshine of the previous three days, but at least it didn't rain while we were there. We drove to the little village of Withypool (mentioned previously) and met Nigel Penfold, the Falcolner. He took us up into the hills above Withypool and from there we walked about 100 metres down into the valley. After that we took it in turns to do things with the birds.

Nigel took two birds with him, Cassius and Lady MacBeth. We spent ages with Cassius, the younger bird. They are both Harris hawks. He told us all about them - their features, how they fly and hunt, etc. It was very interesting. We wore a thick leather glove on our left hand and Nigel gave us bits of rabbit to hold and the bird would fly onto the glove, eat the meat, stay for a bit and then fly off into a tree about another 100 metres away from us.

We were with the birds for an hour so we all got a fair few times of doing this. My only criticisms of the whole experience were that it didn't really qualify as a walk, since we didn't really walk anywhere. And we didn't see much of Lady MacBeth because she wasn't hungry - we'd booked this a month in advance so you'd have thought he would have not fed her to ensure she was hungry, wouldn't you?

Still, it was a great way to end the school holidays. The girls really enjoyed it and I can't think of anywhere else where you can do this, certainly not in your average theme park or zoo. If you're interested, just Google 'North Devon Hawk Walks' and you'll find Nigel's website. It costs £10 per person.

Appledore and Instow Regatta

2011-08-07T19:24:00.003+01:00

The Appledore and Instow Regatta is something we always used to go to as children although there is only one thing about it I remember. It is still going today, although not quite as strongly as it used to. We always went to the Appledore bit of it, not Instow across the river, because that's where Gran and Grandad lived. Grandad is still there.

We arrived today at just gone 1 o'clock, in time to find a spot along

the edge of the Quay to watch a rowing race come in. But events started at 10.30 this morning. There was commentary over the loud speakers for all the races. We were also in a prime position to see the Miller and Sweep - people in boats pelting each other with flour. After that we wandered off to get a Hockings ice cream.

The main events of the regatta take place on the water, as you might expect. The life boat was there and did a quick exhibition in the
water with one of it's little boats before motoring off. But there are

also stalls all the quayside. Not quite as many as I was led to expect, but there was a jewellery stall, a hamburger stall and the lifeboat stall.

The main draw for me, and the only thing I remember from being small, was the Greasy Pole. Competitors swim out to a pontoon and get two tries at reaching the end of the Greasy Pole without falling into the water. It's great fun to watch. We used to have an ideal view
from the top floor of my Grandad's house, but now they've built the

Quay up to stop it flooding you can't see a thing. Today we found a spot near the front of the onlookers. A few people got to the end. This chap managed a bow at the end before throwing himself into the water.

Pebble Ridge Adventure Golf

2011-08-06T18:43:00.002+01:00

Just behind the pebble ridge at Westward Ho! is a place called, strangely enough, Pebble Ridge Adventure Golf and Go-Karting. Today we did the adventure golf bit of it. It was a blowy day, but it's always blowy at Westward Ho! Adventure Golf costs £2.50 per person regardless of age. There are 9 holes, all very different from each other. At the last hole all you have to do is hit your ball up a slope, avoiding a few pebbles and the tunnel at the end swallows your ball and deposits it in a secure container - so nobody can run off without returning their balls.

We had quite a few laughs when balls kept returning to their starting positions or pinging off the green and out into various other parts of the grounds, or when some of us took forever to sink the damn thing. I don't think the people behind us were too impressed, but serves them right for being too quick.

It's a nice spot, just at the end of the slipway, not too far from the Hockings ice cream van, with the cricket pitch just behind. The only thing that was slightly annoying was the noise of the go-karts. You had to shout while they were zooming round. We enjoyed it though.

Tiverton Canal

2011-08-03T17:46:00.003+01:00

I ventured slightly out the way for this one. Tiverton is not actually in North Devon. It's at the other end of the A361 (known locally as the North Devon Link Road), and by car takes about 45 minutes. But this is something I've been thinking about doing for a long while and as we are having one of those new-fangled staycations this summer it was a good oportunity to do it.

The Tiverton Canal offers all sorts of entertainment including various kinds of boat hire. The woman in the queue in front of me was hiring some sort of motorboat and had forked out the massive amount of £315. I went to do the Horse-Drawn Barge trip. They offer trips which vary in length from 1 hour to 2 1/2 hours long. It is advisable to check the timetable on the website and reserve your ticket. Today we did a 1 1/2 hour trip which cost £8.50 for adults and £6 for children. And here comes another little tip: adult prices start from 14 years old - this is not mentioned on any of their literature. I found out when I phoned to reserve tickets and was told my 14 year old was an adult - too late to say she was 13 - damn.

There is a crew of 3 on board. One chap does the introduction as you settle into your seats. He comes back on board at the half way point to talk a bit more and do a question and answer session. He is very good at his job and is very entertaining. For the journey you are left in peace to enjoy the experience, although you don't get to enjoy the silence and the clip of the horses hooves, as promised in their leaflet, for the chat of other customers.

Getting seated is a free-for-all, so I recommend trying to get as close to the front of the queue as possible when you see them starting to get the boat ready. We were lucky and got seats in the middle of the boat, good for seeing both ways, as for half of the journey you will be going backwards. We travelled 45 minutes along the Great Western Canal, then, after a rest for the horse, came back again, turning around as we approached the mooring. Some of the time we were out in the country, some of it we travelled past the bottom of peoples gardens and had a sneaky-peek into their houses. All the windows on the barge were open as it was a nice sunny day and the children enjoyed feeding the ducks and swans with the duck food conveniently sold on board. There is a bar at the stern of the barge where we purchased soft drinks, cookies and ice-cream. They also serve hot drinks and alcoholic beverages.

It was a nice relaxing little trip and I'm glad we did it. This is the only horse-drawn barge in the South-West and one of only four left in the country. And, as the guy pointed out before we left, our ticket and beverage money help to ensure its continued survival.

One last tip - buy some polos for the horse, you are allowed to feed him at the end of the trip and the girls loved this bit best.

Withypool

2011-07-31T17:44:00.001+01:00

The tiny village of Withypool is in the heart of Exmoor just the other side of the Devon border. I've driven through it a few times and always thought it pretty. Today we stopped there, with the dog and daughters no.2 and 3. The grassy area next to the bridge is popular place for picnics and general messing about in the river. There were lots of families there, some with inflatable boats and some with fishing nets.

We parked the car and went for a walk first. Just outside the village is a signpost marked 'Landacre - 2 miles' (see previous posting). We followed the path through fields, along lanes and across a stream until we reached Withypool Common, then took the short cut through a couple of farms until we reached the banks of the River Barle. After that it was easy to follow the river all the way back into Withypool. The walk was 2.5 miles long and was very nice. My husband and I took raincoats just in case and wished we hadn't bothered because although the sky was overcast it was still really quite warm and the rain held off.

Back in Withypool we all collapse by the river. The dog went in up to her knees for a drink but declined to go any further. Husband and daughter no.2 went to the shop across the bridge and bought us drinks. There is also a rather nice looking tearoom, but we didn't try it out this time. Perhaps we'll go back. It's a nice place to chill out and is even prettier when there are blue skies.

Bratton Fleming

2011-05-02T23:00:00.003+01:00

I am thinking of changing this blogs bi-line to 'things to do when you have dogs' rather than children, as the focus of my writing in recent times is more the places I take the dog than anything else.

Today we found a walk on the internet around the village of Bratton Fleming, about six miles outside of Barnstaple. We parked outside the church and took a stroll up the hill into Beara Lane, then found ourselves out in the heart of the country. We passed farms, walked through fields, over stiles and streams and then back down the country lanes until we reached our car once more.

We didn't pass one solitary soul for the whole two mile walk. It was windy, but the sun shone and although we started with jackets and jumpers on we had stripped down to our t-shirts by the time we'd finished. The flowers in the hedgerows were beautiful: primroses, bluebells, campions and many others that I didn't know the names for. We spotted a few good spots for picnics, so if we ever get a proper summer I might bring the kids back here again.

The village even has a pub, for those of you wanting a bit of light refreshment after exercise. Unfortuntely we didn't have time today.

The Movie Bus

2011-03-20T20:30:00.003Z

Yesterday the Movie Bus was in Barnstaple. Built in 1967, it is the only surviving bus from a fleet of seven and has been carefully restored. It has been travelling around North Devon showing archive film of this area but is soon off to pastures new. It will visit Birmingham and Hereford, then will join the BBC on a filming tour.

The projection room is the big glass bubble above the driving seat. Inside are rows of seats two either side of a central aisle. The screen drops down when the back door shuts. It's cosy, but quite an experience. So if you get the chance I recommend a visit. Each film they have is about 20 minutes long.

We went down today because they were supposed to be showing some animations made by the local schools they have visited in recent months, but unfortunately the animations weren't ready. My youngest helped to make one of them but when she heard it wasn't available to watch she decided she didn't want to go in to see anything else. Shame. The youth of today - no appreciation of history!

Cobbaton Combat Collection

2011-01-14T19:51:00.002Z

Cobbaton Combat Collection can be found just outside the village of Umberleigh, in an even tinier village called Chittlehampton. When you look at their website the tag line under the title reads 'A hobby which got out of hand.' It is a privately own military collection that is fairly extensive. Got out of hand may be a slight understatement.

I had the occasion to visit the collection with a group of school children this week. It is open to the public and costs £6.50 for adults and £4 for children with under 5s going free. When you arrive, on what looks like a famryard, there are two huge hangar buildings awaiting you. These are adjoining, so it is possible, when the weather is as awful as it was this week, to see most of what is there without going outdoors.

The first two sections of the museum hold a mass of military equipement ranging from tanks, and armoured vehicles, to bicycles and motorbikes, most of which have labels but very little else in the way of information. As well as this are cupboards filled with little curiosities such as bayonets, army issue cutlery and blackout lamps. There is even a partial plane mock-up used as part of a set in the film 'A Bridge Too Far'.

Then at the back of the collection, in a much smaller room, is a section dedicated to the home front. There are several little sections which are done out to look like various rooms: a wartime kitchen complete with evacuees, a first aid station, a farmyard with land army workers, and an Anderson shelter. All of these are viewed through metal grills, which is a shame. Again, there are plenty of glass-fronted cupboards stacked with more objects from guns and bullets through to ration books and gas masks.

The children were fascinated, and it made a great start to our topic on WWII, but, being a bit of a girl, my interest in it all dried up after about half an hour. If you are into war-stuff, then this will be a place you love, if not, perhaps give it a miss. I have to conceed however, that it is impressive for sheer scale, given that it has all been collected by one man. If I haven't put you off, then I can offer you one last piece of advice. Wrap up warm. It was colder inside the hangars than outside. I had thermals on and survived. My friends did not and were colder than they had been in the whole of December by the time we left.

Loxhore - Deerpark Wood

2011-01-02T17:24:00.002Z

We've been indoors for days now, the dog's had quick walks
round the neighbourhood and the children were going
stir-crazy, so it was time to take them all out for a long walk.

We went to Loxhore, a tiny little village in the middle of nowhere. Take the road towards Arlington and it's sign posted right from the village of Shirwell. We parked by Loxhore church and took the walk through the fields to the woods, but discovered afterwards that the best place to park is by the turning to Loxhore Cott (a dead-end). This allows you to walk through the National Trust grounds of a privately owned house, through a gate and straight into the woods. It also avoids the long walk up hill to get back to your car.

The woods are beautiful, although muddy at this time of year. And, as you can see from the photo, there are lots of very well defined paths for you to walk along. All are very well signed too. A lot of the paths run alongside and slightly above the river Yeo, and at a place called Tuckers Bridge you can cross the Yeo for a walk around the lake at Arlington. We didn't do this today, but will definately return to do it at some point. There is also the odd picnic bench along the way to stop and have a rest at. I feel a summer expedition coming on. Roll on the sunshine!

Simonsbath

2010-12-24T21:59:00.004Z

Snow did not stop our traditional Christmas Eve walk, although it nearly finished us all off! We ventured as far as Simonsbath, a tiny little village in the middle of Exmoor, but easily reachable on fairly main roads, all of which were clear of snow. There is little in the village but it does boast a pub, tea rooms and a hotel. Lovely on a nice summer day.

Our first obstacle on arriving was the road to the car park, shown above - a pretty country lane with picturesque cottages, but not to be travelled on unless in a 4x4. We parked at the side of the main road and walked it. In the car park is a very helpful map, showing our planned route (we had the Jarrod Walks Book with it in). The map also showed us our planned short cut down the main road back into Simonsbath. Hooray for the short cut! Read on to find out why.

We followed a footpath labelled Prayway Head up a very steep hill and through the woods. Beautiful trees still laden with snow and nice crisp white stuff underfoot that no one else had trod. The dog went wild. Then on down to a stream and up into a field full of more virgin snow. And up, and up, and up. By the time we were half way up my legs were killing me. Walking through deep snow that no one else has been in is really hard!

It was very beautiful though. We stopped for frequent rests. We took lots of photos, which will be published on the Betazoids blog sometime later tonight. At the very top of the field we turned left into an area the guidebook said was tussocky and boggy. It certainly was that. And the snow got even deeper. Lots of us fell over. Daughter no.2 declared it 'The best Christmas Eve walk ever,' Daughter no.3 got cold and wanted to come home.

When we got back to road we all cheered! An easy walk down hill to the car. I can thoroughly recommend this walk to anyone who is really fit, although I imagine walking it when there is no snow would be a lot easier. For those not inclined to walk, come to Simonsbath in the summer and try out the tea rooms or the pub.

Greencliff

2010-11-21T18:37:00.003Z

Last Christmas Eve we tried to come here for a walk with the children. Eleven months later I finally made it. I parked in Abbotsham as before, and the dog and I set off down the same path as before. This time, not being in a rush or having children to worry about, we just kept walking. There are sign posts all along the route to Greencliff, so it is pretty much impossible to miss.

Once you get off the road and onto public footpaths through the countryside it's lovely. There are boardwalks to start with, but after that it got VERY muddy. I was glad I had my new pinky spotty wellies on. But the views, once you get to the coast, are stunning and well worth the walk. The only slightly negative thing I have to report is that the signpost back to Abbotsham village is missing. I had to guess based on the map I'd printed from the internet before I left home. If I'd got it wrong I would have ended up in Westward Ho!

The whole circular route took me 1hour and 10minutes. The dog would have gone round again, but I was knackered by then, and if she'd have walked through all that mud again she'd have been completely brown instead of only partially brown.

Barnstaple Rugby Club Fireworks

2010-11-10T22:30:00.003Z

Firstly, I must appologise for not posting earlier. I have been a bit distracted by things at work.

