Today we took our little hire car to the Dartmoor Forest/National Park in Devon. We briefly used the M5 to skirt around Exeter and were amazed at the volumn of cars trying to go in the opposite direction. Very pleased not to be in it. So much traffic in England, even on small country lanes. We stopped at the edge of the National Park in a very small village called Dunsford and had morning tea. The scones with jam and clotted cream (very thick yellow cream) were sensational and the village was very cute – lots of thatched roof cottages. Really like stepping back in time. The drive through the forest area was lovely. We passed through the occasional village but you could hardly call it densely populated. Much more our scene! We headed up onto a wild, barren plateau inhabited by cows, sheep and wild horses. It was very different but still stunning. Amazing views over the farmland to the east of the National Park. We pulled over for lunch – the usual of fresh bread, cheese, pate etc. Only the odd car and a menagerie of animals for company.
After lunch we drove down the hill, bypassed Plymouth, and took the back road to Kingsbridge – a lovely village sitting on a very picturesque estuary. Worth the stop. It was then north to the city of Torquay, a very popular holiday destination. It was very beautiful but a bit big for us – traffic again!!! – so we literally drove into the harbour area and out again. The countryside on the way back towards Exeter was lovely, but then again the country side is very lovely throughout this region. Wonderful greens of different shades, rolling hills, hedged fields. Unfortunately the roads/lanes also have hedges which block the view – especially when your hire car is the size of a postage stamp! But never mind. We arrived home to find Harry and Constance still snoozing in the sunroom. They are very low maintenance house sit pets!
Cheers and much love
Di and Reg
This entry was posted in Drimpton, Dorset, England, House Sits, United Kingdom