Breakfast on Beer Beach and Branscombe.

Thursday of our holiday in Devon with my sister and her husband was another beautiful day. 

Bright and early we headed to Beer for breakfast on the beach.

What to have, what to have - important decisions had to be made.

I can't think of a better start to the day than a hearty breakfast with the sweet sound of the ocean on one side and the "song" of seagulls overhead.  Mmmm, heaven!

After breakfast we drove the few minutes to Seaton Hole.  A private, tucked away little beach reached by a climb down a rather steep path.

It's worth the climb for these views though.

From there it was over to Branscombe, just a couple of miles away.  I know I use the word favourite a lot but this place is definitely one of my favourite places.  We'd brought a picnic lunch.  Sea air gives one an appetite.  A lot of walking will do that too and we did a lot of walking! 

Talking of which we set off along the footpath to the village of Branscombe.  Branscombe's claim to fame is that it's the longest village in England.  I would say one of the most picturesque too.

A lot of the area is owned by  The National Trust.  For instance the property above, Manor Mill and...

...The Forge are both National Trust properties.

The Forge is a working forge open to the public and full of handmade stuff, both useful and decorative, for sale.  Made by a father and son team.  That's the son in this picture.

The Old Bakery is another National Trust property.  Picture postcard perfect.   Maureen is peeping her little head out from behind  the rose bush in front of the cottage, do you see her?

A garden outside to enjoy the cream teas in and preserved inside in it's original state.

The inside of this bakery brought back a whole lot of memories for Maureen and I.  As children we both spent a lot of time in a bakery with lots of the same equipment.  That was Mrs. Street's bakery.  A baker's shop on the corner of the street where we lived when Adam was a lad.  All those loaf tins stacked on the mantel are identical to the ones we remember also the paddles to get the tins in and out of the stoves.  Mrs Street's tables had marble tops on them I believe.  Am I right Maureen?

Mrs Street didn't have any children of her own and looking back I think it's safe to say that we were her substitute children and thereby lies a-whole-nother story.

This day was one of the highlights of the holiday for me.  I've been to Branscombe more times than I can remember but never actually walked through the village.  We've always driven through it in the past in a hurry to get to the beach before the sun went in.  In future I think maybe the village will take precedence over the beach.

Well, this post has turned into rather a long one and there are lots more pictures to share.  I'd better come back tomorrow and finish off then.

Kathleen.