Now, let me tell you about the Barnstaple Rugby Club Fireworks event. It has changed somewhat in recent years. It's been a while since I've been able to go and I wanted to make an effort to go is year, as its been good in previous years and also there was a danger that next year it would not be able to go ahead without enough support so I wanted to do my bit. In previous years it has been run to raise money for charity, but the costs of putting on the event now mean that they are really only doing it as a community event, there is no way they can make a profit. Tickets are £3 adult, £2.50 child, or £10 for a family.

Last time we went there were a few people selling those glow-in-the-dark toys at the entrance to the Rugby Club ground and that was it. This year there was a whole raft of people, from pancake sellers to people running trampoline things for children to go on, and everything you can imagine in between. I wonder how much of their money went to the Rugby Club? We walked past and ignored them all. I went to watch fireworks, I don't want my children to nag me out of more of my money!

We got into the ground proper and staked our claim to a good-ish spot (all the really good ones having been taken by people prepared to wait in the cold much longer than we were). 7.00 came and went. We waited. We listened to the music being piped through the tanoy system. The fireworks eventually started and the music stopped! What was the point of that? Again, I have to refer to previous years and say that they used to have the firework display to music and it was MUCH better. The fireworks were good, well worth the ticket price, but a little bit of rousing classic music to accompany them would have made it that little bit more atmospheric.

So come on organisers, I find I can't recommend your event as much as I was hoping to be able to, get your act together for next year please! Learn something from the Torrington Calvaliers, (see earlier post), they had it spot on.

Braunton

2010-10-30T15:45:00.003+01:00

Braunton is town that is frequently driven through on the way to somewhere else - The Burrows, Saunton and Croyde beaches, or any one of a number of more picturesque and inviting places. Today we stopped here and investigated this tiny little village. On the surface it appears to be little more than a crossroads filled with pubs and surf shops, but behind that there are winding lanes full of old cottages and medieval buildings.

I found a walk through the backstreets of Braunton on www.explorebraunton.org and we followed its 15 pages of instructions into Rock Hill then West Hill Lane and up through country lanes to a place called The Beacon. The 15 pages are not only instructions but also information on the landscape and the history of the walk. The Beacon, it told us, was used as a look out by the wives of the village so they could see when their husbands were returning from their fishing trips and could rush down to the quay to greet them. It certainly did offer fantastic views of the bay.

The walk round the Beacon did not take long, then we followed the path through more backstreets over the old railway track and into St Brannocks Church. The only church in England to have the whole body of its saint buried on the premises. The whole walk took us an hour and was about 2 miles long. When we got back to the car the girls were tired out but the dog was ready to go round one more time. Maybe another day.

Barnstaple Treasure Trail

2010-09-25T16:56:00.004+01:00

My friends daughter was given a Barnstaple Treasure Trail for her birthday. It is set up like a murder mystery - Simon Snodshaw, a local cidermaker, was found floating in a vat of prize scrumpy, police have revealed he was murdered before being thrown in there - and you have to follow the clues given to reveal the murderer. The booklet contains a list of suspects and murder weapons and the aforementioned clues.

We started the trail in the Square outside the Tourist Information Centre. The children ran enthusiastically to the first clue. It was quite easy to unravel the clue and eliminate our first suspected weapon. We then rushed eagerly from place to place around Barnstaple, along the river front, into the High Street, until we came to the church square shown above. Here the clues are slightly more tricky to find and a small falling out ensued. Nevertheless, we grown ups continued, and soon we were racing over to Roack Park for some of the final clues.

This all took us about 2 hours to complete, at a leisurely stroll, with stops for snacks and take away hot chocolates built in. I think these are a great idea and ideal for getting kids to notice more about their locality. I suspect we will do a few more. Look on their website, there are loads for areas all over Britain, some are walking ones, others can be done with a car. When you discover the murderer you can email the answer to them for a chance of winning a prize.
www.treasuretrails.co.uk

Combes Gate Beach

2010-09-02T07:55:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I found a new beach! That's not to say that I was the first to discover it, but it was new to me. My friend comes here a lot and she took my kids out with hers, two of the three anyway, and I met them at lunch with a picnic. We stayed til gone 5 o'clock which is the longest I've spent on a beach in years.

Combes Gate is a tiny little cove at the end of Woolacombe as you head along the coast towards Mortehoe. Parking is difficult unless you get there early in the morning and nab a free place on the road. I had to park in Woolacombe car park and walk to get there, this cost me £6. That's an all day fee, your only option in that car park, and its pay on exit by feeding coins into the lever-arm machine.

The beach is lovely, with not many people on it at all. When the tide goes out there are lots of rock pools to explore. The kids caught a few shrimp and fish and a massive crab. They also went in the sea lots. Down by the waters edge there was quite a breeze today, but further up into the cove it was quite sheltered and warm. Why couldn't it have been like this through August? And why do summer holidays have to end. I'm off to work now. Doom!

Croyde and Saunton Circular Walk

2010-08-30T23:01:00.002+01:00

Well, who would've believed it? Its a Bank Holiday and the sun actually shone! After baking in the garden for a while I thought it was about time we took the dog for a nice long walk. There was much protesting, but I ignored it. We drove to Croyde and parked in the car park in the village and followed a route I'd printed from the internet. It takes you over the hills from Croyde to Saunton then back round the coast, across Croyde beach and back to the village right next to Billy Budds, one of the more popular pubs. Ideal.

The first part of the walk is uphill. Its very steep and we were all puffed out long before we reached the top (except the dog of course). However, there are fantastic views of Croyde Bay once you get there. A walk through a field of horses, two empty fields and into a field of cows offers more fantastic views, this time, of Saunton Sands.

Today you could see as far as the peaks of Dartmoor (according to my husband). Then its back downhill to the coast path, which is not along the busy road with no pavements as I fist imagined, but on a hedged path just above it.

The walk is 3.5 miles long and there are lots of benches along the way to stop, rest, enjoy the views and eat cookies on! And then at the end there is that lovely pub. We stopped for a drink then came home for fish and chips. Why do school holidays have to end?

Torrington Cavaliers Bonfire Event

2010-08-29T10:42:00.002+01:00

Last night was the 40th Anniversary of the Great Torrington Cavaliers (adjective as it applies to the town, not the Cavaliers). Every two or three years they host a charity event involving a huge bonfire. They have constructed many things on Torrington Common: a Viking Longship, the Houses of Parliament, HMS Victory. 15,000 people came to watch the last bonfire.

As we hadn't been before, and we'd seen the replica of Torrington's Medieval castle under construction in January (see earlier post) we thought we'd go and watch it burn. It was quite spectacular. And I can recommend the event to anyone with patience and children who also know how to wait. Unfortunately mine don't seem to because they got bored, whined and annoyed each other.

We arrived at 6.30 and already there were loads of people who had picked all the good spots. Nevertheless, we found somewhere to spread the picnic blanket, opened the beer and cookies, and I thought, 'This is great, very civilised.' Unfortunetly the minute the events started all the people in front of us found it necessary to stand up and lots of people who had been behind us piled in front too. So when we did stand up none of my children could see very much at all. If everyone had remained seated we'd all have had a much better view. The events were a comedy sketch from the Plough Theatre group, a battle re-enactment by the Torrington Cavaliers, and archers shooting burning arrows at the castle. Oh and before that we had to sit through a boring talk from a man trying to sell his book about the Cavalier's bonfires of the past.

The fireworks, when they eventually started, were some of the best I've ever seen. Timed to precision with an appropriate piece of classical music, symmetrical and co-ordinated, they went off as the castle was set fully alight. Then the castle was left to burn, and there were more fireworks again at the end. It was great, and I'd have loved to stay longer to watch the castle burn, but the children decided they needed to loo and were too tired to hang around any more. Here's a tip for someone going next time though - there is a better view of the bonfire from back by the loos. One that doesn't involve looking at the hundreds of people all squashed round you holding up their mobile phones and cameras.

Car parking was free in local fields. That was good. Getting out was a nightmare. Cars kept driving up the lane at pedestrians despite being told to leave by the lower entrance. There was a ten minute queue to get out for no apparent reason, and a sign pointing Barnstaple at a fork in the road. We took the wrong fork, along with several people behind and in front of us, and ended up in East-the-Water via Gamaton.

Fireworks: 10/10

Organisation: 2/10

Lee Bay and Sandy Cove

2010-08-28T13:17:00.003+01:00

Yesterday there was sunshine! Hooray! We'd almost forgotten what it looked liked. So out we went, here to Lee Bay. Lee is a tiny village on the coast between Ilfracombe and Woolacombe. Its narrow roads can be quite a challenge for cars, but its all so pretty its worth it. We parked in the pub car park and walked down to the beach. The tide was out but the girls weren't much interested in the rock pools so we walked along the path in the photo above and through the gap in the rocks at the end. Here there is another path carved into the rocks which will lead you, when the tide is out, to Sandy Cove, shown below.

Sandy Cove is much prettier and seems to be a well kept secret because there was hardly anyone there. A few groups of people sat around, some very brave people were swimming, and some had kayaks in the water. The name Sandy Cove is a bit misleading because it is actually a shingle beach, but this doesn't stop it being lovely. It was so peaceful, just sitting in the sunshine listening to the wave lap against the shore I could have laid down and gone to sleep.

Sadly, once the children had explored and the dog had been forcably taught that paddling in the water would not actually cause her any harm, we had to leave. The lure of a drink back at the pub was too great. We decided to try the other path out of the cove rather than go back the way we came. This involved climbing up lots AND LOTS of very steep steps in the side of the cliff. The views from the top are fantastic, once you've recovered your breath enough to appreciate them. Then there is a lovely walk back through the fields and the village to enjoy before finally being able to sip a nice cold beer in a sunny pub garden. What a perfect day.

Maize Maze, Bickleigh

2010-08-22T16:53:00.003+01:00

This is the entrance to the Amazing Maize Maze and it can be found in Bickleigh just outside of Tiverton. So it's not strictly North Devon folks, but only about half an hour in a car. It's half way been Tiverton and Exeter on the A396. Bickleigh is a tiny village centred around the bridge over the River Exe and has some lovely pubs with riverside gardens, Bickleigh Mill and a Railway Centre. Parking outside the Maize Maze is free and entrance is £4 each, but as there were five of us we got in for the discounted price of £18.

The maze is different each year and this year was in the shape of the Tivvy Bumper, an engine that travelled along the trainline that used to run next to the field. So everything inside the maze was train themed. There is no middle to find, which was a bit disappointing. What you have instead is a series of posts which you have to find, each of which holds a portion of a brass rubbing. You making a rubbing on the back of your ticket each time you find one until you have them all and they, in turn, form a wordsearch with train themed words inside. Your prize for completing this task is - wait for it - a sticker!!! Woohoo!

Along the way are boards with information about trains and the trainline, and other boards which ask questions based on said information. They offer you a choice of two answers, and direct you left or right depending on which answer you choose. This was a good idea, I thought, although it still wasn't obvious where the brass rubbing posts were even when you got the answer right. After a while my youngest one got fed up - it was a very big maze, and the older two had split up from us and gone running off on their own by then, so we gave up after finding 8 out of 9 posts. She got her sticker anyway.

We got our picnic out of the car and headed off to the picnic area. A phone call to the other two soon got them out of the maze - thank goodness for mobile phones! There is plenty to do in the picnic area: go-karts, toddlers ride-on toys (which my 13 year old enjoyed immensly), giant chess and draughts, swingball, table tennis, connect 4 and a climbing frame. We ate then played for a bit before coming home. It was nice to enjoy the sunshine.

Barle Valley Safaris

2010-06-11T20:19:00.004+01:00

I have wanted to do one of these safaris for a long time so when the opportunity came up I jumped at the chance. We had some European visitors at work and took them out to see the sights of Exmoor.

Barle Valley Safaris operate out of Dulverton car park, a town at the south edge of Exmoor. These safaris must be booked and if you are going to go on one I also advise not using a sat-nav. Using a sat-nav forces you to rely on postcodes and the postcode we found on the website took us to the owners house, and half an hour out of our way! Of course that is quite possibly human error and not the fault of the sat-nav, but really, finding Dulverton car park is not that hard.

Anyway. The safari lasts three hours and is well worth the £25 per person cost. Our driver was Duncan, one of the owners, and he was very informative, and very understanding and patient about our being an hour late! He took us up over the open moorland and down into the wooded valleys. We followed many narrow country lanes and went off-road as well. This was quite an experience for all of us, almost as good as a Disney thrill ride. We bumped over rocks, slid over mud and climed up and down some very steep hills on barely discernable tracks. The last part of our journey took us through the ford at Tarr Steps, and then back into Dulverton.

Along the way there were many stops and sometimes we got out of the landrover and sometims we didn't. I saw more deer than in all my many years of travelling through Exmoor. We saw typical Exmoor sheep with thier curly fleece and smiley faces, cows of all shades and varieties, and lots of wild Exmoor ponies. We even saw an Exmoor pony foal who was very curious and obligingly came right up to the landrover so we could photograph him.

If you want to see an Exmoor that not many other tourists get to experience then I can 100% recommend this to you. It was fabulous.

Tutshill Woods

2010-05-31T17:20:00.003+01:00

In a quest to find places to walk my dog which aren't too far away from where I live I searched the internet this morning and found Tutshill Woods. If you drive out of Barnstaple toward the hospital and turn left you can park your car near the entrance to the cattery and find, almost hidden away, a public footpath which is a narrow lane between trees with fields behind that.
This leads down to a river where, to the left, the popular play area of Mannings Pit can be found.

We went right, across a nice wooden little footbridge, then on across the field in the photo above and into the woods. The way through the woods (ooh, sounds like a poem!) is narrow and pretty with the ivr tinkling along far below you. It goes out to a road leading back to the main road but we didn't go that far. We turned around and headed back to level ground next to the river bank where we sat and ate sandwiches before returning home with a very knackered dog.

We met a few other people walking thier dogs, so its a popular spot. I liked it, so I think we'll be going again.

Braunton Burrows Update

2010-05-23T22:53:00.004+01:00

I popped out here this evening to take the dog for a walk (are you spotting a theme to these posts?) and although I've mentioned it before I thought I'd just update you on a few things. Last time we came we walked through the burrows but there is a beach at Braunton which is accessed directly from the end of the toll road. This is it at low tide. There were a number of people leaving with their rigid inflatable boats towed behind their cars as we arrived and a few who were just starting barbeques.

The toll road seemed particularly long today, I don't remember it being that long, so I measured it on the way back, it's 1 and 1/2 miles, the sign, which says 1 and 1/4 miles of speed bumps, is inaccurate.

