It started, as all our nice days do, with a splendid breakfast. The croissants from the site shop really are lovely. You need to remember to order them the night before but they are certainly worth that bit of extra effort. Of course they would have been even better eaten outside enjoying the wonderful sea view but hey, it’s August!?
After a bit of debate we decided to set off for Combe Martin - one of the places we hadn’t yet visited in the local area. We went via Ilfracombe and the coast road so we had a very pleasant 1/2 hour drive to our destination. We parked at a small car park overlooking the bay / harbour. They call it a harbour but there is a distinct lack of boats - one to be precise!
Combe Martin is one of those seaside places that changes totally dependent on the tide. The sea was virtually at low tide so there was acres of sand, shells, rock pools, caves and walkways to explore. At high tide it would have been totally different - just as pretty but probably not as interesting.
Before we started exploring we went to the Harbour Deli to stock up for a picnic lunch. And it was rather splendid. We shared a nice tuna salad and a very eatable flapjack. The flapjack was particularly pleasing ... I’m a bit of a fan but about 95% of bought flapjacks are inedible, like a slap of sawdust. This was perfect- chewy and moist!
The constant drizzle necessitated the finding of a cave. The one we found had a lovely view across the bay so we could eat our lunch as we watched the tide begin to come back in. Indeed if we had still been sitting there about 4 hours later it may well have been a little scary as it would have been very easy to get trapped.
The English summer weather means that caves are at a premium so, eventually we were forced to share. And when one of the said sharers lighted up a fag we knew it was time to go. A lovely 45 mins while it lasted though.
It was about 2.30 do we decided that the drizzle would be manageable if we went to Lynton for a poke around. When we were there earlier with the boys we had noted some interesting shops but when you have Twinnies in tow you tend to avoid closed spaces with nice things!
Ok, so it wasn’t Oxford Street but there was enough of interest to browse to keep us going for an hour so. Of course, being us, we had worked up a thirst / appetite so we found an open coffee shop called Laceys - a number were closed - for a cuppa.
We decided to go home a different way - a good decision. We followed the coast route back through The Valley Of Rocks and Hedden Valley. It took some time but it was stunning - even in the drizzle! That said, we collectively didn’t fully appreciate the views- I had one eye on the road, which was narrow and scary for most (the road not my eye!) and Kim had 2 eyes on my 1 eye that wasn’t on the road!
Home via The Depot for an early tea. It was busy but very enjoyable. Kim had pizza (well to be fair about 1/4 of pizza) I had Veggie Nachos. By now it was raining properly!
As soon as we pulled up to Brunnehilda I realised I had left my bag in the coffee shop. Nothing really to morn except my glasses! We watched a Tom Hanks film - A Beautiful Day in The Neighbourhood. Feedback from the one word critic was “slow”. I would add “harmless”. I’ll give it a 6.5 out of 10.
It feels weird going to bed tonight ... we leave Brunnehilda on her own in the morning. She is due to be put into storage on the farm here for a month - it feels like leaving the dogs in the kennels but worse as she hasn’t got company! And, for the first time since we’ve had her (I think?), we are leaving her with no plans to use her as we currently have no Autumn bookings made. We definitely need to get this sorted and keep Travelling with Brunnehilda!
