Our weekend in Devon

The people who named the towns around Devon must have all been bald old men with combe-overs, as almost all of the local towns seemed to end in “combe” – like Woolacombe, where we stopped for a strut along the beach. Nick decided to show off his rock-climbing prowess, all the while boasting about the power of his hiking boots.

Our lunch was at Saunton Sands, at The Sands Cafe Bar. Nick and I both ordered the Thai mussels, and they were probably the biggest and best bowl of mussels that I’ve ever eaten! Unfortunately, the hungrier I am, the quicker I seem too forget to take a photo of my food; so here’s the after shot which I took on my iPhone:

One thing I find funny (though practical!) are the colourful little huts that the English build at the edge of their beaches. I’m not entirely sure how they work, though I believe you have to rent them for the whole season; I also believe this comes at a significant cost. Still, it would be quite handy to have somewhere close to the beach to store all your stuff, if you were a frequent visitor. And, they are very colourful!

Nick, Suzie and I had a surf lesson booked for “all day” Saturday (four hours, with a one hour break in between) and a half-day on Sunday. Though we were all keen for the lesson, we’d all have been lying if we said we were keen to leave the comforts of our lodge to jump into the freezing cold water. Even with a full length wetsuit (a “steamer”), it was freezing! All the moving around certainly helped keep us warm, but my feet were so badly cramped by the end of the day, that now, almost four days later, they’re still sore!

In the end, I was the only one that made it through the whole day – Suzie picked up a stomach bug at some point and was in such excruciating pain that she and Nick pulled out of the afternoon session. Thankfully it passed rather quickly, and by Saturday evening, she was healthy enough to enjoy a BBQ on the back deck with the rest of us!

The burgers were particularly good – GBK, eat your heart out!

We checked out of our accommodation on Monday morning, and took a scenic route back to London. Our first stop was at Tunnels Beaches at Ilfracombe, which proudly boasts itself to be the third best beach for rock pooling in the UK. I’m not entirely sure what that means, neither am I sure if you could actually swim at the so-called beach, as the water looked pretty festy to me. Still, the tunnels were cool, and the scenery really was quite lovely!

Our final stop was for a tradition that originated in Devon – a Devonshire Cream Tea. Nick found a place called The Buttery which got rave reviews, though having now been there, I suspect the reviews were for the idyllic location and not the service. The girl behind the counter was extremely agitated with our outlandish requests, such as, “Can I have a latte instead of a tea with mine? I don’t mind paying extra”.

Luckily, the cream tea was sensational, and given that studies have shown that binging on clotted cream adds years to your life, I was careful to ensure I consumed my fair share.

We were dreading the drive back to London, figuring that the quickest way to ruin a lovely weekend is by being stuck in traffic for three hours; however we couldn’t have been more surprised to find the roads almost entirely clear! We made it back in record time!

A huge thanks to Suzie for organising everything, and for letting us tag along at the last minute!