Devon Diversions!

Well we really hit the proverbial mother lode this time.  Our wonderful London landlords own a thatched cottage on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon.  They usually rent it through a self-catering rental service when they aren't here.  (Self-catering is the description used in the UK for vacation rentals that include a kitchen and do not include prepared meals such as breakfast).  This week they are having some maintenance work done on the chimney and so couldn't rent to paying customers.  The problem for them and the boondoggle for us is that the chimney in the cottage needs to be kept warm and dry so they needed someone to say here and light the fire.  Well …. we are great and reliable fire lighters!  So here we are in the loveliest cottage basking in front of our fire after a day of walking on the moor!  The cottage may have a thatched roof but inside it is modern, beautifully furnished and fully equipped. 

Devon is beautiful even in the middle of winter.  It is a warren of narrow, wall and hedge lined roads.  Our cottage is on a road that is probably about eight feet wide -- barely wider than our tiny rental car.  It’s a two way road with pull outs, sort of.  If you meet oncoming traffic and no pull out is available, someone backs up.  Did I mention that not only are the roads narrow, they are curvy and often very steep.  Tom did all the driving as I am definitely wise to my limitations and even under favorable conditions in the US, I am not a good driver.  There is no way I could handle driving on the opposite side of the road much less doing so in Devon’s ant maze!  I couldn’t even describe the driving situation accurately when I drafted this post – Tom had to set me straight!

Today we drove up on the moor and walked up to Haytor Rocks.  We intended to walk further, but it was foggy, very cold and windy.  We couldn’t see our next waypoints ahead and worried that we would get lost.  Neither of us wanted you all to next hear of us as the stupid American couple who walked unprepared onto the high moorland and had to be rescued! So we sent shopping instead.  Nonetheless, it was starkly beautiful. We were walking in wild moorland pony tracks and came upon a small group of them playing in a hollow. Tomorrow the conditions are going to be similar but we are hoping to try another longer walk, perhaps in a more sheltered part of the park.

Last Sunday before leaving for Devon, we visited the Red House in Bexleyheath (near Greenwich).  This house was designed by William Morris, one of the famous pre-Raphealite artists in London.  Morris was really into architecture and design.  Eventually he applied his artistic talents to interior décor fabrics and wallpapers.  Earlier this winter we attended a exhibit at the Tate Britain that featured Morris among others.  So it was really interesting to visit his home.  The house was only recently acquired by the National Trust and is currently in the process of being restored.  Seeing the restoration in progress also was interesting. 

We are in Devon until Friday And then my parents are arriving for a two week visit next Wednesday.  Here’s a link to our Devon pictures and pictures of the Red House: Devon Diversions.

Liz