An Exciting Adventure in the Moors of Devon

Today was another "dodging hedgerows" adventure, where the roads assigned to our navigation are barely wider than the car, and edged with 8 ft high prickly bushes on either side.  Certainly not for the feint of heart, that's for sure.  

But, Marty handled the driving well, and we only had two instances where he needed to reverse the car nearly as far as he'd gone on a particular road, because the car driving the opposite direction gave no indication of yielding anywhere along the way. 

Nail biting certainly would have been appropriate, but we actually found ourselves laughing at the absurdity of the situation.  And, we're fairly certain that locals must have some secret directions to these places, because we are always surprised by the full parking lots when we arrived.  Just where did these people come from in these extremely remote places?

Our day began with us awakening to yet another morning of  brilliant sunshine.  Then, a tasty breakfast

before heading out to our intended destination, Buckland Abbey which was on the opposite side of the Dartmoor Forest.  We decided this was the perfect opportunity to drive through the forest, even though we knew it would be a bit more challenging than taking the highway.  We are on holiday, so why not enjoy the vistas we'd miss otherwise?

As I mentioned, we did have more than our share of hedgerow adventures, but once in the moors, the scenery changed dramatically.  And instead of dodging greenery, we found ourselves on the lookout for free to roam creatures.  

This fella came right up to Marty's window when he stopped to let the rest of the group pass along.

As you can see, the scenery was magnificent. 

A little further up the road we spotted wild horses

where this fella stood and refused to budge for quite some time, before one of the stallions convinced him to move along. 

Just down the road these cheeky sheep acted like they owned the road.   And, well, perhaps they do.  

We were thrilled to be welcomed by this bovine beauty. Talk about being in the right place at the right time!

Just on the other side of the moors stands a residence called Buckland Abbey.

As the name implies, it was actually a Cistercian Monastery founded in 1278. 

But similar to Mottisfont, where we toured on Wednesday, the abbey was subject to the dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII.   The king seized the property and eventually leased it to Richard Grenville in 1541. 

His grandson was responsible for converting the abbey into a fashionable home. 

In 1581, the abbey with its property was sold to Sir Francis Drake,  newly knighted by Queen Elizabeth in gratitude for his defeat of the Spanish Armada. The property stayed in Drake's family until 1946 when it was sold to a local retired soldier who was primarily interested in the land.  He then gifted the property to the National Trust in 1946. 

During the transition period, an artist known as Roland Pym, was commissioned to paint four murals that featured the adventures of Sir Francis Drake.  In the ground floor of the building, these murals are featured along the walls. 

Many of the rooms held artifacts that belonged to Sir Francis Drake and his family.  There was a portrait of his one wife, Elizabeth Sydenham, among the collection. 

and there were replicas of items as well.

In the corner of the dining room, a glimpse of a Biblical figurine from the Abbey is featured in the corner. 

One of the rooms features a fireplace with the coat of arms granted to Sir Francis Drake from Queen Elizabeth.  

In the main part of the lower floor there stands a great hall that still has the original tile from the days that the monks lived in the abbey. How amazing that it has held up all of these years considering that we were welcome to walk on it ourselves. 

Exiting the house, you can see the beauty of the magnificent surroundings. 

Of course, a brilliant blue sky certainly does enhance the beauty. 

Moving on, we made our way to Cotehele, a family home to the Edgecumbe family.  It has existed since Tudor times, staying in the family until it was gifted to the National Trust. 

Richard Edgcumbe earned a knighthood from King Henry VII due to his valor during the Battle of Bosworth.   By the 18th century, the family had built a new home in Plymouth and this gem was used primarily as a second home.  It was noted that tin 1789, King George III and his wife, Queen Charlotte, visited for breakfast one morning. 

In 1941, the home suddenly became the primary living residence when the house in Plymouth was bombed during the blitz.  After the war, the family decided to rebuild the bombed house in Plymouth and at that point, gifted Cotehele to the National Trust as they could not afford to keep both. 

Walking to the entrance, I couldn't help but chuckle at the large apple mosaic featured in the front lawn. 

 The giant apple is made up of real apples, all taken from trees that are located in an orchard on the grounds. How clever is that?   

And it smelled quite delicious entering the courtyard. 

Each of the rooms had a detailed framed drawing that was used to base the recreation of what the house looked like in the late 19th century.  The main hall at the entrance maintains its original Tudor look and decor. 

One of the unique features of this property is the vast number of tapestries that hang on the walls. Every room that we entered had huge, heavy, silk tapestries lining the stone walls.  They were not "made to order" as you see in some of these Georgian homes.  Rather, these were purchased by the family from private collectors, then cut and bound to fit the required spaces.  It really was quite remarkable to see. 

The original chapel in the house, built in 1411,  still exists, and is presently a consecrated Anglican church.  But the original items from the days of Catholicism still exist in windows as various items like a large framed altar cloth and painted wooden Triptych. 

All of the bedrooms featured very large fireplaces with extremely ornate bedding as well as the tapestry lined walls designed to enhance warmth.

