Holiday in East Devon Part 3

Back again with another holiday post:-


We had a couple of very wet days with almost continuous rain so we were more or less confined indoors but luckily I had a good supply of activities to keep me amused, crochet, reading and colouring - yes, I discovered this adult colouring book when we were shopping in Exmouth, just right for a rainy day.

We did brave the rain to pay a visit to a farm shop that had been recommended by a friend and what a super place it was, we will definitely be revisiting when we are in this part of the world again. Lots of lovely fresh food and a lovely cafeteria which sold the most amazing bacon baps which we enjoyed with a lovely coffee.

We also made another visit to Exmouth beach one afternoon when the rain had eventually stopped, it was more like November than August, cold and very windy, but we had an exhilarating walk on an almost deserted beach. Although not what you expect from a Summer's day we both really enjoyed our walk in these rough conditions with hardly anyone about, it certainly blew the cobwebs away and was good to get out and about after being confined indoors.

When we got back to Brackens you could see the extent of the rain we had had during the day, the little stream that runs down the side of the road which is usually just a trickle was in full spate ....

and you can see the remaining puddles in the courtyard.

After these two wet days it was good to wake up to a sunny and clear day so we drove to Colyford to visit the Axe bird reserve, somewhere we have passed a few times on the Seaton tramway but never sought out before. We plan to come back in the Winter where there will be many more birdlife to be seen, we did see a kingfisher fly past and there were a few waders about but it was fairly quiet.


We then motored onto Beer where I enjoyed one of my promised holiday treats, fish and chips on the beach. Very anti Slimming World but I so enjoyed it! I think I walked off most of the damage by climbing up to the top of the cliff - a very steep climb but one that is well worth it for the fantastic views. I even managed to persuade my DH to accompany me this year (last year he stayed at the bottom while I made the climb), very proud of him, all the walking we are doing has certainly paid off.

After our energetic climb we moved onto Pecorama, which is on the hillside above Beer. My DH is very into steam railways and is interested in model railways so this was the main reason why we visit. However, I love the gardens and the scenery there so am always up for a visit. I especially love the Secret Garden which is at the top of a very steep slope so a lot of people leave that out so it is always very quiet and peaceful. We had a ride on the Beer Heights Steam Railway which takes you through parts of the garden unaccessible by foot. We did spot a wild flower area from the train and did return on foot to see it up close - a magnificent sight.

The following day we caught a train to Teignmouth, there was a steam train hauling an excursion train and my DH wanted to photograph it from the sea wall. The sea wall has only recently reopened after the devastating flooding and damage that took place during 2014. After seeing the train we ambled along the seafront to the back beach where we enjoyed lunch before returning to the station to catch the train back.

We finished the day by viewing the sun going down from the Exe estuary path, the light was beautiful and it was a truly magical experience.

Thank you for reading. I had hoped to wind up my holiday postings in this post but we crammed so much in to our two weeks away that I still have a few more photos I would like to share with you, if you are not thoroughly bored by now I hope to see you back in my next post.