An Afternoon in Kingsbridge & Salcombe - 21st August ‘20

Another windy night in Brunnehilda - if I had a £1 for every windy night in Brunnehilda..... well, I’d have a lot of money!

We got up and about fairly promptly to move her onto a pitch on the main field - we were temporarily put at the top end by the toilets / facilities! Locks off, services disconnected and hooked up for the 50 yard move. Didn’t take too long. The view is slightly better but this pitch is flatter, so no complaints. And, to cap it all, I managed to back her onto the pitch - wow, whatever next!?

After a slice of toast we hit the road to Kingsbridge about a 30 minute drive away. It wasn’t a stress free journey - Kim was driving and I navigated her onto the shorter, quicker but narrower lane route! It was very busy with cars, tractors, caravans and small trucks so lots of braking, pulling over and squeezing past! Let’s put it this way ... it wasn’t the most harmonious start to what turned out to be a lovely day!

What a nice place Kingsbridge is? My first visit - I think? It sits at the top of the Kingsbridge Ria with lots of boats and a rather large and busy Main Street going up from the quay. We spent an enjoyable couple of hours mouching around. As always we ended up at a coffee shop / cafe. This one was called Mangetout and it was really rather good. We both had Thai Coconut and Squash soup - gee, it was tasty! 

Kingsbridge has a similar vibe to Totnes. Not quite as laid back and a few more tourists but still very pleasant. By this time the sun was poking in and out of the clouds and the wind had dropped a bit so all was good with the world!

Then onto it’s neighbour at the seaward end of the ria - Salcombe. Again another really nice place. We came here with the Parrotts last summer but we were on their boat so only saw it from the sea! It’s that bit more touristy that Kingsbridge and Totnes and certainly more “up market”.

It’s a really interesting place to visit - lots of shops, eating establishments, ups, downs, nooks and cranneys. After a good old look around, we were looking to find somewhere to sit in and have a coffee. Then the rain came so everyone else had the same idea! Plans were swiftly changed and we bought a pasty and some cakes to take back to Brunnehilda for an early tea.

After tea and our daily dose of The Wire we were both sufficiently tired to justify an early night. So here I lie, at 10pm in Brunnehilda’s big old bed listening to the wind and the rain. Yes, the wind has got up again, as it tends to at night, and the rain has returned. Brunnehilda doesn’t seem to mind though - she is fairly hardened now to all that this countries’ sh***y weather can throw at her!

Salcombe with the Parrott’s & Totnes- 4th Aug ‘19

A shorter blog today as I’m doing it next morning (Monday) as well, putting it bluntly, I couldn’t be stars bothered last night.

Not a great day weather wise but no wind and rain so no complaints.

After the normal Brunnehilda morning routines, we set off on the hour plus journey to Salcombe.
I had been keen to see my old Volvo buddy, Simon’s boat for years and, as he was down with his family for the weekend, it was a great opportunity to make it happen.

Kim and boats go together like sliders and socks so she was a bit apprehensive! Me, although I haven’t had much experience on the water, I love the idea of anything that floats as much as I do the sensation of being in or on water.

We had a fantastic afternoon. Simon and Justine were great nautical hosts. From the sandwiches and scones on board for lunch through to the 2 trips (either side of beer/ G&T) up and down the ria (look that one up if you want!). Firstly Jack - that’s Simon’s oldest son - skippered is up through Salcombe to the mouth of the sea and then down to as far as Kingsbridge heading in land. Simon’s boat is called the Norwegian Blue but we left her moored up and had our trips out on the water on a fun little craft called a Boston Whaler.

It was very busy on the water but, thankfully for us both, very calm. Simon did his best with the tourist commentary but he clearly has some swotting up to do?! Although he did manage to point out Wayne Rooney’s modest little pad high up on the hill overlooking the bay.

It was great to see an old Volvo friend and we managed to pass away the afternoon without mentioning the “V” word hardly at all.

We left at about 6 and made our way home via Totnes. Simon and Justine had recommended a visit and it was as interesting and “different” as they sold it as. It’s known to have an alternative / new age / Bohemian type feel - much like Daventry !!!? Although all the alternative shops were shut it was fun to walk around amongst all the ageing hippies and just enjoy it all. We even managed to have a very nice Chinese / Thai at a place called Little Asia - another recommendation from the Pitts’. http://www.totneslittleasia.co.uk/ Although their card machine was broken, so to some degree we picked our menu selection based on the cash we had to hand!

There is a bit of an ageing hippy streak in me - and my 2 sons! - so a return visit to Tones during the day would be fun.