This property is certainly unique in the fact that it continues to have many of the collectibles that were accumulated by owners over the years. The Trust has done an excellent job in preserving them. 

The house is located up hill from the River Tamar where an old mill still stands but is not functioning.  We walked down for a quick peek, and a refreshing cream tea before making our way north for a stop in at Lydford Gorge. 

We arrived just half an hour prior to closing, but we were told that we were welcome to enter, and just exit on our own at the completion of our walk.  So, I grabbed my walking sticks and we began the journey to Devil's Cauldron, located at the bottom of the Lydford Gorge. 

We crossed a bridge that stands over the stream

and made our way along the narrow, rocky path.  I spotted this marker that looks like a telephone, and wondered what that might be.  Marty was able to confirm that the number is a location marker.  So, if one runs into some sort of physical problem, and needs to call for help, one gives them the number on the marker. 

How clever is that? 

At some points, the water was eerily still as you can see from the photo. 

Making our way down was a bit tricky.

And we came to the spot where one could enter through a gate to stand on that viewing platform.  Although the photo doesn't look that fearful, those rocks are have no barrier, and the surfaces were very slippery from the rain.  There was no way that I was going to attempt climbing down them, and, luckily, Marty was happy to refrain as well.  Whew!  That was a relief. Just below that platform is an enormous rush of water.  It is referred to here as a giant pothole, which is far different than what we describe as a pothole.  

We could glimpse  the rushing water  in sections as we climbed back up and out of the gorge. 

Having successfully completed that venture, we drove up the road to a second site for Lydford, but this time with the intention of seeing the White Lady Waterfall. 

We began the walk from the parking lot

and soon spotted the entrance below the old railroad bridge. 

This path was relatively long in comparison to the gorge walk, and it involved a long stretch of decent, which I found to be quite challenging.  I had just wondered if I would be able to continue on, when I spotted the bridge in the distance. I had presumed that we needed to cross over.

Much to my delight, I turned the corner to look, and lo and behold, there was the waterfall!

Pictures don't do it justice. It was literally right above my head tumbling with a large crash into the water below.  Well worth the hike down, and back up as well! 

The hike back up the hill actually took much less time than the decent, and we were soon making the hour drive back to our hotel. 

Dinner was in a fabulous pizzeria named San Benedetto and also owned by the Benedictine Monastery.  It was an easy walk from the hotel, and as you can see, quite lovely with the turning waterwheel on the outside of the adjacent building.  

And, in the opposite direction, Buckfastleigh Abbey in the distance. 

Dinner was like revisiting our recent trip to Tuscany in May:   The wine was excellent, the pizza perfect, and gelato delectable!

But, by far, the best part of the dinner was our entertaining waiter, born and raised in Italy but living now in Buckfastleigh.  He loved to talk, and we enjoyed listening. 

And, he even agreed to take our photo for our memories. 

The perfect evening to a lovely day!

Happy Birthday Agatha Christie!

 Did you know that Agatha Christie's birthday is on September 15th?  I'll bet at least a few of you knew that.  I, however, did not....until today....when we decided to visit Greenway, the house that she and her second husband purchased as a holiday home in 1938.  There's a story behind that, but I'm going to leave you in suspense until later. 

Today was quite the adventure!  It began with a lovely breakfast at our B&B, the Brace of Pheasants before packing up to begin our westward journey towards Cornwall.  

We no sooner made it to the main road when I spotted a large herd of Highland Cows relaxing in a field by the side of the road.  How many times have we visited the Highlands of Scotland, hoping for a peek of one of the magnificent creatures, only to be sadly disappointed?

And here we were in Dorset, on what is nearly the opposite side of the island, and we spotted over a dozen hanging out in the fields.  How lucky was that?  Of course, Marty pulled over so that we could get some photos. And, they didn't even flinch!

From here we drove near the coast, admiring the beautiful rolling hills that were accented by the beautiful blue from the water.  Our first stop was Cockington Village in Devon. It is actually part of the town of Torque, which sits on the eastern side of a peninsula on the southern part of England.  Interestingly enough, this area is known as the English Riviera. 

Getting there was a bit tricky, as our cell coverage was nearly nil, and we found ourselves subject to the closure of the main road that leads into the village.  I was able to steer Marty in the right direction,  but I'll admit that at one point, I had to convince him that he just needed to believe me and follow my directions. 

I couldn't blame him for questioning my directions as we found ourselves driving down a steep, extremely narrow road, that was flanked on either side by embankments considerably higher than our car.  But, once at the bottom we soon found ourselves just outside the village, and made our way to the parking lot. 

Marty had been sure that the place would be empty due to the detour, but it appeared that a whole lot of people somehow figured out how to get there because the parking lot was pretty full, and the place was buzzing with walkers.  

We both agreed that it was well worth the scary adventure once we arrived at this fairy tale-like village. 

Don't you agree?  

We walked through the park to check out the manor house as well as the stables behind the building.  The area is now used to feature local artists and shops where they sell their trade specialties. 

A lovely rose garden sits behind the house, and next to the stables. 

and within easy walking distance stands an Anglo Saxon church that has stood here since the 13th century. 