The other thing you need to know about is that now there is an automated gate at the entrance to the toll road. You have to feed it with coins to obtain entrance. Good job I had some with me. It costs £1.50 for cars.

Bickington

2010-05-23T15:05:00.002+01:00

Bickington is normally just a town I drive through on my way to somewhere else. Up until now all I have seen of it is the main street and in the inside of the post office (which is much more efficient and quick to use than the main one in Barnstaple). I was in there the other day and notice a leaflet called '5 walks in Fremington'. Fremington is the town next door. I picked up the leaflet and walk no.3 is actually around Bickington taking 40 minutes, the shortest of the walks in the leaflet. Ideal for my new dog, I thought.

So yesterday we went for a walk. I parked in the small car park just off the main street for a very reasonable 60p for two hours. The walk then took me, my dog, and daughter no.2 down a pretty lane full of charming cottages. At the end of lane we were slightly confused as the sign post said the footpath went in two directions, but a very friendly farmer in his tractor pointed us in the right direction, through his field and up to the top of a hill where lovely views of the River Taw and the villages on the opposite banks greeted us.

We progressed onto a bridleway and round the back of village til we reached the end of the lane where we had first started. It was very pleasant and let us see that there is more to Bickington than meets the eye. I think I will try the other walks when my dog is old enough to go for longer walks.

Northam Burrows

2010-04-04T21:56:00.010+01:00

Today was the first sunny day we've had in ages and I decided not to waste it. Also we need a distraction to get us away from the chocolate. So to help us wear off some of the calories we had already eaten we came here to Northam Burrows.

It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and can be reached by driving through the tiny villlage of Northam between Bideford and Westward Ho! There is normally a small charge for entering but today there was no one there. We drove down the narrow track with expanses of grassland stretched out to either side of us. Normally this is filled with sheep but there weren't that many in evidence today. Then, once near the pebble ridge we found somewhere to park.

There was a strong wind today that sent rather large wavelets blowing towards us on the pond behind the pebble ridge that I'm sure should have been the car park. No good for skimming pebbles on, although we got a few to bounce.

We took the path towards the Visitor Centre, which was open but which we didn't go in. There are toilets there, for those of you who plan your trips around such things (I had younger children too not so long ago). The path follows along beside the golf course then leads down to the beach. We stopped here and collected pebbles but there is much more walking to do through the dunes for those who wish to stretch thier legs further. The wind got to us today though, that and the fact that daughter no.2 felt it entirely appropriate to come out in a mini-skirt and not much else. I refrained from saying 'I told you so,' when she said she was cold.

The Pack o' Cards Inn

2010-02-21T17:28:00.004Z

After our very muddy walk in Combe Martin (see previous post) we went for lunch in the Pack o' Cards. We booked before we set off on our walk. The Pack o' Cards is a grade 2 listed building dating back to the 17th century. It was built by George Ley after a win at the gaming tables, stand on 52 square feet of land, has 52 windows and 4 floors with 13 rooms on each floor.

Sunday dinner was our only option today, but the children could have had something from the children's menu if they'd wanted it. An adult dinner was £5.95 and a children's was £3.95. There were only four puddings, all stodgy stuff with custard, so we didn't have pudding. The meal was nice enough, although I have no idea why the roast chicken came with Yorkshire puddings instead of stuffing. My major complaint was the length of time we waited. We sat down at our table at 1.00 and it was another 45 minutes after this that we finally saw our food. Considering roast was the only thing on the menu you'd have thought they'd have served it up much quicker.

Combe Martin

2010-02-21T17:20:00.003Z

This sleepy little villiage is located on the North Devon coast just past Ilfracombe. It has a small sandy beach, as seen in the photo above, the longest street in England, stretching for three miles, and the pub where we had lunch. That's basically about all there is in Combe Martin, but there are several coastal paths leading from the village which offer spectacular views over the seas and Exmoor.

We parked in the pub car park and wandered down to the beach today and from there followed the footpath marked 'Hangmans'. This leads up some steep hills to two high promontories called Little Hangman and Great Hangman. Great Hangman is the highest sea cliff in England. We didn't make it that far. My husband, in his wisdom, said before we let home 'Oh there are good clear paths up there.' Which meant daughters no.2 and 3 decided they wouldn't need wellies and that trainers would do. Big Mistake! The paths were caked in gooey, slimey, slippery mud. Before we'd got very far indeed their white trainers had turned brown. Not long after this my husband was left with mud on his face when he was the first to slip over in it. Unfortunately he took daughter no.3 with him when he went. She did see the funny side - later.

We struggled on for a while hoping that going forwards would be better than going back. There were several places along the way to sit and recover from the steep climb, although I suspect they were actually intended for people to enjoy the lovely views. We did that too. Then we spotted a fork in the path. Go left and make the climb up to the summit of Little Hangman, or right back into Combe Martin. We went right. Perhaps we'll make it to the top of the Hangmans in summer, when the paths might be drier.

Blackmoor Gate

2010-01-09T17:12:00.003Z

We went for a drive over Exmoor today to see all the pretty scenery. The roads were quite clear, and we stopped every now and then to take photos and for the kids to jump about in the giant snow drifts. Then we headed for Blackmoor Gate, a crossroads right on the edge of the moor where the roads from Barnstaple, Lynton, Ilfracombe and Simonsbath meet. There is a lovely pub/restaurant there that we've been to several times. We had hot chocolates and a snack in the pub section, although daughter no.3 was angling for a plate of chips. It was very reasonably priced, as are their meals when we've eaten there before.

For more photos of the scenery check out NorthDevonPhotoJournal by following the link opposite.

Torrington Common

2010-01-03T18:49:00.003Z

It's been beautiful weather here for the last three days so today I put my foot down and insisted that we all go out for a walk. There's only so much of listening to Wii music that a person can take before going completely mad.

We drove over to Torrington Common, a large area of open grass land with a good view of the surrounding countryside, and stretched our legs. The Common site where the Torrington Cavaliers, a vountunary organisation who raise money for charities, famously build huge bonfires. They have already started construction for their 40th anniversary bonfire, a replica of Torrington's medieval castle. The last one they did was the HMS Victory and 15,000 people came to watch it burn. This year the date set for big event is 28th August.

We looked at what they'd done so far then followed the path above down into the woods near the Puffing Billy. We walked on the path above the river and my husband and children had fun trying to skate on the icy paths. Then it was back round to the Common, where my little one played in the small children's play area there before we all headed home for a nice warming cup of tea and a slice of cake. There were many other paths we could have followed, so I think maybe we'll be back - perhaps in warmer weather (or when I persuade my husband that we really need a dog - which ever comes first!)

Barnstaple - New Years Eve

2010-01-01T11:47:00.003Z

Barnstaple on New Year's Eve tries to rival Bideford but never really matches up. We ventured out just before midnight last night and the first difference we noticed was there was hardly anyone in fancy dress - that's because if you're going to do fancy dress then you're going to go to Bideford. There also seemed to be a lot more police trying to sort out the angry drunken youths. I'm spotting a pattern - the pleasently drunk were all in fancy dress in Bideford!

There is a live stage show in the Square with various DJs playing music through the night. There seemed to be hoards of people that way all having a good time, and they were lined up along the old bridge to watch the fireworks, but we didn't make it that far. The children moaned. So we stopped by the riverside and actually had a pretty perfect spot for watching the fireworks. We could hear the countdown to midnight from the Square, said our 'Happy New Year's and then enjoyed the show. That was the second difference - the fireworks weren't as long as the show in Bideford. Still, it was nice to get out.

Abbotsham

2009-12-24T19:09:00.003Z

Blog-posts are like buses, you wait ages then two come along at once! Today we went for our traditional Christmas Eve walk. We travelled to the village of Abbotsham, just outside Bideford, and were going to walk down to Greencliff, but we ran out of time and opted for a walk around the fields surrounding the village instead. There was lots of ice around and the kids had fun trying to slide in their wellies. We found a puddle covered in ice at one point, and a pretty bridge over a stream where we stopped and played Pooh Sticks. It was very pleasant and refreshing.

There's a nice pub in the village for those of you wanting a bit more than fresh air in the way of refreshment, but we jumped back in the car and headed for Pizza Hut in Barnstaple. Greencliff will have to wait for another day.

Lets Go

2009-12-23T21:34:00.003Z

Well its been a while, but here I am, blogging again. Barnstaple's newly revamped bowling centre has finally opened so we went along to see what it was like. The bowling seems to have got more expensive. I paid £28 for one game for five of us. We did manage to stretch it out to last an hour, but even so, it's no wonder the place was nearly empty. The only new thing on the bowling front was the fact that you could choose which person to have bumpers up for, that meant me, husband and daughter no 1 got rubbish scores with no bumpers up and the other two did great!

After the bowling it was upstairs to the new ice rink. As you can see it wasn't busy at all. Only four of us went on and this cost £22. You get nearly an hour on the ice, which is synthetic. It is apparently the first of its kind in Europe. It was pretty good for plastic I thought. I've never been able to skate on plastic like I can on real ice, and I could do this. In fact it was quite satisfying wizzing past the teenagers as they crashed to the ground. Disappoiting for daughter no. 2 though as she was expecting to be as good at this as all the other times she's been and she couldn't do it at all. So, difficult to tell if we will go again, but I hope so.

Exeter

2009-10-26T09:46:00.003Z

If you live in or are visiting North Devon and Barnstaple just isn't enough for you anymore (and who can blame you - there's no way Wilkinsons makes up for the loss of Woolworths) then a trip to Exeter might be just what you need. The new shopping centre at Princesshay is great. There's a massive Next, loads of other clothes shops, a Hotel Chocolat, and more shoe shops than you could hope to see in one life time. I know this because yesterday I went in every single one of them.

It's bit of a drive from North Devon, about an hours travelling. I drive down to Tiverton and from there cut through on the country lanes towards Credition as it seems shorter than going all the way down the duel carriageway and on the M5. Plus its much easier to get to the city centre car parks that way.

It was lovely and sunny when my eldest daughter and I arrived and we set about shopping straight away. Now I feel I have gone sadly wrong in raising her as she is not a great lover of shopping and has no interest in shoes whatsoever. However, the converse trainers she lives in will not see her through the winter weather on her walk to college everyday so I insisted she have something waterproof. After hours of walking she eventually talked me into buying another pair of converse trainers with a plastic coating! I am not convinced but she'll live and learn.

Princesshay also holds one of my favourite restaurants - Nandos. Unfortunatley yesterday the wait for a table was about 30 minutes so we resorted to MacDonalds instead.

The Big Sheep

2009-10-04T12:21:00.004+01:00

It was about this time last year that I reported on the Big Sheep at Halloween and I have mentioned the Big Sheep in another previous post when we have come down just to use the Ewetopia soft play area of an evening, but we have just spent our first full day at the Big Sheep for a long time and there have been a few changes.

My advice to potential first time visitors at The Big Sheep is to arrive by 10.30 and make sure you see the shows. None of them are more than about 20 mins, and all are quite entertaining, with one exeption. Don't bother with the Beer Show. They lure you in with the promise of free beer, and in actual fact you get nothing in the show and can get free beer just by visiting the brewery whether you have been to the show or not. It's little samples of the beer they make, which is quite nice and you can have as many as you want! Of the other shows, my children like the sheep show, and in particular, feeding the sheep at the end, and the duck show. My husband made the mistake of giving my youngest daughter the camera and now we have nearly two hundred photos of Indian Running ducks being chased round a field by a sheepdog.

There are lots of new outdoor things to do, most of which is free. We liked the jumping pillows (think bouncy castle without the walls) and the little peddlecarts. The chair-o-plane you can go on as many times as your stomach allows, but its only open at certain times. Things you have to pay for include pony rides and a combat area. We didn't do either of these but running round shooting people with laser guns looked fun.

We played in Ewetopia for a while, stayed for the sheep race, then came home. I would have loved to show you a photo of the sheep, racing down from the fields to the finish line with thier knitted riders on thier back, but my camera battery had died by then. We placed bets, but none of us won.

Landacre

2009-09-13T17:06:00.003+01:00

Why couldn't it have been like this over the school holidays? The weather waits til everyone is stuck back inside a classroom and then turns sunny. It was just right today at Landacre, although we could have done without the chilly breeze.

I have reported on Landacre in a previous blog, when we picked a windy day for a BBQ but this little picnic spot on Exmoor is about five miles outside the village of North Molton. There is nothing here but a picturesque stone bridge over the river, but it certainly draws in the crowds. I met two seperate families I knew and then just after we'd finished eating my Dad turned up with one of his mates on their bikes.

After we'd eaten my husband went off with my oldest daughter to teach her how to use the posh camera he has. The rest of us just enjoyed the sunshine, plugged earphones in or read a book. We paddled in the water, but it was very icy. Other people were braver than us and had waded in with fishing nets or were boating up and down. Eventually though it was time to come home and face the sad inevitability that winter will soon be on its way.

West Down

2009-08-31T16:17:00.002+01:00

We went for our traditional end of summer holidays jaunt today. I have to go back to work tomorrow even if the kids don't. We were looking forward to a nice picnic/BBQ out on Exmoor, next to a river we could have a paddle in, etc. But the weather had other ideas. So we went for a walk across the hills over West Down, a tiny village just outside of Braunton, off the A361 - not to be confused with East Down (which my friend and I nearly did - good job our husbands were driving!)

We were trying out my new guide book 'Pub Walks on Exmoor' and have come to the conclusion that its a rubbish book. Everywhere was very muddy. My friends tried the North Molton walk the other day and discovered the same thing. Now I know the book cannot be held responsible for the weather, but I am sure there are places with pubs on Exmoor which are not quite so muddy. Also, it's instructions are not very easy to follow and the map looks like it could have been drawn by a three year old. It's not nearly as straightforward as the Jarrold books. And I am not just saying this because we got lost before we even left the village! A tip for anyone trying the walk with the same book we had: when it says path by the church it actually means path by the little chapple on the other side of the road to the church.

Still we all had some good healthy fresh air and exercise. And walking across the middle of a field with a big brown bull staring you down is probably one of those childhood not-to-be-missed experiences every child should have.

We made it back to the pub in time to order lunch. The meal was very nice, and the chips were gorgeous - just what you need after being so healthy!

Giovanni's

2009-08-28T11:35:00.003+01:00

We had a family meal here last night, to celebrate daughter no.1's exam results. It's the first time we've taken the children but me and my husband have been here lots before. It's got a great selection of pasta dishes and they always have lovely specials too. There is no children's menu but all the adult meals come in small people sizes too. It's always crowded so if you're thinking of giving it a try I advise booking. One of my favourite restaurants and cheaper than Prezzo.

