While travelling the moors, we noticed there was an bronze age fort located a bit off the road, so we decided to take a turn and have a look. It turned out to be a turn for the worse, as the "road" set a new standard for narrowness in all our travels. We would like to know why, when people live in these remote areas with their single track roads, they insist on driving Land Rovers! Poor Rick had to practically perch our car up onto the hedges or stone walls to let the locals go past. At least we knew the road had to lead somewhere, which it finally did - not where we wanted to go but to the small village of Widecombe-in-the-Moor. Ever the intrepid adventurers, we turned around and headed back, once again keeping our eyes peeled for the sign of the settlement, although we ended up again at the main road. Note to whoever is in charge of Grimspound: please put up some signs so that tourists know if they are even remotely close to your site!!
We then headed off to Newton Abbot, which has a long-standing relationship with Canada , as in 1583 Humphrey Gilbert, a local adventurer, landed at St. John’s in Newfoundland and claimed the area as an English colony (sorry, a cut and paste there!). They also have a "cheese and onion fayre" that would seem to be the main reason to go, but alas we were not there at the right time. We originally had planned to stay here, but were glad we had opted for Plymouth.
Our final destination of the day was to the English Riviera, also known as Torquay. The real motivation for visiting, if I am going to be honest, is that it is the fictional home of Basil Fawlty, so it was an opportunity not to be missed. As it turned out, Torquay is quite lovely, and not nearly as tacky as some other coastal resort towns. We spent a lovely afternoon in the sunshine, sipping cider and having a great wander about the harbour. It was a perfect way to spend our final day in Devon and Cornwall.
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| Dartmoor. Told you it was remote. |
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| There are some trees on the moors. |
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| Oh, and rocks as well. It really is like another world. |
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| "Look," says Rick. "Oh," says Bob, "do you think it is an old mill or factory?" "I don't know, let's look it up" Erm...it is Dartmoor Prison! "Lock the doors and start the car!!!" |
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| Ever so often in Darmoor, you come across a stream and sometimes there is a small settlement. This foot bridge was located in such a place. It was lovely, and quite popular with hikers setting out across the moors. |
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| We stopped in the small town of Moretonhampstead for refreshments, but not at the Bell Inn, although we liked the look of the building. |
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| We're not really sure just how happy Dexter is at being featured this week!! |
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| Gotta love those thatched roofs! |
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| This sign made me stop and ponder. It was Rick who pointed out that it should say "police station," although there is no indication that the missing letters were ever carved into the stone. How odd. |
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| The guys pose in Newton Abbot, which displays its connection to Canada quite boldly! |
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| The Golden Lion dates from 1623, so I suppose it would take a bold challenger to doubt their claim as the oldest ale house. |
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| Torquay, the English Riviera. Having not been to the real riviera, we will just take their word for it. |
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| Some of the lovely houses in Torquay overlooking the bay. |
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| Rick relaxes with a cider along the shores of the bay. It would appear I am having a Guinness, but who remembers? |
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| Some lovely new condos in Torquay. We could see ourselves living there. |
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| The marina with the town beyond. Every seaside town is required to have a ferris wheel, or so it would seem. |
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| Looking back from whence we were. |
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| The guys pose on the breakwater. |
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| Gosh, never far from my old hometown!! |
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