Holiday: Devon in Seven! (Day 2)

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Scenic view from the settee!

Just when you create a title for your blog-post that works perfectly, along comes something to ruin it! After BoJo’s announcement last night, it looks like ‘Lockdown 2.0’ will require us to pack up early here in Totnes, and return home on Wednesday! – two days short!!

Devon in Seven! – now, what rhymes with “four” Back to the drawing-board!!

7.45am: Ahh, a holiday lie-in! Actually, we were up and about before 8, thinking about how we make the most of our truncated break!

9.30am: A late (and lazy) Sunday breakfast mostly watching more depressing news about Covid-19! But at least, we still had Cheese Scones – not bad with locally made jams and marmalade!

10.45am: Off for a trot around Totnes, home to gazillions of independent shops. As we left the cottage, it started to rain. It didn’t take us long to get there and after parting with the princely sum of £1.20, we were parked in one of the town public car-parks.

Armed with the obligatory umbrellas (and the even more obligatory masks!) we headed into the town famed for its promotion of ethical products, wholefoods and fair trade goods – and famous clock!

11.45am: By now, as much as we like our quirky shops, the rain was winning, and we began to head back towards the car. As every good scholar knows, Totnes is flanked by the River Dart, and in spite of the deteriorating weather, we made a mad dash for the bridge to see its famous river that helped Totnes become so prosperous in the 16th century through its exports of wool and tin.

The River Dart
The William John Wills Monument

Before we surrendered completely to Mother Nature, I just managed to snap the rather impressive Monument near the River – to William John Wills, (1831-61) the Australian explorer.

1.6 very wet miles!

12.30pm: It was good to be back in the car and I think we eventually steam-dried thanks to the Robert’s heated seats. Our next stop was Sunday lunch at the award-winning Pub/Restaurant The Cott Inn in nearby Dartington, whose strapline…

‘A family-run Pub, welcoming guests since 1320’

…meant that we therefore only had 50 minutes to wait! Check out their menus HERE.

Camembert Wedges with Chilli Jam
Sunday Roast!

Service was politely efficient whilst the food itself turned out to be absolutely delicious! – and it was well-presented Clearly, others thought so too as by the time we left, the eatery side of the Pub was packed – not an empty table to be seen anywhere, together with a car-park that was over-spilling into the narrowish road opposite!

1.50pm: If it had been wet in Totnes, it was even wetter in Dartington. Time for the heated seats to do their magic, whilst we steamed on to our next stop – nearby Buckfast Abbey.

Buckfast Abbey

We hadn’t done much homework on this, but it had been recommended by our good friend, Janet. We chose it because it was nearby and still raining! It actually turned out to be a memorable experience for all the right reasons. In short, it’s an active Benedictine Monastery that became home to an Abbey as long ago as 1018! It has a fascinating history including demolition, conversion to a Gothic mansion house and a faithful rebuild in the 30s.

Inside, we weren’t sure what to expect. We certainly weren’t expecting it to be so immaculate – it looked like it opened its doors yesterday!

Whether or not you’re into this sort of architecture, you couldn’t fail to be impressed by the size and scale of the interior – it was breath-taking (thanks for recommending it Janet!)

It was definitely one of those places where our jaws remain firmly dropped!

“Oh, what a ceiling!”

Did I mention this place was impressive? Go see! 👍

3.30pm: On exiting the Abbey, it was still raining, and so we decided to call it a day and head back to the Cottage. Weather-wise, the day had been a bit of a disaster, but we’d eaten well and been blown away by our final stop at the Abbey.

4.05pm: With Robert on charge, but no signs of the rain stopping, we closed the curtains and settled-down for a night around the TV in the company of a few gin miniatures! 😜😜

Tomorrow, weather permitting, it’s Kingsbridge and Salcombe.

Click HERE for all the photos and none of my chat! 😁


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