Tractor and Trailer Rides

2009-08-25T17:11:00.003+01:00

Run by the National Trust out of Mortehoe Heritage Centre every Tuesday and Wednesday in the Summer seasons, these tractor rides last about an hour and are a fun way to see some stunning scenery off the beaten track. The ride we took today was down some very narrow, leafy lanes and had the odd pedestrian throwing themselves into the hedges to avoid being squat by the tractor, although it was travelling at a sedentary pace. We went down to the Bull Point lighthouse, where people without huge blisters on thier heels were given the option to walk down past the lighthouse. I rested my blisters (from yesterday) and took the tractor back to the road, where it picked up the others. At the back of the trailer a guide told us local tit-bits of information - my only complaint was that he was a bit quiet, so if you're interested in hearing what he has to say as well as taking in the views, sit near the back of the trailer.

Castle Hill Gardens

2009-08-21T20:29:00.004+01:00

Castle Hill Gardens is located in Filleigh, in between Barnstaple and South Molton off the A361. This weekend they are hosting the English National Sheep Dog Trials and Devon Country Fayre. The house is owned by the Fortescue family and they open the gardens to the public from March to September each year. There are pretty gardens to walk through and a riverside walk. We had a quick look at the gardens today at the end of our visit round the other events, then it started pelting down with rain so we decided to forego the Hockings ice cream (that's how bad it was) and come home.

The Sheep Dog Trials were interesing. It was like watching "Babe" without the pig. But the kids weren't impressed. They liked the dog agility event in the main arena. Then they liked the bits that involved me spend huge amounts of money: the swingboats, archery, and buying homemade fudge from the food tent.

Normal prices for entry into the gardens is £4 for adults and FREE for children under 14!! So probably worth going on a sunny day with a picnic. On a sunny day you also won't have to worry about driving your car through a quagmire to get out. I was a bit worried when the wheels slid from under me that they might have to get a tractor to pull me out.

Croyde Beach

2009-08-09T21:38:00.003+01:00

Hello, again! It's been a while since I blogged, we've been a bit busy, and the weather's been a bit rubbish. Today we took advantage of the unusually sunny weather and went for a picnic at Croyde. We usually go to the car park before you get to the village but today decided to enter the beach from the other side, so we drove through Croyde, took the turning to Baggy Point and parked in the National Trust car park. If you've got National Trust membership it is free to park, but you do need to show your card as well as the car sticker. After that its a short walk across the road to a tiny slipway, then a scramble across the rock pools to get to a sand spot. It was very crowded today as you can see from the picture. Croyde beach has life guards, unlike Saunton round the corner, but both beaches were busy today.

We had out picnic first, before we got to sandy, then my husband took the girls into the rock pools with a bucket where they caught some tiny shrimp, crabs and various creatures in shells. Daughter no.1 was very brave and only cried a bit when all 16-and-a-bit stone of her Dad stood on her fingers. None of them wanted to go down to the sea because the tide was out and it was miles away. So we were only there for a couple of hours. The free car park was a good move, the one opposite Ruda is £5 and it doesn't matter how long you stay.

Dunster Castle

2009-06-14T21:51:00.003+01:00

I dragged everyone out today despite everyone being grumpy and tired due to lack of sleep after daughter no.2s sleepover last night. (Why do they call them that?) We came here to Dunster Castle, which strictly speaking is in Somerset not North Devon, but if you're in the neighbourhood...

It took us an hour to get here, but the scenery is lovely on the way. It's a National Trust property so we got in free with our card, just before it runs out. The reason for coming today was that they were having a Teddy Bear's Picnic with a special event for very brave teddies. When we arrived we were the only ones picnicing, but other soon joined us. After lunch our teddies were feeling brave so we took them over to the zip wire and got them harnessed up. If you look carefully at the photograph you can just see the blue rope coming from the castle roof down the green below. All three of my daughters sent their teddies to the roof and one by one they came zooming down the zip wire. My nearly-sixteen year old wanted to leave her teddy in the car, but when she wasn't looking he sneaked into the picnic box. Daughter no.2 (she with lack of sleep) got very worried when her teddy wasn't quite heavy enough to make it down and needed a helping hand. All three teddies were awarded certificate for bravery.

After that excitement we calmed things down a bit with a wander round the castle and grounds. (Mr Lion was so exhausted he had to go for a lie down back inside the picnic box.) The inside is typical National Trust, lots of roped off rooms, portraits and things you can look at but not touch. We did that fairly quickly, then we looked at the gardens, nice in the sunshine, explored the crypt where there are supposed to be ghosts, and looked at the batcam to see some cute bats stretching their wings.

It was an OK visit, not sure I would have liked it without the teddy bears, plus, they have no cafe.

Combe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park

2009-05-30T19:04:00.004+01:00

We haven't been here for years, largly because its quite expensive, (£12.50 adult, £7.50 children) but I decided that it was about time we went again, and a nice sunny day is the best time to go. It wasn't very packed today - the man at the gate reckoned that was because it was beach weather, but I think the football on the telly had something to do with it as well.

It's really good park, but plan to go all day to make sure you see everything and do all there is to do, and also to get your money's worth. Another good tip if you're driving there is to aim to park in Car Park 1 or 6. The whole park is built on the side of a very steep hill, and if you're taking a picnic and leaving it in the car til lunch time to get to any other car park will be like hiking Mount Everest. I made the mistake of parking in Car Park 3, so believe me, I speak from experience - out-of-breath-back-of-my-legs-killing-me experience!

So what is there in the park? Well the wildlife part of the park has various monkeys, racoons, otters, lions (the newest addition, and not fully ready yet), wallabies, and penguins. The best two animal attractions though are the sea lions, see below, and the wolves. The sea lion show runs twice in the day and is great; fully educational and not just animal exploitation. The lady explains all of the sea lion's behaviour and the reasons behind why they do what they do. The wolf talk is only on once and is definately not to be missed as is it given by Shaun Ellis, the Wolfman of Channel 5 documentary fame. He is completely brilliant, and the wolves are fascinating. The highlight for my children was when he brought out two wolf pups at the end of the talk, and everyone got the opportunity to stroke them.

Then there's the dinosaur part of the park. There is a dinosaur domain walk through the woods, but the best bit is the animatronic dinosaurs in the enclosure near the main entrance. They wake up on the hour every hour, move, roar, and - this was the best bit - spit! The sight of screaming children jumping when the water hit them was almost as funny as that of the wailing two year olds who thought the dinosaurs were real!

And as if all this wasn't enough there are two attractions which are completely unrelated to either dinosaurs or wildlife. There is the 'Light Show', which is themed around a trip into outer space and begins with the opening to 'War of the Worlds'. If you've ever done Disney, don't bother with this, its not remotely scary or even interesting. My youngest daughter said, 'It's like a disco, only not as good.' Underneath the 'Light Show' is 'The Tomb of the Pharoahs'. This the children found more scary, although the anticipation and their imaginations had more to do with this than anything.

Finally, there is the Earthquake train ride. This you have to pay £1 each for, which I found a bit of a rip off. There are other rides and mini-golf which you also have to pay for which can be avoided, but the train ride is one of their big things and ought to be as free as the rest of the park. It lasts about two minutes and takes you to a model American West mining town where 7000 gallons of water hurtle down to drench the not at all unsuspecting train passengers. Again, the kids loved it! Water on a hot sunny day and you're onto a winner.

Prezzo

2009-05-02T22:17:00.004+01:00

Just had a lovely meal here. We took the kids and met some friends. Its a tad expensive, but if you're looking for lovely Italian food in a nice atmosphere this could be the place for you. They were very good with the children too, a kids meal with ice cream was only £4.50, and there was so much of it my middle daughter couldn't finish it and thats not like her when eating spagetti bolognaise.

New Rock Park Playground

2009-04-19T17:34:00.005+01:00

OK, so it might have actually been here for about a year now, but it's still new. And its the first time we've been here. Like what seemed like hundreds of other people we took advantage of the sunshine, and the fact that daughter no.3 can ride a bike now, and went out to play today. This playground is much bigger that I thought it was going to be with loads of things to do, unfortunately they are mostly aimed at the younger children so my 11 year old got quite bored. However, after encouraging her to try out a few things, and after an ice cream, she got quite into it and raced around with my youngest having fun. I'm sure, had the zip-wire not been broken, she'd have not wanted to leave. It's a good park, one of Barnstaple's best now, but still doesn't match Bideford Park simply because it doesn't have a pool.

Tarka Inn

2009-04-09T11:28:00.005+01:00

It was a lovely day yesterday so I decided we better make the most of the weather and go out. This was at the expense of my husband mending my daughters broken bed, but I decided that one more night on the mattress on the floor wasn't going to kill her!

My youngest daughter has finally learned to ride a bike so we all went out on the Tarka Trail (see Tarka Trail post for further details). This time we went on the other side of the river towards Braunton. I didn't think we'd make it as far as we did but she kept going. We went to the Tarka Inn. It was taken over about three years ago now and used to be quite child-friendly but has now gone up-market. They don't like children and they don't seem to like cyclists either. So we bought a drink and sat outside with it, but didn't get an ice-cream or a chocolate bar because they don't sell them. They could make a killing in this location but don't seem interested. It wasn't nearly as busy as it used to be.

Barnstaple River Front

2009-03-23T08:58:00.003Z

Barnstaple has been looking really nice in the sunshine this last week. On Friday I had occassion to walk 28 children down to the river front to sketch the old bridge and it was lovely sitting and looking at the scenery. If you're in Barnstaple and have time for a leisurely walk then this is the place. The cycle path and walkway runs from Rock Park, under the old bridge, known as the Long Bridge, and then right round to the Civic Centre (not a picturesque building at all), and you get a lovely view of the new downstream bridge. Does this have an official name? I'm not sure.

Oh, and in between the two bridges is a rather nice little cafe called, of course, The River Front cafe.

Barnstaple is still good for shopping, for anyone who was wondering. Since I haven't posted about Barnstaple since 2006 I thought I would offer that titbit of information. We lost Woolies and Adams, but so far that it. New shops keep appearing, in particular a large amount of underwear shops! I wonder what that says about the people of North Devon.

North Devon Karting

2009-03-15T15:46:00.002Z

North Devon Karting Centre can be found on the Pottington Industrial Estate as you leave Barnstaple heading for Braunton; it's just before the dual carriageway. I've never been before, but my husband took my littlest one before Christmas and she was keen to go again so we all went over for an hour this afternoon. I just watched (well someone had to take some photo's - plus I got an excellent video of daughter no.2 crashing!!)

It's expensive at £4 per go-kart, and with each ride only lasting 6 minutes, so they only got two rides each. But they all loved it. Despite the crash and the two man rescue all three of my kids were keen to do the second race. Daughter no.1 wants to come back with her friends (I told her she needs to get a job!) The nice thing was that little ones can ride with an adult and they have seperate races for more powerful cars, so big people don't have to race with the slower little people. If you can afford it, it's worth a couple of hours to visit. Next time I might even have a go.

Exmoor

2009-02-22T20:47:00.002Z

I don't know why I thought this was a good idea. I think when I get old I'll be one of those old women who want to be driven out somewhere to sit and look at a view with a nice cup of tea. Cos that's what we did today. The blue skies came out and I thought, 'Oooh! Picnic!' So I stuffed some food in a box and we all headed for Exmoor. I think I forgot that it's still February.

Exmoor is lovely, even on a windy day. I love looking at all the trees with their coverings of green moss, and then reaching the wide open moorland and being able to see for miles. We drove out to Simonsbath and then turned towards Lynton on a little B road. There are lots of places to pull over and park the car. When we got out though we discovered that the ground was still wet, even though it hasn't rained for ages, and the wind was quite chilly - so we all piled back into the car and ate our sandwiches there. I insisted on leaving the doors open so we at least felt like we were eating outside.

Then followed a heated discussion on whether the coastline we could see across the water was Wales or Hartland Point. Eventually my husband had to concede defeat - it was Wales. Anyway - I can thoroughly recommend Exmoor for picnics, just don't go in February.

Marwood Hill Gardens

2009-02-15T17:11:00.003Z

This is a privately owned garden open to the public most of the year. It's in the village of Marwood just outside of Barnstaple following a windy country lane that takes you right up into the surrounding hills and offers a fantastic view of the town. Children under 12 are free and adult admission costs £4.50.

We've never been before but saw a piece in the North Devon Journal that said it was designated snowdrop Sunday today so we went out to see the snowdrops. They were beautiful, as was the rest of the 20 acre garden. This didn't stop my littlest one moaning when we had to walk up a steep hill and then decided to walk back the circular route rather than the way we came. Still the promise of a drink in the Tea rooms soon brought her out of that. Unfortuntely the Tea rooms had no chocolate, and whilst I could console myself with a large slice of bakewell tart, the children chose to put up with just a drink.

After this it was off for a wander round another one of the three lakes to see some more snowdrops, and then we headed for home. It was a lovely garden, and I couldn't help wondering how beautiful it must have looked in the snow.

(For photos of Barnstaple in the snow follow the link to North Devon Photo Journal opposite.)

Bucks Mills

2009-01-25T18:42:00.005Z

I haven't been here since I was a small girl. And I don't think its changed a bit. I had an image in my mind of narrow green country lanes where the trees blotted out the sky above, and of standing on bridges watching streams bubble underneath, and it was just like that today.

Bucks Mills is just off the A39 between Bideford and Clovelly. A mile drive takes you to a free car park and from here there are a number of footpaths you can take either into the surrounding woods or through or around the village. We walked through the village today, which is actually a road open only to residents, so occassionally we had to make way for a car. The village is very picture-postcard pretty and the road follows the path of the fast-flowing stream which once powered the mill.

At the end of the village is a steep path down the side of the cliff to the beach. Although my middle daughter pointed out in no uncertain terms that this was not what she called a beach. It's mostly pebbles.

Nevertheless they had fun filling their pockets with small stones and then throwing them into the sea. The stream that winds through the village crashes spectacularly down the side of the cliff just a short way along the beach, drawing people to it. There were quite a few visitors today which surprised me. After the toil back up the cliff path we headed for home, stopping at my sister-in-laws for a cup of tea, and found them on their way to Bucks Mills for a walk too!

Putsborough Beach

2009-01-01T20:09:00.003Z

This is a beach I've heard of but never actually been to, so today seemed like as good a day as any. Until I stepped out the car that is! It was freezing!

Putsborough is found just round the corner from Croyde about a mile down a single track country lane. The view as you pull into the drive that leads to the car park is stunning. I should imagine on a clear day it would be jaw-dropping. My jaw very nearly did drop when I had to pay for the car park, and now I understand why we don't come here. Its £3 to park in winter and £6 in the summer - more expensive than Croyde or Saunton.

