In Which I Go on Holiday

A couple of weeks ago, my cousin contacted me to say that she and her parents, and her 2.5 year old son, had rented a cottage in South Devon for a week, and there was a spare room, so would I like to join them? And I would., so I did.

View from the door

Unfortunately I had to work on Monday, so I couldn't go for quite the full week, but I was able to drive down on Monday after work, and stay until Saturday.

Another view from the cottage

We were lucky that the weather has been so lovely - and as you can see, we had a wonderful sea-view, so when we were too hot to go anywhere, we could stay in the cottage and look at the views, listen to the sea, and watch the house-martins going to and from their nests in the corners of the bedroom windows.

We went to the beach several times - always an interesting trip, as most of the lanes were only (just) wide enough for a single car, so any drive was liable to include some reversing, and squeezing into hedge-bottoms!

The nearest beach was on the estuary, with a sandy beach, so although it was tidal, it had very few waves, which I liked, as I was able to swim without getting too many slaps in the face by waves (and I could leave my glasses on, which is always a plus!

We went late in the afternoon, when it was a little cooler, and there was shade, and this had the added advantage that many people were starting to leave as we arrived,so we got an uncrowded beach.

My cousin and I took J to Start Point Lighthouse, which is open to the public, as he likes lighthouses. It's quite a long walk from the car-park for someone who is only two and a half, but we all made it!

And then we all did the tour, and got to climb all the way up. I was a little disappointed that you can't get out onto the walkway outside the lantern - apparently the lighthouse-keepers used to have train so that they could abseil down the outside if it became necessary, in an emergency!

It was fantastic to have such a clear, bright day to visit (it was the coolest day of the holiday, so the walk was do-able; my aunt and uncle went for a proper, 5 hour walk elsewhere!

Start Point Lighthouse

Below the cottage were rocks, so we were able to take J down to investigate the rock pools, which was fun for everyone (there didn't seem to be much other than limpets and seaweed in the pools, which did not seem to detract at all from J's enjoyment, and which meant there was no sea life to be disturbed by his shrimping net!)

At the top of the field behind the cottage was the old coastguard station, now staffed by Coast-Watch volunteers, and we were able to walk up. The views were stunning!  There's a little one-room visitor centre with information about local wildlife and sea-life, and information about shipwrecks in the area. 

View from Coast Guard Station

And in the evenings there were BBQs,and champagne and strawberries, and 'treasure hunts' for J in the garden,and general relaxation. 

All in all, it was a lovely opportunity to relax and unwind (did I mention that there was no phone signal or internet connection at the cottage?)

On the way home, I met up with my parents for lunch, although we decided it was too hot to look around the gardens of the stately home we met up at. 

Of course, all good things must come to an end, and it was a little bit of a shock to the system to have to go back to work today, but such is life...