Cofton Country Holidays nr Dawlish

We left around 11am, stopping at Gloucester services on the M5. The nicest motorway services I have ever visited.

Unfortunately there were traffic problems on the M42 and we didn’t arrive home until about 7pm.

Torquay

We caught the Train from Starcross into Torquay for the day. A nice sunny day so we walked along the seafront and into town.

We had a nice Costa Coffee and later on a Subway for lunch before a nice walk back to the station and back to the van. We decided to take down the awning as it was dry.

Teignmouth

Sun was out again today. We booked some tickets online and drove down to the station in Starcross, to catch the train into Teignmouth.

In the evening we went to Amelia’s for the Tex-Mex special night for Chicken and bean enchilada’s. 2 meals for £16. Very good value.

Dawlish Warren & Dawlish

A lot brighter this morning. A few clouds about but generally warm an sunny.

We biked to Dawlish Warren and chained the bikes to a fence by the railway bridge, and walked along the south west coastal path to Dawlish.

We sat by the river and had another ice cream, single scoop this time, much more manageable in the now baking sunshine. We chilled by the river for quite a while watching the ducks and Black Swans.

After a nice stroll around the shops we went in search of a Devon Cream Tea, which was very nice, before walking back to the bikes.

We called in at the Ship Inn in Cockwood for a nice pint of cider on the way back to the van.

It has been a lovely day all in all. Just a few cloudy spells here and there but overall a very nice, bright and sunny day.

Castle Drogo

Very Cloudy this morning and after around a hour it started raining and we had a short thunder storm.

We decided to visit Castle Drogo, a country house and castle near Drewsteighnton. It was built between 1911 and 1930 for Julius Drewe to designs by architect Edwin Lutyens.. It is currently undergoing a 5 year conservation project to make it watertight.

It is a grade 1 listed building which has leaked ever since it was built. We went on the very interesting hard hat tour around the conservation works.

The heavy showers eventually stopped and it turned into a very warm afternoon. We headed back to the caravan around 5pm.

Exe Estuary Cycle Route

Cloudy this morning but still nice and warm. After breakfast we decided to ride the Exe Estuary Trail. We joined just before Starcross and cycled all the way round to Exmouth, calling in at The Swan in Lympstone village for a much needed cider.

Unfortunately by the time we reached the Exmouth to Starcross ferry, we missed it by about 2 minutes, so we had a coffee whilst we waited an hour for the next ferry.

A little expensive at £4.50 single, £5.50 return plus £1 each way for the bike, it cost us £11 to get across.

By the time we got back to the van, we had cycled 19 miles and ready for a relaxing evening to recover.

Dawlish Warren & Dawlish

A lovely morning today. After a nice breakfast and quick shower, we decided to walk a little under 3 miles to Dawlish Warren.

We stopped at the Boathouse and had a nice pint of Cider, looking across the Exe estuary to Exmouth.

We decided to continue another mile and a half along the south west coastal path to Dawlish.

Located at the outlet of a small river, Dawlish Water, runs through it’s central public park, the Lawn. It is very picturesque with a series of small wears as it runs down to the sea. Dawlish is also famous for it’s black swans. We sat by the river in the sunshine and ate possibly the biggest 2 scoop ice cream I have ever had. Excellent value at £3.50.

As we walked back we were treated to the Steam hauled Torbay express coming through. Looking very much like the Flying Scotsman it was a very impressive sight.

Cofton Country Holidays nr Dawlish

It was raining heavily this morning. We left Mirey Lees around 9:00, and after the traditional breakfast at Stonebridge Island Toby Carvery, near the N.E.C. we had an reasonably good journey down the M5.

We arrived around 3:00pm and quickly set up the caravan and awning, before going in search of Morrison’s at Teignmouth. We actually stumbled upon the new Sainsbury’s superstore just a couple of miles down the road.

After getting some much needed supplies we headed back to the van for Pizza and salad for tea before settling down for the evening.