From the car park a steep path leads down to the beach, with the tall cliffs that are the back of Baggy Point to your left and views of Woolacombe far off to your right. The children were particularly keen to clamber over the rocks and were only momentarily distracted by the ice patches all over the sand. In an attempt to keep my toes warm for just a bit longer I made them march up and down the sand for a while. We stopped to play football (with tiny Bratz ball) until my husband moaned that people kept kicking the ball past him and he had to keep running off after it - then we gave in to the inevitable and let them play on the rocks. This lasted for as long as it took my youngest one to put her foot in a pool of icy cold water (so not very long then). After that we all headed off to the cafe in the photo for hot chocolates.

Parkham

2008-12-24T18:31:00.002Z

Three enthusiastic children are not something I'm used to but they practically begged to go out this afternoon, lured by the Pizza Hut pay-off that is now a Christmas Eve tradition. Yesterday we got the North Devon Walks guide book out and this was their choice, not mine.

Parkham is a tiny villiage off the A39 between Bideford and Clovelly. There is nothing there but a church and a few pubs. We parked outside the church and followed the 3 mile route around the villiage past several farms, over fields and through woodlands. We even went through a tunnel under the road where all but one of us had to bend down to get through. If you are looking for an adventurous walk through very muddy countryside, this is it. The kids loved it, right up to the point where we had to walk up several VERY steep hills. Then they got a bit tired. And the second half of the walk was most on the road and this was a bit boring for them.

Fotunately no one fell over in the mud, although my husband had a few close calls, so when we got to Pizza Hut they weren't worried about letting us in. Thank goodness for that - all that fresh air and exercise and no pizza at the end of it and there really would have been a riot.

Appledore Woods

2008-11-16T17:50:00.002Z

There are probably lots of ways to enter Appledore Woods, but the way I know is through Limers Lane. Head towards Westward Ho! from the end of the new Bideford Bridge and take the first right. At the bottom of Limers Lane the road bears left along the river bank. Stop where you can and then walk. A footpath marked with one of those yellow acorns takes you onto National Trust land and into Appledore Woods.

Today it was very muddy, I put my walking boots on and rolled up my trousers, my daughters had their wellies, my husband had put two left feet wellies in the boot of the car and had to walk in his trainers!

The woods are beautiful at any time of the year but today, with all the autumn leaves, they were gorgeous. The path winds along the side of the bank of the river Torridge which is a long way below you and can just be made out through the trees. There is a circular route round which takes you back inland and through a farm and lots of fields but today we walked as far as the point where the path goes down to the beach then turned round and headed back. Three of us had a lovely time, daughter no2. found the experience less than happy when my husband suggested she take her wellies for a paddle through a stream and then got scared by the super-sinky mud. She got stuck on the wrong side of the stream and didn't want to come back again. Eventually we persuaded her, then retreated to my mums for a nice cup of tea.

The Big Sheep at Halloween

2008-11-03T13:10:00.004Z

I know I'm a little late posting this but things have been a bit hectic this weekend. The Big Sheep, which I have posted about before, is in Bideford. They have a Halloween Festival for three days at the end of October (naturally). I wanted to take the kids on the 31st to avoid the horid 'Trick or Treat' sweet scavenge but my middle daughter had already organised it all with her friends. So then I decided we'd go on the night before, but stupidly didn't think of booking tickets until they'd all sold out for that day. So we ended up going on Sat 1st Nov, which seemed a little weird seeing as how Halloween was over by then.

Anyway. Here's what there is to do. During the day they have all the normal stuff running plus their extra Halloween stuff and pumpkin carving. However, from 6.30, by ticket only, they have a show, a disco in Ewetopia (the soft play area), and the spooky rides they run through the day get much spookier because its DARK!!!! There is also a lantern parade if you've taken a carved pumpkin, and prizes for the best fancy dress.

We lucked out with show and got the very stupid Captain Coconut who did 'magic' tricks with bubble mixture, making giant bubbles, getting kids up doing things, making bubble chains. My kids were decidedly unimpressed. My sister went on Thursday and got Merlin doing stuff with fire - much more exciting.

After the show we hotfooted it over to the barn next to Ewetopia where the rides were running. The first ride is one there's queue for (hence the hotfooting), The Haunted Hayride. This takes you round the complex on a carriage pulled by a Tractor, about 30 people at a time. There is a scary commentry telling spooky stories about the sights you see as you travel round, skeletons, witches, spiders, etc. and from time to time horrible things jump out at you. My middle daughter was particularly terrified when charged at by a zombie weilding a chainsaw.

Next we ventured into the Haunted House where more grisley scenes awaited you. It was pitch black inside and this was the scariest thing. Unfortunately no one jumped out at you, which is what I was expecting. After all this trauma my children decided they couldn't face the Ghost Train Ride and we headed off to the Ewetopia to play.

By 9.30 we were all tired and headed home, but we did persuade them to try the Ghost Train before we went. My advice to you - don't bother. It was a complete load of rubbish, not scary in any way! Nevertheless, when asked if they enjoyed the evening, the children voted yes, with an average score of 8.25 out of 10. If you're thinking of going next year, book early.

Appledore Book Festival

2008-10-05T21:58:00.003+01:00

This is St Mary's Church in Appledore and my eldest daughter and I came here today as it was the venue for a talk that was part of the Appledore Book Festival. Now in its second year it has managed to attract a fair few famous names to this week long event, including, Tony Benn, Roy Hattersley, Kate Aide, Jeremy Strong and Penny Vincenzi.

We purchased tickets back in May to see Jacqueline Wilson but due to ill health she has cancelled all her speaking engagements this year and we got what Nick Arnold, book festival director, author and Appledore resident, called 'the next best thing', Nick Sharratt, Jacqueline Wilson's illustrator. This was a disappointment to my two youngest daughters who then opted out of the visit. But daughter no.1 and I enjoyed it. He was a little quiet and nervous to start with, but he soon warmed up and it was incredible looking at the drawings he had done at a mere 10 years old. I couldn't do that in a million years!

Anyway - book lovers out there - keep an eye out for next years event. They do have a website, and things do get booked out early.

Clovelly

2008-09-14T18:05:00.007+01:00

Famously mispronounced by Americans as Clove-ly, Clovelly lies on the North Devon coast between Hartland and Westward Ho! It is a privately owned village estate and as such an entrance fee is payable as you pass through the visitors centre. £15 for a family ticket (the woman on the desk agreed with me that family tickets should be for three children, but alas they are only for two.) So we paid for an extra child. We also collect two Fun Trail quizes. Oh no! I thought, not more questions we have to search for the answers to instead of just wandering around and enjoying ourselves, but this quiz proved to be both informative and Fun - just like it said on the tin.
I used to come to Clovelly often as a child (you didn't have to pay then), and it has changed little, but I saw places today that I have never seen before. And that was thanks to the quiz. There is a Fishermans Cottage set up as it would have been 100 years ago, complete with old fisherman to direct you to the correct places to look for the answers to the questions. And just next to this is Charles Kingsley's cottage, complete with Charles Kingsley (only a model this time). This cottage is where he lived whilst writing the book Westward Ho!

Clovelly is largely a pedestrian only zone and as you can see from the photo the walk up and down from Visitors Centre to Harbour is along steep cobbled streets. The residents of Clovelly use sledges to transport goods around, and donkeys, and the donkeys are around for the obligatory tourist shots and on certain days for people to ride. Today was their day off.

When we reached the harbour we stopped for an ice cream. There is a pub/hotel at the bottom of the hill and many people were sat along the Quay in the sunshine today drinking beer and wine. That seemed like a good idea to me but my husband was still suffering from a night out with the boys. So we strolled along the Quay walls while I had several small heart-attacks envisioning my children falling off the side, then headed for the long walk back up the hill.

Once back in the Visitors Centre we went to watch the 20 minute introductory video we probably should have watched at the beginning of our visit. I actually found it better this way around as we were shown things we were much better off discovering by ourselves. The video, narrated by Joss Ackland, a resident of Clovelly, answered some of the quiz questions we'd missed out. The quiz was then handed in to the desk, where the children were awarded their prize. I was convinced this would only be a small portion of chocolate by the children were allowed to choose from a selection of small toys. My youngest chose a bouncy ball and the middle one a hanging star mobile thing to put in her room. I was dead impressed. All in all Clovelly is definately worth a visit.

Braunton Burrows

2008-09-01T23:01:00.004+01:00

After our meal at the Williams Arms yesterday a brisk walk was in order. So we took the turning just opposite the pub and followed signs to Braunton Burrows and Crow Point. The Burrows is the largest sand dune system in England and is an SSSI, National Nature Reserve and a UNESCO biosphere reserve. There are several different ways to access it but the easiest is to follow the toll road. It cost £1.50 for cars. The single lane road is a mile and 1/4 long and is full of speed bumps but is well worth it for the amount of wildlife you can spot. We saw a white bird we didn't know the name of, moorhens, swans, ducks, and a heron, all in the stream that follows the road.

Once you reach the car park you can either climb the sand ridge over onto the beach or follow the boardwalk for a stroll through the dunes to the same beach but further out towards the estuary. We chose option 2. The landscape in the burrows is very strange with lumps and bumps everywhere. Lots of different vegetation grows. We particularly like the evening primrose. There were bumble bees darting in and out of flowers and lots of different species of butterfly flitting around.

And the beach there are fantastic views across to Appledore and over to Westward Ho! We followed the beach out towards the sea for a while then headed inland again to try the adventure of finding our way back to car park without using the boardwalk. We did eventually manage it and all that up-hill-and-down-dale effort was worth it for the photos I took. I'll post some of these on my PhotoJournal blog tomorrow - just follow the link.

The Williams Arms

2008-09-01T07:41:00.003+01:00

This is where we started our last day of the school holidays jaunt yesterday. The Williams Arms is a very popular pub/restaurant in Braunton. You can't miss it (although my husband did nearly drive straight past in his usual I'll-just-follow-the-car-in-front mode), it's to your right just as soon as you enter the village from the dual carriageway. What you see in the photo is the pub half of the building and the restuarant is off to the right on a right angle. The restuarant was fulled booked today so I'd advise booking if you want to eat there.

We arrived fairly early at 12.30 and were able to get a table in the bar, by the time we left it was squashed standing room only as people waited for tables and ours was nabbed very swiftly. In the bar you are able to order from the bar menu and eat from the carvery in the restuarant. We all had carveries. My teenager moaned at this so I only ordered her a children's plate at £4.95. Half way through the meal she then decided that this was OK after all and wished she'd had the adult plate in order to fit more potatoes on. However, when asked which they prefered English roast or French creperie (we've just come back from France) she was the only one to say French creperie!

Launceston Steam Railway

2008-08-29T21:56:00.008+01:00

Photo courtesy of Leslie Nicholson. (Many thanks)

This is straying somewhat out of the realms of North Devon, but I thought I would blog about it anyway. Launceston is in Cornwall, but only just! It took a while to get there this morning but eventually we made it and three generations of us boarded the steam train. There were three carriages on the train and we opted for the fully enclosed one. The train runs from Launceston to a hamlet called Newmills and the journey takes around 10 mins through leafy green countryside. Tickets are £25 for a family (2 adults and up to 4 children - a much more sensible number than 2) or £8.25 for adults. This allows you unlimited rides on the train, you could go up and down all day if you wanted to.

At the Launceston station there is a cafe and a museum (old barn with cars, bikes and things steam engine related). At Newmills there is a farm, entry to which is £10 for a family ticket. This farm has nothing to do with the Steam Railway other than its shared location. There is lots to do here for small children and my two youngest ones and thier small cousin had a great time there today. There are trampolines, a slide, lots of ride around trikes, swingball, a badminton/tennis net and racquets, lots of picnic benches, a cafe, and lots of wasps. This last caused lots of hysterical squealling from the two youngest members of our party so a visit planned for earlier in the year might be advisable.

Another big hit at the farm was the pets corner where my two spent ages cuddling the baby rabbits. We spent about three hours there, and did a bit of celebrity spotting (Tamsin Greig from Love Soup was there with her family - another photo I lost), then caught the train back again. This time we went for the open carriage which was very nice and to be recommended as long as its not raining - which just for a change it wasn't!

Still majorly annoyed about losing half of my photos - this is the only one of Newmills that survived.

Hartland Point and Lighthouse

2008-08-03T18:53:00.003+01:00

We haven't been out for a while and the cobwebs definately needed blowing away after the night before, so out we went despite the weather. I consulted the walkers guide book and Hartland point, it said, was an ideal family walk largely on level terrain. Ha! The walk out of the car park nearly finished me off.

But I get ahead of myself. Hartland is on the edge of North Devon, almost in to Cornwall. The village is some 2 miles away from the coast and directions from the main road to the lighthouse take you around the village on some very narrow, very windy roads - this was most definately the worst part of the journey, especially after the aforementioned night before!

So, having made it down the windy roads, and up a very steep path out of the car park, we then stood on the edge of the cliff for the photo opportunity: beautiful rugged cliffs, lighthouse perched precariously amongst them, Lundy island in the back ground - howling gale and rain! The rain did pass however and the rest of the walk, although bracing, was very lovely. The path takes you down into the next valley and past a waterfall which turned out to be little more than drizzle the size of my bathtaps (apparently there's a better one at Spekes Mill which we will visit on a dry day). We then followed some country lanes, over stiles and through fields and farms until we reached the car park again.

There's a small picnic area in the car park and a kiosk selling lots of yummy food, hot and cold drinks and ice cream. The man at the counter, mistaking me for a mad tourist determined to enjoy her vacation at any cost (as opposed to a mad local who chose to come out when she could have stayed at home and waited for a nice day) gave me a brouchure and told me I should visit Hartland Quay next. The brouchure has a free car parking voucher inside. It also boasted Hartlands Super Service Award as Most Welcoming Community. The two workers inside the Kiosk were certainly most welcoming. I think we might come this way again - perhaps when we haven't haven't had quite such a party the night before.

Bideford Water Festival

2008-07-13T22:13:00.004+01:00

This was a blast from the past. Many years ago, when I was a mere slip of a thing, the Bideford Water Festival was a big thing, a fund raising event run by the Rotary Club that drew people in droves. Then for some reason unknown to me it ceased. Today, after a gap of 25 years, it was back, pretty much as I remember it, but with a few twists.

Pictured above is the Greasy Pole competition. It does what it says on the tin, and people have to try to get to the end of the pole without falling off. The new organisers haven't quite got the measure of it yet, as half way through the competition they had to re-grease the pole because it got too easy to reach the end. I used to love watching the Greasy Pole (although I have to admit I remember it mostly from the Appledore Festival) and my kids loved it too.

