Chillington
June 30, 2017 in the United Kingdom ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C
Our plan today was first to drive to the Nothe Fort, built by Victorians to protect Weymouth from the French, but then used for military purposes both in WW2 and the Cold War. It was quite close to where we should have stayed, and we wanted to have a bit of a climb around it before leaving Weymouth. However, it didn't open until 10.30 am, and we wanted to be well away by then. We couldn't really see much from the outside, but there was a really lovely park on the promontory, so we spent a little time here. We were excited when we spotted a couple of squirrels, but before long there were dozens of them, and a couple of people were feeding them nuts, kindly allowing us to join in.
Happy that we'd seen something interesting at least, we then hopped in the car and set off. There are so many nice places to stop along the coast, but our first planned stop was Portland Bill, just a little way on from Weymouth a sort of tied Island, connected to the mainland by a long thin stretch of road. The houses here were quaint, and built on steep narrow streets, which we drove through, and on to the lighthouse known as Portland Bill, which featured in a childrens cartoon series. We drove to a prominent spot on a hill for a photo before moving on, this time heading for West Bay or Eypp, near Bridport, the site used in the filming of the TV series Broadchurch. We were a bit shocked to see there had been a severe cliff collapse, and the cliff walk was closed. Looks like no filming here for a while! We got out and walked over to the beach. There were plenty of people here with cafes pubs and bakeries. After a stroll along the beach and a couple of photos of the unusual and very tall cliffs where the boy in the series mysteriously fell to his death, we decided we were not only overdue for coffee but for lunch as well!
We walked into the first of many Cornish Bakeries on this trip and had to try our first Cornish Pasty. When in Rome, so to speak. It was quite nice, although I've never been keen on the amount of pastry in them. Slightly behind schedule now, we bypassed Lyme Regis and headed for Exeter, where we took the road which went down to Torquay. We didn't stop. It was a little wet, and although a popular tourist spot just seemed very busy, touristy, and tacky, but at least I can say I've been there. We also gave Torre Abbey a wave as we drove past. Maybe next trip?
We then had to choose the inland route, or the coast route which required us to take yet another car ferry across the river Dart. We chose the latter, and thought we'd come back tomorrow and explore Dartmouth.
We were booked in tonight in a rather small village called Chillington, chosen because some old friends of Rae's now live there. The BnB they recommended was really nice after last night's disappointment, and we met an elderly couple there who were away with their children and grandchildren for the mother's 70th birthday. We settled in and had a lovely shower before Tony turned up to walk us along to the pub for dinner where we would also meet Brenda. Enjoyed reminiscing about old times. Their grandson James arrived a little later, but unfortunately his mom, Karen, who Rae also knew was working away. Great night was had by all, and they invited us back the next morning before we were to leave.Read more
April 22, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
