It's coming 'ome, it's coming 'ome...

So far then, 72 hours in the UK and you’re probably thinking what all the fuss is about. A bunch of whistle stop trips and visits and hardly any accompanying photos as well! So much to read with so few pictures. It’s OK, don’t worry, for the whistle stopping has maximised available time in the jewel of England and the heart and soul of it all. Still home I think. I am probably biased, but Devon and Cornwall form probably the most idyllic blend of gorgeousness in the world. OK, maybe not so much on a dreary day in February, but on warm days in May tell me a better place to be. Plus when there is Mum’s roast pork to greet you, how can you be anywhere else?

The first full day in Devon was scrumptious, the weather blue and warm and begging for a trip to Noss Mayo, just a short jaunt from Plymouth on an empty bus across narrow lanes and down steep winding inclines to the cosy villages of Newton and Noss. The walk from here is well trodden but worth repeating, just for the diversity of country and coast, flora and fauna, and a special reward at the end.

So, equipped surprisingly in shorts and hat and smothered in sunscreen it was up the country lane I marched, out to the Warren and its blend of sheep and horse and flowery field and gorse falling down towards the calm blue seas.

A pretty nice setting for a spot of lunch, thanks to a pre-purchased Tesco lunch deal and the extra bonus of some strawberries. I toyed with the idea of a little nap in the sunshine but knew there was still plenty to see, plus needed to ensure time for that end reward before the bus back. Continuing on around the corner to the Yealm estuary, things begin to change from the coastal gorse to bluebells and rhododendrons and verdant woodland, fringing the sparkling waters of the river and creek.



And while not a strenuous walk at all, you should treat yourself to that reward regardless, because it means you end up sat relaxing in the sunshine with legs dangling over the water drinking a pint of Cider in the Ship Inn. Here, my absence from England became all too evident, as I felt slightly tipsy afterwards, unaccustomed as I am to pints of Cider in the afternoon sun!

If I didn’t get to do anything else in Devon then I still would have been happy, but of course, me being me, and English weather being so splendid, there was still plenty more to pack in to four days. If Monday was chillaxing, Tuesday was more frenetic, but peppered with plenty of highlights of a different kind. There was food and people, and the combination of food and people. A walk around Plymouth punctuated by frapuccino and a pasty. A trip out to Aunty Pat’s for tea and chocolate cake. And then the mother of all barbecues for Bethany’s 8th birthday! This was, of course, cooked by yours truly, and I don’t think I have ever done so much food. But at least it meant I was too busy to be roped into trampoline mayhem and musical statues! And I got to cook up and then eat proper good English sausages. They are just not the same in Australia.





Wednesday cooled off and clouded over a bit, providing some time for a bit of a rest in the morning prior to leftover BBQ lunch with the family and pets. The weather brightened up a little in the afternoon and so this presented an opportunity for some serious activity up on Dartmoor. Serious cream tea activity that is. Because I was, like, so hungry having been starved so far on this trip. A bowl of cream for three at Badger’s Holt is some sight. The setting lush and tranquil. The result a clogged artery, queasiness and extreme pleasure.



The cream tea was literally tea, and it wasn’t until the next day that I really started to eat again. We headed across the border into Cornwall, and I was pleased to have got to spend my last day having a ball on a sandy beach on the beautiful north coast at Holywell Bay. There was ice cream, ball games, sand dunes, river crossings, feet in the sand and, briefly, pretty chilly water. I think I even caught the sun a little! Good times.





Sausage and egg pie and cheesy marmites completed the fourth and final day in the south west, a fattening pastry filled end to a fattening, gorgeous time in the most wonderful place in the world. Soon it will have another little pair of feet to cherish and I look forward to returning soon and, wherever I may be, again and again and again.