There were plenty of other events organised for the river - a display from the lifeboat people, a gig race complete with the teams coating each other in flour after it was all over (known for some reason as Miller and Sweep - if someone can tell me why I'd be most grateful), and a raft race. I was expecting home made rafts but these were little inflatable boats. Teams of eight had to row from one side of the river to the other and back again, stopping on the east side to get out in the mud just to prove they'd made it. Nobody sank, but several people fell over trying to get back into their rafts, much to the amusement of the crowds.

There was due to be an East v West tug-of-war across the river but health and safety put a stop to that on the grounds that one team would obviously be pulled into the river. Another slight change to the traditional was the Pram Race. In my youth the Pram Race involved grown men, dressed either as babies or women, rushing from pub to pub, with the baby being pushed in a pram, and downing a pint in each pub. Today this became the Sedan Race, the reasoning behind which was that not many people have prams nowadays. The pub thing and the drinking stayed the same: we didn't stay long enough to see if the contestants still dressed up. I hope they did though.

As well as all this there were the usual stalls designed to part you from your well earned cash and - I was most impressed with this - THREE Hockings ice cream vans! All this and the sun actually shone for once.

Woolacombe Sandcastle Competition

2008-07-06T15:49:00.003+01:00

I've been trying to get to the Woolacombe Sandcastle Competition every year for ages now but I've always had something else on or its been rained off. It was looking a bit dodgy this morning and the sandcastle building didn't start until the afternoon because of rain. We drove over and paid the exorbitant £5 parking fee then went for a look round. Thank goodness they can't charge you for walking on the beach.

There were some truly amazing creations. Some of my favourites are above. I also liked a very realistic dolphin and a reindeer. Each team of six gets about 3 hours to finish and the entrance fee goes to the North Devon Hospice. We had a good look round and stopped for an ice cream, but didn't stay long cos of the weather. Just look at the people in the photos - they're in jumpers and jeans. It's July! We should all be wearing shorts and t-shirts, sitting on the beach in wind-free conditions sipping beer and eating strawberries and turning slowly brown (not blue) !

Landacre Bridge

2008-06-22T17:04:00.002+01:00

We've just come back from a barbeque on Exmoor. I decided we'd go out at 12.00 today when it looked like it was finally going to be a nice day. So we all piled in the car, headed for Sainsburys to stock up on burgers and buns and then travelled down the link road (A361) to North Molton. A few miles outside of this tiny Exmoor village, and just outside the Devon border, is Landacre Bridge. It's an old medieval bridge (according to the guide books) which crosses the River Barle.

Today it was very windy and my children were glad that Daddy had brought so many jumpers so that they could wear them as well as the ones I'd made them bring. We went for a walk while Daddy cooked, then afterwards we got the kite out. It was a fun way to spend a few hours, but be warned - although Landacre is very picturesque and a nice place to go to stretch your legs, there are no facilities except the occassional ice cream van that stops on its way to somewhere else.

Ilfracombe Victorian Week

2008-06-16T12:11:00.011+01:00

I've been to Ilfracombe four times in the last ten days. Not through choice, but because my children have had dancing rehearsals and exams at the Landmark Theatre. All week there have been people wandering around in Victorian costume and yesterday saw the final day of the town's annual Victorian Week. So we took the opportunity of a nice day and an enforced wait to have a wander around.

To be honest there didn't seem a lot that was out of the ordinary of a typical village fete, apart from the obvious costume thing. There were bouncy castles, trampolines (which I refused to pay for my children to go on as they have one in the garden which is free!), craft stalls, and Victorian fairground rides such as the galloping horses and a heltersketler. The Punch and Judy show was nice, we took advantage of that whilst eating the obligatory Hockings ice cream. There was a brief blink-and-you-miss-it parade complete with a po-faced Queen Victoria, but appart from the fairground rides the most fun my children had was in the Amuesment Arcade. Good job it was nice weather!

Lynton and Barnstaple Steam Railway

2008-05-11T20:12:00.004+01:00

A couple of months ago I reported that we'd gone out on possibly the coldest day of the year and all nearly frozen. Well today was possibly the hottest day of the year so far and I decided we'd all go out in Victorian costume. We boiled. Still, we weren't out for long.

The Lynton and Barnstaple Steam Railway was today celebrating its 110th anniversary with a Victorian themed weekend. The railway now only has a bit of the old narrow gauge track left, and this has been restored in recent years. It runs from Woody Bay station, to Killington Lane, some ten minutes away. The cost for this return trip is £5 for adults and £3 for children or £13 for a family ticket. Today, anyone wearing Victorian costume got a 20% discount. Hence our attire.

There is nothing at Killington Lane station, but you get to walk up and down the platform while they move the engine from one end of the train to the other. Then, once back in Woody Bay, you get to avail yourself of the tearooms. We sat in the garden in the blistering sunshine and enjoyed our tea and cake whilst listening to two Victorian gentlemen tell a tale of Martians on Bodmin Moor. Very entertaining and even the audience participation wasn't too bad.

In case you were wondering, my oldest daughter stayed behind on the pretext of revising for her mock GCSEs hence avoiding dressing up, and my husband was a party-pooper and wore jeans and a t-shirt. Boo Hiss!

Valley of the Rocks

2008-05-05T23:20:00.003+01:00

Ordinarily this is a lovely place to visit. Today we had a bit of a bad day. When I looked out my window this morning it was lovely blue skies and bright sunshine everywhere. By the time we got here it was cloudy and windy. Plus the whole point of the visit was to take some nice photos to put in a frame I've just bought and getting out of the car I discovered I'd brought my camera but no memory card, so I only managed a few photos on the internal memory.

Anyway, the exercise was good. The Valley of the Rocks is just outside the town of Lynton on the coast of North Devon. It is very rugged and beautiful and today there were loads of wild goats everywhere. Most people come for a walk round and follow the many paths along the cliffs, other come to climb. My husband decided we would go down to the beach despite the fact that the sign said the path was closed. We saw others coming up the path so we thought it would be OK. Well teenaged daughter was up for it, smallest daughter didn't know any better, but middle one was rather worried so when we got near the bottom of the steep, windy and precarious little path on the edge of cliff and the path had collapsed she decided to stop where she was and I waited with her. The others made it to the bottom without incident and ran round on the sand for a while. Of course that meant they had further to climb back up. My husband is now paying for this, moaning about his aches and pains! Ha!

If you do go for a visit, stick to the paths that are open. And make sure you drive round to the toll road so you can see the White Lady, a hole in the rock formation that looks just like a lady in a white dress.

Bideford Park

2008-04-16T16:38:00.003+01:00

Time to get out in the sunshine again. My children had friends round this afternoon so I loaded them all in the car and took them down to Bideford because a) it really is the best park around and b) its the only park with a Hockings Ice Cream Van right outside!

There are two children's play areas (the one shown says for 4-8 year olds on the gate but it didn't stop the older ones from going in) and they all ran wildly from one to the other to play leaving me out of breath somewhere in between the two trying to keep up. There are slides outside the play areas, grassy banks to roll down, the fort and cannons to play on, and thats without even going near the paddling pool mentioned in a previous post - it was too cold for that today.

When they'd exhausted themselves we found a sheltered spot to eat our ice-creams in. Yum, the first one of the year, now I know summer is on its way!

The Gnome Reserve

2008-04-15T22:03:00.003+01:00

Out in the middle of nowhere, between West Putford and Bradworthy you will find The Gnome Reserve. Started 30 years ago in the owners garden the gnomes have grown and grown in number and the publicity likewise. £2.95 will get you entry, £2.50 for children. It seems a little over priced to me for what is essentially a walk round someones garden, but the children seemed to like the hour we spent in the spring sunshine.

One area of the 4 acre grounds is the designated gnome reserve where over 1000 gnomes live and can be seen engaged in activities such as the traditional fishing, to playing instruments, flying helicopters and even going to the toilet. To enter this area visitors are encouraged to wear the 'almost compulsory' gnome hats that can be picked up in the admissions area. My oldest daughter asked, "Do you think she washes the hats?" I should state at this point that I was quite prepared to leave my oldest daughter at home, thinking that this was not the place a teenager would be interested in, but as soon as she found out where we were going she was dead keen to come too. Who would have thought?

The other part of the grounds was the wild flower garden. We were given a quiz to answer as we went around which involved counting fairies amongst other things. There are not so many of these, but we had fun counting, although we seemed to count more than there actually were.

We stayed for a cup of tea and a piece of cake. The children had fun playing on the grass. Then we made our way back home. I went today with my dad and was glad he came along, not just for the company but also to give directions. It's not the easiest place in the world to find. Watch out for little gnomes pointing the way planted in the hedgerows on white card.

Lambing at Kipscombe Farm

2008-04-06T20:34:00.004+01:00

We ventured out today on possibly THE coldest day of the year to visit Kipscombe Farm. This is a National Trust property and, as a working farm, was open only for today as a free event.

We met in a car park on Exmoor (the lady I booked with over the phone gave me the grid reference but we found it more by luck than judgement, having been given only the vague direction that it was just outside Lynmouth) and climbed out of the car into a howling northly wind that made the outside temperature feel artic. Our guide led us down into a valley that was a tiny bit more sheltered, but only a tiny bit as the farm was built overlooking the sea. It did ofter fantastic views of the Bristol Channel and over into Wales, you could even see the snow on the Brecon Beacons.

Our tour took us into the sheep barn where we met the farmer who was very informative about the ins and outs of breeding and lambing sheep. He had been up at three that morning as several lambs were being born then. We were lured here today by the guidebook's promise that it may be possible to witness lambs being born whilst on the farm. The farmer showed us a sheep he thought might be about to lamb, but nothing transpired so we continued the tour, looking into the cow shed and walking over the fields to see more sheep and thier newly born lambs, becoming ever more frozen as the minutes ticked by.

Back in the sheep barn the children were allowed to hold some of the lambs that had been born that morning, which they loved, although my littlest one was quite surprised at how heavy they were. Another sheep went into labour and was ushered into her own private pen - with about twenty onlookers all holding thier breath. We waited, and waited.... Sheep labour, it appears, it akin to human labour, it just goes on and on. So eventually we could stand the cold no longer and decided to give up and head for somewhere out of the weather serving hot chocolates.

It was a shame, all of us wanted to see the sheep have its lamb, but the elements defeated us. If only they'd served hot drinks we might just have made it. Six hours and later my nose is only just returning to normal.

Knightshayes Court

2008-03-22T21:23:00.004Z

This National Turst property is not actually in North Devon, its at the Tiverton end of the A361, but its only 40 minutes out of Barnstaple so not too far to go if you feel like a visit, or only a few miles out of your way if you are on your way into the area for a holiday. We've nver been before and decided to go today for their Easter Egg Trail.

On arrival the children were given a leaflet each (at a cost fo £1.50 per child) and instructed to search the ground for ten animals which laid eggs. The animals were also hidden in a wordsearch so my children had found several before we'd even visited the toilets! It was fun though. They raced through the walled kitchen garden and found five. We stopped long enough to look at a few plants, although they found the chickens and geese more interesting. Then it was off to the main house.

The other five animals we found hidden around the terraced garden at the front of the house. The grounds at Knightshayes are lovely and carpeted in thousands of daffodils. There are also some fantastic views of the surrounding countryside. We did a trip around the inside of the house too. We were given another trail to follow inside, although there were no prizes for completeing this one. In every room we had to find certain animals and plants. There were guides in several of the rooms, some of whom were more helpful than others. When we got to the end and my youngest daughter realised we'd missed some of the things she insisted on going back around to find them.

It was a pleasant afternoon out, we collected our Easter eggs on the way out and we even had a few flurries of snow to add a bit of excitement. Being towed back home by an AA truck fnished off the day nicely. "Cool," said daughter number two.

Heddon's Mouth

2008-03-16T18:09:00.003Z

Heddon's Mouth is on the Devon coastline on Exmoor. It's only a tiny little bay but the walk down to it through the woods follows the river and is very picturesque. You can walk to it from Trentishoe, or take the cliff path to view it from above (on a good day you can see across to Wales - the cliffs are the highest in Devon), but the easiest way to get there is to park at the Hunters Inn . From Barnstaple take the A39 towards Lynton and Lynmouth and about three miles past the Blackmoor Gate crossroads Heddon's Mouth and The Hunters Inn are signposted to your left. A long, single track road brings you out to the Inn and its surrounding National Trust land. There are public toilets and a National Trust shop there also.

To reach the coast path you have to follow the road past the Inn. Once on it its an easy stroll down to the beach on more or less level ground, with the odd patch of mud and several slopes of scree that the children enjoyed climbing until my littlest one found it rather tricky coming down from. "I'm not going on the stones again," she said on the way back.

Signs of spring were everywhere and the daffoldils were lovely - see my Photo Journal blog for more photos. Once at the beach we threw a few pebbles in the swift-flowing and noisy stream then ambled back to the Hunters Inn for a hot chocolate before making our way home.

North Devon Museum

2008-02-21T16:35:00.003Z

Its February half term again and time to visit another museum. I've got loads of ideas for things to do and places to go this year, but practically nothing is open until after Easter. Today was cold and grey so it called for an indoor activity (after I'd done a bit of shopping in Barnstaple of course.)

North Devon Museum is situated at the end of the old bridge in Barnstaple. A lot of the displays are the same year in, year out, but they do update things occassionally. The children liked the Tarka room with all the stuffed animals and the river exhibit. They were also fascinated by the skeleton that was found in Saunton and dates back to the mid 17th century. "How did it die?" and "How do they know its a boy?" were questions that were discussed at length. They were less impressed with the Underwater Room, which I thought quite facinating. Apparently it was scary (it was dark and made strange noises!)

We spent just under an hour looking around - entry is free - and then my youngest one took the opportunity to do a painting. There were special workshops being run in the entrance hall because it was half term - painting with mud! Yes, really; the artist who was there had harvested various local clays and mud and the children were able to paint with them, six different colours ranging from dark black to pale yellow. All the works of art will be displayed in May - so we'll have to go back then!

Abbotsham Cliffs

2008-01-27T22:32:00.000Z

The sun came out today for the first time in ages, so after I'd finished painting the woodwork on my stairs I loaded the kids into the car and rushed down to Mum and Dad's to drag them out for a walk. Dad came along, Mum, I suspect, had a quick forty winks!

