A Gorge-eous Walk

Well this weekend is the last weekend we have our National Trust membership so the question posed - which of the many great properties around Plymouth do we visit. The decision came to Lydford Gorge. My justification is because it is all about rugged nature - there's no elaborate gardens or pompous country house. Vero's reasons - she wanted to see the bunnies that usually live near the gift shop!

It was an overcast and not particularly warm day, and having arrived already tired from a early wake up (damn summer mornings!) and a morning spent overhauling the planting on the balcony, the prospect of a 3 mile walk over undulating terrain would normally be uninviting.

However, Lydford Gorge is not the Grand Canyon or Yosemite Valley but it is spectacular in its own unique way.

The walk starts with a trek through dense woodland overlooking the gorge, where you can only hear the water crashing down the river below (and the occasional shouting tourists). You cross the heads of several small waterfalls before reaching the brook the starts to tumble down and becomes White Lady falls. Once down in the valley you wander alongside a calm and shallow stretch of the river Lyd which betrays what is to come. Usually there's a dipper or two to be seen however too many people around for what is usually a skittish bird.

Then as you come around a corner the falls appear, cascading 30 meters down over black stone. A definite photo op for all.

Then its the walk up through the gorge, alongside the river which varies between calm shallows to plunging mini-cascades and pools, including the spectacular (but too busy today) Devils Cauldron. The walk itself is quite precarious too, especially when holding an expensive camera! There's plenty of wildlife too - trout in the river with dippers and grey wagtails flashing up and downstream. The flora, in particular the large ferns, add an effect - sometimes you think you are in a jungle in central America.

By time we finished we were pooped - even too tired for a cream tea and Vero's normally mandatory hour in the gift shop!All in all a place we would always recommend to visit. We probably won't be back to visit for a while however it will always be fondly remembered.

Happy 5th Birthday Beth

Monkey!

Every Cloud has a Silver Lining....

Since Sunday evening the weather here in the UK has been miserable, with no real sign of it letting up for the weekend. Shame really as plans were afoot to make use of the remaining weekends left before our National Trust membership expires at the end of May. Oh well, I guess Lydford Gorge would be more like Lydford lake by now...weather for ducks?

Its been a strange week. I have had sporting highs and lows, I scored my first hat trick at football on Monday despite a 10-6 defeat. Then my mixed hockey team won their first game of the season on Wednesday but I walked out of it with either badly bruised or cracked rib(s)! Ouch they hurt.

Being stuck in by the weather is even worse considering I don't even recognise our home. One bedroom has been gutted of contents so it can be decorated and the contents are strewn systematically throughout our tiny flat wherever there is free air space. I'm sat here right now with the keyboard and monitor on the dining table trying to ignore the Blair resignation blah blah on TV.

However, as the title suggests, every cloud has a silver lining. Not because I have poured a nice glass of red wine (a nice Spanish Tempranillo Cabernet), nor because I am about to retrieve some of Véro's home made rhubarb and red berry crumble from the oven and smother it in clotted cream - its the big news that after eight great years rubbing shoulders with 'Uncle Sam' in California and Florida, Dad and Sonia are coming home to the UK.

So, with the lack of local photo opportunities this weekend, and in honour of all the kind hospitality and amazing holidays we have had in Folsom and Jacksonville, here's a pictorial tribute to their great adventure which we were so lucky to have a small part in.

Bon voyage, guys!

(Oh and you might a spot a theme below....)

Buckland Baaaah-bbey

It's a must to visit Buckland Abbey at this time of the year if you live even remotely close to it. Yeah its a standard National Trust property with the usual old buildings, shop and restaurant serving cream teas, however its the estate which always draws us back each year. Véro summed it up - its the variety of things you see, not just fauna but flora and types of countryside you can walk through. When spring is in full bloom it is a magnificent selection box of everything you would associate with the season in Devon. You have everything from open pastures brimming with lambs, to mixed woodland which has its annual carpet of bluebells and some of the tallest pines in Devon which provide excellent cover for deer as well as a variety of birds. The gardens around the Abbey itself are pretty colourful too. I'll let the pictures do the talking this time....