Devon Sightseeing

During my two week stay in North Devon I was able to see quite a bit thanks to my hosts, who were keen to get me to see the best of their local sights. As well as just going with them when they went shopping or to the abattoirs,' one day I was dropped off in a little old fishing village called Clovelly. Clovelly is a beautiful but strange place as it is a privately owned village that is maintained using the same practices as when it was first built. There are no vehicles allowed (except for a track off to the side), as it is built on a very steep hillside and the little lanes are all cobblestoned. The villagers use sleds pulled by donkeys to get their supplies. It costs £6.50 to get in (except when you have a local dropping you off there ;) ) and some tourists think that the houses aren't real - they try the doors and just walk in on people living their lives. It does feel like you should be able to do this though, it feels like you are walking through a film set or something!

I really enjoyed my afternoon there, especially as it happened to be on one of the first properly warm days of spring - so after a couple of hours of sitting on the quay and soaking up the sun I actually got a little bit burnt - woohoo first of the season! :) Now time to dig out the sunscreen :(











Since I was in Devon I took the opportunity whilst in Clovelly to have a proper Devonshire cream tea - two scones, jam, clotted cream and a pot of tea. It takes a few tastes to get used to clotted cream but I love the stuff now...it's quite weird, it reminds me of whipped butter that tastes of cream. The texture is firm enough to hold it's shape but soft and gooey and sticky when you dig into it with a spoon.

My HelpX host Julie was also very excited to take me to another little attraction, the Gnome Reserve. After seeing the sign for this place I just had to see it - a super quirky, only-in-the-English-countryside kind of thing. Basically an old woman has her collection of over 1000 garden gnomes displayed as a cute little woodland walk. There's some very old gnomes in there as the reserve has been running since 1979.

I also got to see the stunning coastline at a place called Hartland Quay. We went there one evening with a plan to see the sunset but it unfortunately clouded over just beforehand. We did get some good late afternoon sun though, and it was absolutely amazing when we arrived as the waves were humongous, crashing against the rocks with huge sprays and roars. It was a really beautiful spot, I'm so glad I got to see it!