We drove down to Westward Ho! and went down past the rock pools, the Elizabethan, and all the holiday homes and beach huts til civilisation ran out and all that was left was the wild sea and the edge of the land. A path, that used to be the railway line from Westward Ho! to Abbotsham, runs along the cliff edge for about a mile and the views of the bay are fantastic. Today, despite the brilliant sunshine, it was a bit hazy in the distances but you could still make out Saunton Sands, Lundy Island and all the way round to Hartland Point.

The sun, shining low at 4.00, beat straight into us as we walked west and made taking the picture of the pebble beach above a bit tricky. We didn't follow the path all the way down, as little legs were getting tired by then, but its quite fun to go clambering on if you've a mind, and the cliff paths go on after that if you are interested in a longer walk, or you can turn left and follow the path inland to the village of Abbotsham where I believe there may be a pub!

The Mill Adventure Centre

2008-01-06T18:32:00.001Z

If you are after exercise and don't want to go out in the winter this is a great place to get it. The Mill has been open for over a year now but this was our first visit. Although it calls itself an adventure centre it is really only a climbing centre with about ten fixed ropes, a traversing wall and several routes for lead climbing. It also has a bouldering room. But it does boast the fact that it is the largest indoor climbing wall in Devon.

We confined ourselves to about six of the ropes, as the other routes looked far too difficult. The holds are colour coded and the routes graded so you can make it as difficult or easy as you want. It wasn't too busy today and once the kids got the hang of it they were well away, going up some routes four or five times. They also loved the bouldering room. We never had to wait for a rope and even recieved some free tutition from one of the instructors.

You do have to be an experienced climber to just walk in off the street and use the place though. We signed up as members, which costs nothing and then we were in, but if you are a complete novice you have to book a session with an instructor in advance. And when I say experienced, I don't mean very experienced, just as long as you can tie a figure of eight and know how to belay, which is good cos that about all I can manage!

Entrance cost £7.50 for adults and £5 for children and you can stay as long as you like. If you are not climbing, just belaying, then you don't have to pay at all - also good, as the larger, more unfit, one of us (mentioning no names), decided HE wasn't going to climb! There's a nice cafe, which serves home-made food at a reasonable price and is in the same room as the wall so you can sit and watch other people exerting themselves whilst enjoying a nice rest. We had fun and the kids want to go again, so definately one to recommend to all you budding climbers out there.

Beam Weir

2007-12-27T14:15:00.002Z

On Boxing Day isn't it more or less complusory to go for a walk? Well it is my family - a chance to let the kids blow off some steam and a chance for who ever is cooking the dinner to get on with it in peace and quiet. So when we all arrived at my mum and dad's this afternoon we were imediately shipped out the door again. We met my sister and her family at the Puffing Billy pub, just outside Torrington and from there walked down the Tarka Trail to Beam Weir.

There were lots of other like-minded people out and about, some with dogs, others with children and new bicycles. It's not a very long walk, but it is pretty, once you get past the old, rusty, graffiti-riden railway carriage behind the pub. The weir was seemed quite wild to me and full of muddy brown water. It is a popular spot with local wildlife, otters and kingfishers have been spotted on many occasions, but, not surprisingly, we saw nothing today. Still, the chance to stretch our legs in the sunshine was very pleasant.

Coddon Hill

2007-12-24T21:13:00.001Z

Well, its Christmas Eve and time to get the kids out of the house for some fresh air and exercise before tomorrow's excitement. Of course all they wanted to do was go to Pizza Hut, they seem to think it's a tradition because we've been for the last two years. So the condition was - walk first, Pizza Hut afterwards.

I decided on Coddon Hill because its one of those places I've heard talked about lots but never actually been to. It's just outside the village of Bishops Tawton and the guide book I looked at said park in the village and follow the path to the top of the hill. Well, that's a 4 mile circular route and although I was all in favour of exercise that might just have finished us all off so we decided to drive up the hill a bit and see if there was anywhere to park. 10 minutes later we'd driven all the way round the hill through Bableigh and were back in Bishops Tawton! "Oh lets just go and park on the road up the hill a bit," I said. And what did we find on our second route round? A lovely car park. It's slightly hidden off the road a bit, but keep your eyes peeled for a dirt track to your left and you'll find it too.

It was quite wind up there. We followed the path out of the car park and up the hill and soon found ourselves right where we wanted to be, by the monument. This is a monument to Caroline Thorpe, wife of ex-MP Jeremy Thorpe, who died in 1970 aged 32. Around the monument is a stone compass with the names of the villages you can see from the 360 degree vantage point. You can see north to Exmoor and South East to Dartmoor and today we could just make out the shadow of Lundy Island to the West. We didn't have good visability at all today, hence the rather odd photo of a sheep with Barnstaple in the background. I think we'll come back on a clear day and I'll post some better photos.

After being blown about by the wind a bit we followed a sheltered path back to another hidden car park, then walked along the road til we got back to the car. We'd sucessfully blown the cobwebs away and worked off a few calories before piling them (and more) back on over the next few days.

Reindeer Roadshow

2007-11-23T21:49:00.001Z

For the last two years this has been held in Barnstaple. Last year my husband took the kids but I couldn't make it, so this year I was determined to go along. This year's Reindeer Roadshow was held in Bideford. The roadshow bit was Lantern FM, the local radio station, with a stage at the bottom of the High Street. The bit I was interested in was the Reindeer bit. They were lovely and surprisingly small (its no wonder Santa needs eight of them to pull his sleigh!)

We arrived in Bideford just as Santa was coming along the Quay and we followed the procession til we met my sister and her son. Then we wandered up the High Street for a look around, went into a shop and completely missed the turning on of the Christmas lights, much to daughter number two's disappointment (especially as she wasn't there for the Barnstaple one last week.) However, finding the reindeer on the Quay more than made up for it. We stood and watched them for ages, and she managed to touch on of their antlers, which are covered in fur. Then she cheered up even more when I lent her my camera and took a photo of the baby reindeers (well actually a baby reindeers bottom, but she wasn't bothered about that!)

There were lots of street entertainers around too and we managed to get one of them to make us some balloon animals, then it was off for a cup of tea before coming home.

Christmas Lights

2007-11-18T20:04:00.000Z

I don't normally go in for this sort of thing, but as I had nothing much else to do today, and as there was someone reasonably famous coming to do it, I thought I'd make the effort and go and watch the Christmas lights being turned on. The someone reasonably famous was Joss Stone, a devongirlie herself, and a someone who is involved with local charity Amigos International. (She made a visit with them to Uganda, my daughters teacher went too and helped to make a video and educational pack that is going out to school across the county.)

Anyway, me and my littlest one trekked down to Barnstaple's newly re-vamped Square, along with hundreds of other people, and were only able to squeeze our way to about half way to the stage area, hence the blurry photo. Joss came on and sang 'Son of A Preacher Man', turned on the lights then left again. There were some pretty spectacular fireworks (look and learn Chivenor) and then it was all over.

Bonfire Night at RMB Chivenor

2007-11-04T12:07:00.000Z

We've not been here for a couple of years and when we got here last night I remembered why - far too commercialised!

RMB Chivenor is three miles outside Barnstaple as you head towards Braunton. A couple of years ago, for the anniversary of Guy Fawkes' failed attempted at blowing up parliament, the Marines decided to team up with the Roundtable and hold a combined fireworks celebration. Then they just carried on doing it. In my opinion it was much nicer when they did it at Barnstaple Rugby Club. You walked in, watched the fireworks, which were done to music, then came home again.

At Chivenor, you drive onto the airfield through a shambolically organised ticket 'gate', then walk to what can only be described as a money trap. There's the stall selling the obligatory glow-in-the-dark toys which inevitably fall to bits after two minutes, numerous fairground rides, a whole row of fast food vans and, most strangely, a Santa sleigh playing Christmas songs!

So after negotiating with the children that they were only allowed on one ride, and letting them nag their Dad into buying them a multicoloured light sabre each, we stood to wait for the fireworks. It was a pretty average display that lasted only about 15 mins - no music. Shortly after this the bonfire, a large ship, was lit. We stood and watched it for a while then came home. Bring back the good old days when bonfires were proper shaped and you were allowed to toast marshmallows next to them!

Halloween at Arlington Court

2007-10-26T17:50:00.000+01:00

We became members of the National Trust back in July but haven't actually been anywhere to use our membership - til now; partly because of the lousy summer we had and partly because there really is only one National Trust place to visit in North Devon. So today we christened our card and went to Arlington Court for their Halloween Fun Day.

There was a bat trail around the grounds. We found a few bat cards full of information but the novelty soon wore off. They were more interested in the craft room where they sat for ages making bat masks. We then went off for a quick run around the grounds, managed to walk quietly around the inside of the house, and then came home again.

Tonight there is a Halloween Walk where the staff dress up and act out a scary story. Walkers follow them around the grounds through various scary tunnels and across dark muddy fields where witches and ghouls wait to jump out at you. We've done this twice in previous years so tonight we'll stay wrapped up in the warm. I can recommend giving it a go though - if your children are brave and you have a good sense of humour!

Torrington 1646

2007-10-25T13:42:00.001+01:00

I dragged the children out of bed this morning. It was cold and grey and the middle of their half term but they were fine with that: even the teenager, given the option of staying behind, decided she'd come out for a visit with the rest of the family. We travelled 11 miles through the country lanes to Torrington, a small market town perched on top of some very steep hills, and there we visited the Torrington 1646 exhibition.

Centred around the the Civil War battle that took place there that year it is essentially an interactive experience that takes you through what it would be like to live during those times. The experience lasts two hours and the staff, all dressed in costumes and acting in role, take you through the exhibits on a guided tour. This was a bit worrying at first as I am generally used to allowing my children to wander at will but they were very good and the staff are obviously experienced in keeping young children entertained.

Our tour started in the costume room where a gentleman and his son were dressed in armour and then myself and a young girl from another family were dressed as mistresses of the day, much to the amusement of my middle daughter who thought it particularly funny that I had to wear a bumrole to make my backside look bigger (like it needed any help!). Then we were taken through the streets of Torrington at night while the battle took place. We visited the Barber surgeon who spared no gorey detail while telling us about his work. There is a Physic garden, but it was too cold to be shown around that so the lady brought her plants indoors to us. And finally we were taken into the garden for a weapons display. Several hapless volunteers were taken through their paces as pikemen, then we learn all about muskets.

The cafe was our next port of call for a hot chocolate to warm us all up. It was a very interesting and very entertaining visit, particularly useful if you are learning about the Civil War at school as my second daughter is. Family entrance is £21 for 2 adults and up to 3 children. My children learnt a lot and have decided they definately don't wish they were alive 35o years ago, far too many things involved urine!

Tarr Steps

2007-09-02T20:13:00.001+01:00

Its the last day of my holiday and I decided we would make the most of it with a picnic on Exmoor. The last time we came to Tarr Steps was four years ago so finding it was a bit of challenge - particularly as my husband is averse to using a map. We travelled out along the A361 and then turned through North Molton unfortunately the GPS route finder thing then directed us through Hawkridge, a windy road, tree-lined, very pretty, but one that led us to Tarr Steps on the wrong side of the river! Tarr Steps is a ford in the river and it is possible to drive through next to the stone bridge shown above - if you have a 4x4. We don't. So my children and I exited the car and crossed the river on foot while my husband took the car the long way round via Liscombe - the way we would have come if we'd consulted a map!

Well the September sun was shining and we had a lovely picnic (there was still plenty of it left by the time my husband reached us). Then the girls had a great time playing in the river. I advise taking a change of clothes, we took shorts for them all to wear in the river, and I was glad we did cos my littlest one got them very wet.

After that we went for a walk. There are a number of them sign posted. We took the circular walk that took us 3/4 mile upstream, across a little bridge and then back to the ford. It was very pretty. There is a cafe/restaurant there that does very nice cream teas, and they don't mind you using the toilets, and a little ice cream hut. We had an ice cream each then headed off for the long trek up the hill to the car park. It was a great day - shame it had to end and I have to go back to work tomorrow.

Tarka Trail

2007-08-27T16:45:00.001+01:00

The Tarka Trail stretches from Torrington through Barnstaple and out to Braunton. It used to be a railway line but has now been converted to a cyclepath. It is about 21 miles long.

I've been wanting to take the children along it for a long time now, and having given up on my youngest ever learning to ride a bike, decided that today we would hire a bike with an extra bit on the back for her to sit on and pretend to pedal. Unfortunately lots of other people must have had the same idea because when we phoned the Cycle Hire place next to the railway station in Barnstaple they didn't have any left. After a small sulk we solved the problem by resurrecting the cycle seat we used when she was a baby. She is just on the maximum weight limit for it. This meant my husband had to ride my old, rusty 3 speed bike, but at least we all got to go out together.

Finding the cycle trail was a bit of an adventure, but we made it eventually. We decide to go from Barnstaple railway station to Fremington Quay. This is not the prettiest stretch of the trail but its the closest to us and the shortest bit to get to somewhere worth going. Its about three miles and it was quite surprising how quickly we did it. The Quay is quite a popular place and the old railway station has been converted into a cafe. We had a drink, cake and ice cream then headed back again. There are some lovely views of the estuary. And when we got into Barnstaple we found our way onto the new bridge and came home that way, must easier than going through the town, although I did have to get off and push up the hill to the top of the bridge!

Lundy Island

2007-08-22T10:03:00.000+01:00

Lundy Island lies off the coast of North Devon and is visible from the coast on most days. I visited it as a child but don't remember much about it so for a while now I've been thinking of going back. So yesterday we went. It's a lovely place, wild and empty, but I won't be going back again.

The MS Oldenburg takes 267 passengers and leaves from either Bideford or Ilfracombe. When we arrived in Ilfracombe yesterday and joined the queue for the boat a cheery crewman walked up the line telling everyone that sea conditions were 'moderate to rough'. He lied, they were VERY rough. I spent most of the two hour journey on deck along with about fifty other people holding sick bags. I was very ill by the time we arrived.

Once you are finally allowed off the boat you then have to face the long walk up the cliff. By the time I'd done that I was ready for a lie down. Fortunately the sun was shining and we found a sheltered spot to have our picnic, so when the others had finished eating and I'd had a drink of water I felt much more able to explore the island. A handful of people live there permanently, and there is a campsite for people wanting to holiday on the island. There is a pub, a shop, a church and a toilet block, but that's about it.

The jetty where the boat docks is on the south of the island. Lundy is three miles long and half a mile wide. So after lunch we headed north to see what there was to see. We found the wild ponies, who didn't mind too much when my children stroked them. We saw some ruined cottages, and then, when we reached the Quarterwall, we headed across to the west coast of the island. The map said there were puffins there but we didn't see any, most of them are at the North end. There is also the chance of seeing some seals but we didn't.

