Our trip to Buckfastleigh in Devon, went largely without a hitchand And then got interesting, near the end. The last 5 miles or so, were into the farmlands, on a single lane narrow road, surrounded by 8 foot hedgerows. I could hear my travel companion thinking…what the hell is going on. I concede…I alsO wondered …what the hell.
We arrived at Mitchelcroft BnB, and it was unbelievable. Only 3 rooms, other guests were a great couple from the GDR. The setting was idyllic. Beautiful rooms with amazing views. The dining room also had a stunning view. The host Debbie..cooked fresh breakfast, local produce and when we got home in the afternoon, a slice of cake in each of our rooms. I will definitely stay here again, especially when I start spending more time here over the next few months. We went for dinner in our local village called Scoriton, 1 mile down the road. Village has a farmhouse, a pub and maybe 6 buildings. After dinner we took a drive…along these narrow roads. Imagine the horror when we went left, drove about 300m and came across a felled tree….no passing. I had to reverse back along the narrow, windy road. Seriously as you drive, branches scrape both sides of the car. So I reversed and reversed…about 85m from the little intersection where I could turn…a minivan came hurtling along. Nowhere for me to go.
I got out of the car to go and chat…cos now we had a 3 car back up. The dude driving says to me… in a very nice and joking way….what’s wrong WOMAN…are you lost? So I had the satisfaction of saying not lost, road closed. He goes oh Shite!!! Anyway, he very kindly reversed, blocked off the intersection so that I could complete my turn. I think I earned brownie points for my reversing skills. The next day, different drive, same scenario….this time head-on into a tractor and plough. So no option…have to reverse along the road until you find a farm fence or spot to pull over…I couldn’t look as the back wheel of the plough came past…just listened for a crunch. Good laughs and many oohs and eishes.
We started our next day at the beautiful and peaceful Buckfast Abbey. We then did a little road-trip to Plymouth to check out where I will be staying and working over the next while. Next we headed into the beautiful Dartmoor National Park. Our route took us to Crapstone (the child in me loves this one)…onto Princetown, Two Bridges, Stonebridge and then Widecombe-in-the-Moor, finally to Ashburton and then back to Buckfastleigh. Absolutely unbelievable scenery. The wild horse roam everywhere, sheep and cattle in the moors. Really beautiful bridges and sights. Such a special area.
We decided to spend 2 nights in Buckfastleigh- rather than trying to dash down to Cornwall for a night. Best decision ever, as it gave us more time to explore the area and luckily the BnB was available.
On Wednesday we headed off to Southampton. We stopped by at the magnificent Salisbury Cathedral along the way. It is nearly 800 years old and has Britain’s tallest spire. It is also home to the best preserved of only four surviving 1215 Magna Carta documents and the world’s oldest working mechanical clock. A great stop along the way.
We finally arrived in Southampton just after 4pm. Settled in to our apartment. Went for a walk and bought a cook at home dinner from M&S. Apartment not in best area again, but close to everything. On Thursday, I drove the rental car back to London- about an hour and a half drive. The one way drop off fees were just so ridiculous, that was better to take it back to Heathrow. Mom stayed at apartment and took care of the washing and ironing and had some time off. I caught the train back from Waterloo station, and a bus to our apartment.
Today, indulged in a bit of retail therapy…although now the cases are bulging at the seems. Not much to see or do in Southampton and the weather today was rainy most of the day. So good excuse to have some downtime. Our Airbnb host has kindly said we can stay until 12.30pm tomorrow. An uber is organized to collect us and take us to QE2 Terminal tomorrow.
There wont be much contact for the next 2 weeks. Costs of internet access on the boat is exorbitant…so will chat if we get a signal in port.
Ps…apologies if there is double post…technical challenge tonight
Leanne Maree's blog 
Beautiful pics and such a beautiful bed and breakfast. We stayed down the road near Ashburton. Didn’t you love that Salisbury Cathedral. They told us how there is an underground tunnel that goes under the street and directly into the pub and a brothel so the monks could be discrete… Loved that place and the town was lovely too. Have a good time on the ship.
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Will do…thanks a lot for tips and comments. Means a lot
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