Thursday 15 August 2013

A bit of a South Hams day!! ;-)





Today,  Mr S and I had the day off and so we decided to have

 a bit of a South Hams tour...starting off with

Slapton Ley and Torcross.

It's a beautiful area and one which we have visited many times

but of which we never tire.

First stop... is normally the Sea Breeze cafe!






Then, we take in the ozone of Start Bay.






After that, a wander.

We're pretty good at that, having had plenty of practice!








A further wander finds us on this path lined with

hedge mustard.






Slapton Ley Nature Reserve is a wetland.

The Lower Ley is the largest natural lake in South West England.

Amazingly, it is entirely freshwater

and it is only separated from the sea by a very narrow shingle bar.

The surrounding marshes and reed beds give an assortment of habitats

to the rich and varied wildlife, which feed and breed here.








Rose Bay Willow Herb is in abundance here!

It's other name is Fireweed...and it does spread like wild fire.


And you don't have to look too hard to find nature very much at work.

We stop to observe a cabbage white caterpillar and damsel fly.






And there are always those little touches of colour,

dotted here and there...oh and plenty of Comfrey...which

we love!






I am always at ease when I am wandering near

hedgerow or grass verges.

It takes me back to my childhood when I normally

had an 'i Spy' book in my pocket!

So that what I didn't know, I found out!






Our time is our own and we are in no rush.

We finish our lovely ramble and off we go.


Next stop is Kingsbridge.






Another wander; we don't stay for very long but it is a charming little town

and one which Mr S knows well, as he once lived here....

that was before he clapped eyes on me and his life changed

in the blink of ...er... an eye!!


Moving swiftly on! ;-)

Salcombe!







Now... Salcombe is a bit of a nightmare to negotiate and even more of a nightmare to

find a place to park. But park we do...eventually!

I look down...knowing that going down will be fine...the 

climbing up the hill afterwards, not so fine!

Yes, it's lovely...and yes it is full of

'Hooray Henries!!' ;-) (And boats...and trailers...!)






Spot the CK?

I almost don't! It's pretty small

and there's little room to move ... so I make a hasty retreat! ;-)

In fact, we make a hasty retreat and utter words like

'We'll return in the winter!!'

Don't let me put you off...but my advice is to

get the 'park and ride', which is on the edge of the town.

That way, your visit will be more stress free!






Next stop is the quaint little village of Malborough.

As sleepy as Salcombe is busy and energetic, we

briefly stop to see if we can find a watering hole.

We find two...both closed! 

Lots of thatch, though!







Our penultimate stop is ...Modbury.





It's a pretty little place and after a pint

and a rest, we journey to Totnes, photos of which 

I don't need to show you, do I? ;-)

;-)




3 comments:

  1. What a lovely day out!
    Great photos too!
    Love Amanda (Shabby Chick) xxx

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a super tour of the South Hams (and to those who aren't familiar with the term, it doesn't mean southern piggies, but southern hamlets) ... except Salcombe In Summer, which as you say is a nightmare. But what a tour. I'd have been tired after just one of those stopping off points along your tour, but thanks for showing me Malborough - never been there, will put it on our next itinerary when we venture into that 1930s-and-almost-forgotten-hinterland of the South Hams (for that's what a lot of it feels like to me.)
    Margaret P

    ReplyDelete
  3. What very pretty places you have near you. I love the collage photographs too.
    I don't know the area so we might have to put it on our 'list' of places to visit.
    Xxx

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment! ;-)