Sunday…

I call it , ‘ The South Hams Experience’ whenever we venture that way! And as soon as we reach Blackpool Sands, out comes the camera! 

And then we reach the point where we can look down at Slapton Sands and Slapton Ley.

It’s a wonderful area and one in which, if I had my life over again, I’d love to live! It’s less busy here and offers a more gentle way of life, I think. 

We have a favourite place to have coffee and cake or a snack lunch and it’s called ‘The Billy Can’. It has friendly staff and with wonderful food! We sat in the seat above, which was actually the only place left to sit …it was busy. Luckily, we found ourselves sitting opposite a lovely, friendly and down to earth, local couple and we soon got chatting…as one does!

On leaving ‘The Billy Can’ ( which I highly recommend!) we made our way through various villages towards Kingsbridge. There are some pretty, little gardens  along this route.

I have a bit of a soft spot for Kingsbridge as it was where Mr Snippets was living when I met him many years ago!

Kingsbridge is an interesting little town with a rich history. 

The town was formed around a bridge which was built around the 10th century, between the royal estates of Alvington ( to the west) and Chillington (to the east), hence giving it the name Kyngysbrygge- ‘ King’s Bridge’. 

In 1219, the Abbot of Buckfast was granted the right to hold a market there and then by 1238, the settlement had become a borough. Many years later, during the dissolution of the monasteries, Kingsbridge was then granted to Sir William Petre. Apparently, Kingsbridge was never represented in Parliament or incorporated by charter, the local government being by a portreeve. Kingsbridge lay within the ‘hundred’ of Stanborough. ( A ‘hundred’ being an administrative division  that is geographically part of a larger region). 

Moving on in time, in 1798, the town mills were converted into a woollen manufacture, which then produced large amounts of cloth and then serge. During the 19th century, Kingsbridge had an active, coastal, shipping trade, shipbuilding, a tannery and also a large, monthly cattle market. The chief exports were cider, corn, malt and slate. If you visit Kingsbridge you will notice many 18th and 19th century buildings. It also has ‘The Shambles’ or market arcade…more about that from Historic England here

Finally, in 1972, The Cookworthy Museum was opened in the old Kingsbridge Grammar School buildings. You can find out more about this here

I always think that local museums are of huge importance and they are such a valuable resource; we are lucky enough to have some really good, local museums here in South Devon. 

We then made our way towards Avon Mill , near Loddiswell.

However, as Robert Burns said in his poem, ‘To a Mouse’: ‘ The best laid schemes o’ mice and men, Gang after agley’!  Our plans were cut short by a sudden road closure; a tree was down! Thus Avon Mill wasn’t to be! 

So, we drove home, calling in at Longcombe Nursery on the way! A fine substitute!

So what did I say on my previous blog post? 😂

The first thing I like to do when I get home from a trip out is to check what’s happening in the garden…and these greeted me: 

And these beauties were  promptly blown to bits overnight as we’ve had some blustery weather these past couple of days! However, two new blooms appeared this afternoon! And I love the poppy heads, anyway.

Meanwhile…

 

Do you like Nasturtiums? I do and I tend to poke the seeds into various pots at the end of May/ beginning of June and then leave them to do their own thing. The Cabbage White butterflies always visit …and of course, the blackfly…but that’s nature for you! 

And now I need to go and pay attention to some terracotta pots. I love using these but they dry out so quickly, especially when it’s windy weather!