Heading back south again we found the old lighthouse and my husband took the children up while I rested in a sunny spot. They were impressed by the views from the top. Then there was just time to visit the shop before heading back to the boat. The trip home wasn't quite as bad as the outward journey but I still didn't dare to venture downstairs.

The trip to Lundy cost £67 for a family ticket. If you are a good seafarer, or you are lucky enough to pick a calm day, it's worth a visit. I'd go again - if there was some other way of getting there!

For more photos of the island follow the link to my other blog - North Devon Photo Journal.

Torridge Pool

2007-08-15T22:36:00.000+01:00

What to do when its raining? Lets do what everyone else does and go swimming. Well we tried Cascades at Ruda holiday park (see earlier blog entry) and the queue was out the door, so after lunch we headed in the opposite direction and tried Torridge Pool in Northam. I'd phoned earlier to find out what time thier 'Happy Hour' was, and arrived fifteen minutes after it had started to hear the lady pool-side yell through to reception, "We're full, don't let anyone else in". Fortunately she didn't mean me, she meant anyone who wasn't already in line.

'Happy Hour' is when they have the large inflatable octopuss and all the floatation mats out for people to play with. Of course you're not allowed to take photos inside but I managed to sneak this one before being told off by one of the lifeguards.

I've edited out the part of photo which had a boy who is nothing to do with me, lest I offend someone! I should warn you that you are also not allowed on the inflatable with armbands on (my daughter was told off for that just after the photo was taken) nor are you allowed to use goggles which cover your nose. We live in a world where health and safety rule, not the government.

Robber's Bridge

2007-08-11T19:10:00.001+01:00

At 12.30 today I checked the online weather forecast and discovered that it was going to rain for the next four days. So in an attempt to make the most of the sunshine we all rushed out the door in about 20 mins for an impromptu picnic. We rushed to Sainsburys first to buy some food then headed off to Exmoor. We ended up here - one of my very favourite places.

Robber's Bridge is in Doone Valley and is linked in someway to the R.D. Blackmoor story 'Lorne Doone', though don't ask me how because I've never read it. It's accessed from the A39 between Lynmouth and Porlock via a very steep and windy narrow lane. It's worth the journey. It's an absolutely beautiful place. The water on both sides of the bridge is shallow enough to paddle in, and my children spent ages doing this - once they'd eaten their picnic of course. I sat back and enjoyed the sunshine. Then after a while we all did some painting. I won't show you the results - none of us are budding Rembrants!

If you are ever anywhere near this is a place you must visit. There are no facilities, only a car park; but even when it's quite crowded, as it was today, the peace and tranquility are enough to restore anyone's soul.

Exmoor Zoo

2007-08-03T17:31:00.000+01:00

Exmoor Zoo hides down a little country lane in the heart of the National Park it shares a name with. But it is well signposted once you reach the Blackmoor Gate crossroads. We had lovely sunny weather for our visit and I was glad we arrived as the zoo opened at 10.00 because by lunch time most of the animals seemed to have zonked out in the sunshine.

The zoo is set out on a hillside. Once we'd reached the bottom of it my children moaned a bit about walking back up. And it's a bit of maze to negotiate. We managed to see all the animal enclosures quite quickly, but there are activities every half hour to fill up your time. At 11.00 the first activity was otter feeding, pictured here. This was quite popular so its worth staking your claim to a prime spot ten minutes beforehand. The otters let you know its feeding time by squeaking very loudly at least 30 mins before so there's no chance of missing it.

Other activities include 'Meet the Alpacas', 'Bug Encounter', 'Spider Phobia' and 'Cheetah Feeding', which presumably you watch rather than take part in. A feeding activity you can take part in is with the wallabies. The kids loved this; you can give them something resembling rabbit food which they eat out of your hand, or wave a branch full of leaves in their general direction if you don't want to get that personal. They like to be stroked too but there is a wallaby only enclosure where they can escape to when it all gets too much!

There is also a cafe where you can get hot or cold food, but be warned - they don't accept credit/debit cards. The exit is through the gift shop, of course, but there are quite cheap choices for those whose children, like mine, rarely listen to the word 'no'. My six year old must have spent at least half an hour trying decide what to spend her £2 on and must have changed her mind about five times.

Rock Park

2007-07-30T18:53:00.000+01:00

The sun is finally shining in North Devon, so everyone rushed outdoors to make the most of it today. I took the children over to Rock Park at lunch time for a picnic and to meet a friend I haven't seen for a long time. We had a nice chat, and a beer (a picnic isn't complete without one). The kids played, or slept in the pushchair in the case of her little one.

There are two parks in Barnstaple, Pilton and Rock. Rock park, named after Mr Rock, some famous Barnstaple person (I only know this because there is a statue of his head somewhere nearby), sits on the bank of the river Taw. It is larger than Pilton park, has some very pretty grounds and a big field used for sports at the weekends. It is in the process of being re-vamped with a new children's play area and new toilets. Lets hope they finish soon because what was on offer today was rather old, and there wasn't much for the kids to play on at all. The old toilets were locked so we had to water a few trees. Still, the picnic was nice, and its worth a wander through if you like some pretty views.

Appledore and Instow

2007-07-19T17:43:00.001+01:00

We've just 'done' Appledore and Instow at school. That is to say, we visited them and studied them from a geographical point of view. I'd forgot there was more to these to towns than just the beach or the quay.

In Appledore we walked through the little park at the back of the car park and into Irsha Street, a quaint windy little road full of pretty cottages. Half way along there are two lovely looking pubs (which of course we didn't go in) and in between them is a slipway. It leads down to the muddy beach you can see in the photo. The children sat and did some sketching and we showed them the sand bar where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet. Then we let them loose on the pebbles and rocks. They loved seeing what they could find, and lots of shells, stones and even crabs legs went home in pockets as treasure.

Walk to the end of Irsha Street and you find the Life Boat Station. The crew members very kindly let us go in and even showed the children the room where they keep thier uniform and wetsuits. Outside there is fantastic view of Westward Ho!

In Instow we walked along as far as the old train station where the Tarka Trail goes through the town. More on that in a future blog, I hope. (I'm waiting for my husband to teach my youngest how to ride a bike.) Then we went back round to the sand dunes and made sand sculptures. Some of their creations were very good, I recommend trying it sometime. Mermaids were particularly popular, three dimensional and fully equiped with shell bikini tops!

Jazz Train

2007-07-14T15:06:00.000+01:00

It's still raining here in North Devon, so with umbrella's waving we headed off to Barnstaple train station last night for a little jaunt down the Tarka Line to Eggesford. We were advised to arrive half an hour early to ensure buying tickets as they couldn't be bought in advance, and were pleasantly surprised to discover that if there are more than four in your party you can get a group rate of 50% off adult tickets and children travel for £1. So our return trip cost a grand total of £7.50! Bargain!

And the reason for our trip? Once a month from April to September there is a Jazz Train running out of Barnstaple. A band plays on the train down to Eggesford where passengers alight and take the short walk up to the Fox and Hounds Country Hotel for dinner. The band also plays in the pub, and on the return train journey. On our trip the band was The Steve Tucker All Star Jazz Band, and they were brilliant.

The meal at the Fox and Hounds was also fantastic, although I ate rather too much and had to waddle back to the train station. The children loved going on the train, although the countryside views were spoiled a bit by the weather. I especially enjoyed the champagne provide by my friend for the journey. And despite my teenage daughter asserting that the music was "gay", even she was smiling by the end. I'd definately go again.

Oceanfest 2007

2007-06-18T08:53:00.000+01:00

This years Oceanfest was a bit hit and miss as far as the weather goes, but we were lucky and hit all the good weather! Friday (schools day and free for everyone right into the evening) was a complete wash out - we gave that a miss and went in on Saturday afternoon. Lovely. We were going to camp there but by the time we thought about it everywhere was booked, so my advice for next year is too book early.

The ground was packed and there's plenty to keep everyone occupied - bike and skateboard displays, lots of stalls selling everything from jewellery through to surfboards, and of course my favourite, the music stage and beer tent. There is nothing better than sitting in the sunshine with beer and listening to live music (I might have mentioned that last year.) The Lantern FM Radio people were there with their big purple bus, they had a dalek with them and Dr Who even came out to have his photo taken with my children.

Other things for children to do include the climbing wall, trampolines and bouncy castles.

This year you could even paint a bus!

A favourite occupation of many teenagers we saw, mine included, was to see just how many freebies you could collect from various stalls. We managed a t-shirt, four bags with various goodies inside courtesy of the Devon recycle people and EA games, a magazine and a frisbee.

My husband enjoyed the ladies volleyball on the beach!

Northam Burrows

2007-06-10T17:53:00.000+01:00

OK, technically this is still Westward Ho! beach, but we're at the Northam Burrows end. Entered via a toll road in the village of Northam between Appledore and Westward Ho! the burrows are now a site of special scientific interest. Behind the pebble ridge is a large expanse of grass land peppered with sheep and golf courses.

We went to Mum's today to say 'Happy Birthday' to my grandad. Blink and you missed him: so after a cup of tea and a slice of cake, minus the birthday boy, we headed off to the beach with my sister and her family. The tide was in so the only possibility of finding sand was to go to this end of the beach. It was lovely - nice and warm, with a cooling breeze and the sea just a stroll down the sand, not a five mile hike. The water was even nice, once you got used to it. And when the kids had had enough of jumping waves, digging in the sand and climbing the pebble ridge, it was off to the other side for Hocking ice-cream. Excellent!

Dartington Crystal

2007-05-31T18:02:00.000+01:00

Dartington Crystal has been making glass in Torrington for forty years now. They have a lovely visitors centre, a huge shop and a restuarant that sells fresh, made on the premises, food. We spent a couple of hours here today, mostly 'doing' stuff. There are factory tours where you can see wine glasses, vases, etc being made and the bonus is that kids go free! Having said that, the visitors centre is set up with activities for the children to do that will hit your wallet more than an entrance fee might have done.

Today I took four children, my three and a friend: three decided they would paint a glass, and one wanted to make a necklace. Both activities cost £5 per person. The glass painting was fun, and took about 30 mins. They have to paint on an outline, then heat it, then paint the glass and heat it again. The necklace making took slightly less time but was fiddly and definately required adult help. My recommendation would be to paint the glass then leave it drying while you do the factory tour.

The factory tour is not so much a tour as a walk through two rooms on an elevated corridor. The first room is the most interesting. You get to see the whole process from taking the molten glass out of the furnace to blowing and shaping it and then the final product going off somewhere to be finished. All four children watched in fascination before declaring that they wanted to be glassmakers when they left school! The second room is just a packing room. The kids weren't impressed with that.

Other activities we didn't have a go at today were glass blowing, and making a hand cast in glass. We've done the hand casting before. It's a great keepsake, but it is popular so you have to book that one.

Tapely Park Gardens

2007-05-28T19:22:00.001+01:00

It's Bank Holiday Monday and the weather man got it wrong. It didn't rain! So we seized the oportunity to go out for a few hours in between late Spring cleaning and ended up here at Tapely Park. I have driven past the entrance to this house more times than I can count and this is the first time I have ever been in. It's situated on the top of a hill just outside Instow and the views out over the estuary are stunning.

In its advertising Tapely Park describes itself as a sustainable stately home in the making. I'll have to take its word for it, I spotted little evidence, but then I wasn't really looking. It cost £4 for adults and £2.50 for children, so is relatively inexpensive, but then it doesn't really have that much to offer. It's a nice walk around the gardens and there are a few cows, sheep and pigs to look at but that's about it.

We started our visit with a walk around the lake, which was quite pretty, then went on to explore the formal gardens. The tea rooms are quite pleasant, and the cakes very yummy. Then it was off to find the play area. When they said 'tucked away' they really meant it, but the kids had fun once we found it and it was sheltered enough for my husband to lie down in the sun and go to sleep!

Before we went home we tried to find the monument, erected in memory of one of only three officers to survive the charge of the light brigade (I had to smile when I read that he was killed in another battle only ten days later - sorry). But a distinct lack of sign posting meant we had to give up. We could see it in the distance, trooped across a field full of thistles and horse poo, found a gate into a field full of sheep but with no obvious path across. Shame really, cos the monument used to have a granite obelisk on it, but when it was shattered by a thunderbolt in 1931 they make a labyrinth out of the pieces. It looked quite nice in the brochure - just too far away.

Ilfracombe Aquarium

2007-05-13T16:28:00.000+01:00

The long dreary winter days are over (not that you'd know it from the weather today) and I'm back and blogging, having missed all the glorious early summer sun over Easter by being in wet and windy Florida! (I kid you not!)

The torrential downpour outside today nearly kept us in but we decided instead to visit an indoor attraction - Ilfracombe Aquarium. It's not what is says on the tin! Although the leaflet I'd picked up said it was the best small aquarium this 'guy' had visited I wasn't expecting it to be quite so small! If you happen to be in Ilfracombe and have nothing better to do then it might be worth the £10 family ticket to get in, but when the journey there is longer than the time it takes to walk round then it probably isn't! It is nicely set out and takes you on a journey from the source of the local rivers, Exmoor, down to the coast and out to Lundy island, but the tanks of fish are quite small and you have to squash through the spaces in between too.

On a slightly upbeat note, once back in the car and munching crisps, we did vote it better than Quince Honey Farm!

The Heritage Centre

2007-02-22T15:49:00.000Z

Its half way through the half term holiday and we're all going a little stir crazy. I had to pop in to Barnstaple to go to the post office so I decided to take the children into the Heritage Centre, mostly under protest I should add. I ignored the whines of "Can't we go to Playtime Adventure?" and bribed them with a trip to the cinema tonight instead.

The Heritage Centre is situated on The Strand, the road that runs along the river Taw. The area directly in front of it is home to the Millenium Mosaic which charts Barnstaples history back 1000 years to when it was made a borough by Athlestan. It is generally also home to large groups of skateboarders, but the weather today must have driven them away.

Inside the centre the tale of Barnstaple's history is also told, starting in Anglo-Saxon times, focusing quite a lot on Tudor times, mentioning briefly the Civil War and ending in the 18th Century with Barnstaple born playwright John Gay. Adult tickets are £3.50, children £2 and under 7's go free. The children were given a quiz on a clipboard and a pencil to record their answers but finding these answers involved listening to the recording of the models telling their stories and once they'd pressed the button to start the recording they generally lost interest in this. Much more interesting was the task of looking for the 15 white plastic mice that were hidden in the exhibits. When we got to the end and had only found 10 we had to go round again. We still only managed to find 13.

Other points of interest were remaking the broken pottery plates magnetised to the wall, dressing up in costumes, and doing a brass rubbing. By the time we'd finished my nine year old daughter said, "OK this isn't boring after all".