Day 7

Sidmouth – Beer – Branscombe – Torquay – Paignton – Brixham – Dartmouth – Sidmouth

Accommodation:  Coombe Bend B&B

Temperature:  17 degrees

Weather:  bright with patches of sunlight

What a difference a day makes in English weather.  The first sighting of sun and summer clothing gets an airing……men in shorts and sandals and women in summer frocks with light cardigans.  Me?  I’m still in my winter gear however I was down a couple of layers and loving the sunshine. 

An English countryside....

As we decided to stay an extra night we planned a round trip to see the sights of Easton Devon.  Firstly, we headed north to the delightful fishing village of Beer which sits on a very small bay.  The fishing boats were sitting on the pebble beach between many rows of brightly coloured striped beach chairs.  No one was in the chairs when we were there (too early?) however there was a family in swimming!  I think they may have been tourists visiting from Iceland.

A touch of sunshine....

We wandered the streets of Beer and passed the hall which had advertised “share your memories of the coronation and a cuppa”.  There were quite a few people in attendance and villagers were selling potted plants and books outside.  Beer has two magnificent art galleries which were well worth visiting.

We then meandered our way through extremely narrow lanes to a hidden jewel of a village – Branscombe.  The old church of St Winifred’s with a Norman tower is perched on the side of a road in the centre of the village.  It has housed a church since Saxon times and this particular church dates from the 14^th century.  As it is commended as one of Britain’s hundred ‘must see’ churches it is a popular site to visit however parking in this teeny tiny village with pretty thatched homes would be difficult on busy days.

Beautiful St Winifred's at Branscombe.

We drove through Torquay onto Paignton where once again dozens and dozens of beach huts two abreast abutted the reddish sand shore of the beach.  All the huts were painted white and the doors were brightly independent in their colour range.  They seem to be sheds to house the owner’s beach gear including the ubiquitous striped beach chairs.

Paignton's beach huts....reputedly sell for over a hundred thousand pounds if not inherited!

Our next stop, Brixham, was our lunch break and we sat next to the boat harbour at a recommended café (Claws at Brixham) for a seafood lunch.  The menu read:  jellied eels, cockles, mussels, whelks, winkles, oysters, peeled prawns and shell on prawns.  As David and I were hungry we played it safe and ordered crab sandwiches and prawn and avocado sandwiches washed down with a South African sauvignon blanc.  Cockles and mussels…alive, alive O! will have to wait for another day!!).

Brixham Harbour....delightful!

We wandered the tiny port with its many shops and bought some really delicious caramel fudge.  I couldn’t help myself and nearly half the packet had gone by the time we had finished our tour.  It was a short walk back to our car at the ‘park and pay’ which is a very common method of accessing these tiny towns.  No parking is allowed in a lot of towns we have visited with designated pedestrian lanes in the centre – such a sensible idea.

Our next stop was Dartmouth on the River Dart.  It is a busy town which we accessed from the northern side by the Higher Ferry for a return ticket of eight pounds.  We took a little time to find Dartmouth Castle however at least we saw a bit of Dartmouth in the process.  The castle sits at the mouth of the river and was a stronghold and garrison in times of war.  It has very pretty views looking towards Dartmouth and we watched many pleasure boats motoring in at the end of the day no doubt making good use of a clear and brighter day.

It was then back to Sidmouth for dinner at a local pub after a wander through the streets to do some window shopping with the advantage of twilight hours.

A very satisfying day all round.