We headed back into the village to enjoy a Devon Cream Tea. 

It was probably one of the best cream teas that we've enjoyed.  The scones were perfect, and the Devon Cream was the REAL Deal!  With home made raspberry jam atop, it was melt in my mouth deliciousness. 

and what better than to be entertained by this delightful creature? 

After our tea, we went back out on the road to head further south to Greenway.  I had read that it was essential to reserve a parking place in the lot, and when I went to do so last evening, the only time slots left were for 3:00 PM.  In retrospect, that should have been a clue regarding numbers visiting. But, what was I to know? 

We arrived with just a minute to spare for our designated 3:00 parking slot, and headed down the long walk to the house.  The place was buzzing with activity. We did manage to get a photo without any heads in the background, though.  

We were really quite surprised by the amount of people visiting this house, well off the beaten track, on a Thursday afternoon in mid September.  Upon speaking with a National Trust Guide, we then learned that this time of the year is always extremely busy for visitors to Greenway, as it appears that dye hard fans of the famous author flock here the week of her birthday, which is September 15.  

It certainly seems that I'm always learning something new! 

The house in itself is not all that large.  There has been a structure on this site since Tudor Times, but it was completely remodeled during the Georgian Era, and renovated in year since. 

Agatha Christie, who was born in nearby Torquay, purchased the house along with her second husband, to use as a vacation get away.   The house is loaded to the brim with artifacts that Christie and her husband had collected over the years from their many travels. I'd liken it to a small museum with quite a number of artifacts that had been held precious by Agatha in years past.   Here are just some unique items that captured my attention: 

There were two St. Louis XVI tapestries hanging on opposite walls in a hall room. They were purchased as part of a collection.

The kitchen housed a beautiful blue stove, along with a rooster, as you can see, that captured Marty's attention. 

And there were the servant's bells in the hallway, although it isn't clear whether they would have been used during Christie's time in the house. 

Moving on, the dining room had some interesting items on display.

including a porcelain lobster plate.  Apparently that particular seafood was one of Christie's favorite meals, and it was served at Greenway, in this dining room for her 80th birthday.  I'm not sure if she was served it upon this platter. 

During World War II, the United States Coast Guard requisitioned the house and they would use the boathouse area for D-Day practice drills.   During the time he was stationed there, a lieutenant by the name of Marshall Lee,  designed a mural that spreads across all four upper walls of the library room.  It depicts the places he had traveled with the US Coast Guard in the 11 months prior to their stay here at Greenway. The detail is really quite remarkable. 

Following the war, he offered to paint over the frieze, but Agatha Christie felt it was a tribute to the bravery of these young men and decided that it was worth keeping from a historic perspective. 

This same room was filled with books and trinkets purchased over the years by the couple as gifts for each other.  There were certainly some very unique items.  

The house was gifted to the National Trust in 2005, and opened for public viewing in 2009.  

In 2013, as a final tribute to Christie, the final episode of the Poirot Series, Dead Man's Folly, was filmed on location at Greenway. It certainly seemed a fitting place as the setting fit the descriptions in the book.  And, it was this location where the title was written. 

Among this tribute were several copies of Christie's Poirot novels.  The house was certainly not lacking in multiple copies of her many books that she had written over the years.  There seemed to be shelves in every room that contained her writing among their holdings. 

The tour of the house took us less than an hour before we headed out to enjoy the rest of our time there on this glorious day. 

We spent some time perusing the surrounding landscape. 

 There was a lovely fountain in the Fernery. 

And brilliant flowers blooming in the fields surrounding the grass designated for Clock Golf. 

 

There was even a tennis court hidden among the walled walkways. 

The trip was certainly worth the experience, and Marty and I both left with a new found knowledge of this famous author. 

We made our way to the car park, and before leaving the lot, Marty decided to "modify" the suggested route to our hotel.  Within short time, he was regretting that decision, as we found ourselves on roads that were only as wide as the car, and lined with tall hedgerows along the edges. Would you believe that the posted speed is 60 MPH? 

And, would you believe that some drivers actually take that speed limit seriously?  Well, you can certainly take my word for that, as on more than one occasion, we found ourselves turning a bend, only to have a driver facing us at high speed.  Luckily, it seems that everyone's brakes work well!

They would tuck into the side of the road at a lay by, or even back up, if necessary, so that the two cars could pass by within inches of each other.  A bit stressful for the driver, and I was worried I'd eat a few hedgerows, but, luckily, Marty was able to maneuver quite admirably. 

We finally arrived at our hotel, which is actually owned by a Benedictine Abbey.  It stands on the grounds near the active church, although we can only see the top of the towers peeking through the trees. 

There were a few minutes of panic when the receptionist realized that an earlier attendant had given away our room.  But she was able to remedy the situation within short time. 

And, since I had reserved dinner a few weeks ago, we were shown to this lovely table featuring the "comfy" chairs.  How lucky was that? 

And, tonight, I decided to splurge and order a scoop of Vanilla Clotted Cream ice cream,. 

It was delectable! 

  

Until tomorrow!