A little something to brighten your day.

One of the things I really look forward to when we go down to Beer and the surrounding towns is the flowers.  There are so many beautiful gardens and floral displays you wouldn’t believe it. I absolutely love tulips and Connaught Gardens in Sidmouth were overflowing with them when we there a couple of weeks ago.  I also absolutely love flowering cherry trees and they were everywhere we went and all in glorious full bloom.I just love pansies, all the different colours, spectacular to say the least.But I think one of all my all-time favourites has got to be good old fashioned bluebells.  Maybe because they remind me of my childhood playing in Alkrington Woods in the spring.  In those days bluebells seemed to be everywhere and we would pick a bunch when we were out playing and take them home for my mother. 

We never picked dandelions though, if you had them in the house they would make you wet the bed!  We believed it too!

I’m looking forward to going back to Devon in July, gardens and hanging baskets will be full of another of my favourites, petunias.

TTFN

Crazy Golf

A very excited George rang me last night to see if I wanted to go playing Crazy Golf with them today. Of course, I said yes.  Caroline, Trev and Charlie came too.  So off we went this morning to Paradise Island at the Trafford Centre.There were 19 holes to play.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was all fun stuff. 

On the 19th hole, the hardest one, if you managed a Hole In One you got a coupon for a free game.  I am absolutely useless at any ball games but guess who got the free coupons, Gary and ….

me!

 

TTFN

A Beautiful Spring Day.

Victoria and I took Nicholas and Charlie to the park this morning.  It was such a lovely morning and the flowers in the gardens, especially the tulips were a sight to behold.  Charlie thought so too.  He’s learning early to stop along the way and smell the roses, or in this case tulips. Nicholas found somewhere to put his feet up!  He had to hold on tight though, Charlie came along and tried to push him off! Back at home Charlie took a nap and I took my book and a cup of tea into the garden where I enjoyed a quiet half hour, just another of life’s Simple Pleasures.

Well, we’re back …

… from our first full week spent in the van in Devon.  We had a really good time, the weather was quite good on the whole, not sunbathing good by any means, more fresh and bracing good I’d say.We even got the awning up without any mishaps, bearing in mind this was the first time Billy and Trev had put up an awning.  We also had a very big and private pitch which was great.  It didn’t take too long before we were sorted and our holiday began.
Billy and I took a detour off the main road on the way to Sidmouth one day and found this beautiful little hamlet of thatched cottages and a farm.  I was practically dizzy jumping in and out of the car taking pictures.  It was such a picturesque little place, the thatched  cottages were gorgeous and there were quite a few of them. 
The geese weren’t very happy at our being there, I’m glad I didn’t have to walk past them!  The place is called Harcombe by the way.
Another day we went with Caroline, Trev and Charlie to Weymouth where we enjoyed a bag of chips on the harbour-side. I want to go back there in July and join one of the guided walks to find out about the history of the harbour. 
We called at Burton Bradstock on the way back (bottom left), that’s a gorgeous beach with a great beach cafe.  The view couldn’t have been better while we sipped our lattes.
A treat we always enjoy when we’re in Beer is breakfast on the beach, there’s nothing quite like it.  There’s Billy  tucking into his Full English.
I’ll be back later with photos from the rest of the week, for now I have to go and conjure up some culinary delight for my beloved to eat when he returns home from a hard day’s work!  Does Chilli con Carne count as a culinary delight? Probably not, but that’s what I’m going to conjure up tonight.
TTFN

The Donkey Sanctuary…

… is just a pleasant walk away from our campsite so William and I took a look at it.  Both our girls and their families had been to the sanctuary before and had enjoyed and praised it but I wasn’t expecting it to be anything extraordinary.  I was wrong.  This place is wonderful!  You can visit it’s website here.  This is the path leading to the sanctuary.  Benches everywhere to rest, watch the donkeys and enjoy the views.These donkeys have got to be the happiest donkeys alive!There’s a donkey hospital on site and I’ll bet it’s in a better condition than many an NHS hospital.Gardens immaculately presented with memorial plaques everywhere.  There’s a cafe too and also plenty of places to enjoy a picnic.I love how they’ve cut a donkey shape into the backs of all the benches. I’m sure we’ll be visiting here again on future holidays, I absolutely loved the place.

I'm joining in (for the first time) with Outdoor Wednesday over at http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/  It's a wonderful blog with a window into many different people's worlds.  Take a look.

Budleigh Salterton…

…. a little seaside town just up the coast from Sidmouth, has become one of my favourite places to visit.
Budleigh has a quiet genteel feel which appeals no end to me.  A beautiful wide sweeping bay with a prom to stroll along.  The beach is all pebbles which is the way I like it.  Sandy beaches are great for children but I prefer sand-free sandwiches etc. Plus, if you should drop your ice-cream cornet, (heaven forbid), you can pick it right up and carry on licking it!

A sweet hand-painted B&B sign. Believe me this B&B has got views to die for!And another one of those memorial plaques, this time on a bench right on the seafront.  I love the inscription on this one.  Victoria thinks I’m potty taking pictures of these plaques but I can’t help it, I’m seeing them everywhere I go and I just like ‘em.  There’s more in my next post.

And finally…

… no visit to Devon would be complete without a trip to Branscombe. The mandatory cream tea was eaten in The Sea Shanty and on the way home we had the mandatory glass of Guinness at The Mason’s Arms.This is actually Sidmouth beach but the colours of the sea were so beautiful I had to include it.  Of course that’s Caroline and co. there on the sand and a couple of strangers on the shore!
Like I said at the beginning we had a lovely week and we’re all looking forward to the next time in July when we go for two weeks.  Things just keep getting better and better!