St Ives

We had 4 lovely nights in this B&B just outside the town of St Ives. I never knew England had nice sandy beaches until coming to this area. The sea was aqua in colour and very clean with white sand and low swell. St Ives use to be a quiet fishing town until the Tate Gallery opened or that was the opinion of one of the locals. Our first drive into the town was very stressful with very narrow roads which were mostly two ways and lots of traffic and people walking around and all parking station full. We did find one up on top of the hill which was available and free after driving around in circles for ages.

We discovered that it was better during the day at least to catch the local bus into town and at night drive as the roads where then quiet and parking easy. A visit to the Tate gallery was a must and we purchased a ticket that included an entry into the Barbara Hepworth museum. The Tate gallery was set in a stunning location looking at to sea and was very interesting but some were a bit too modern for me. I don't get three coloured lines on a canvas...WT. There was however a room showing a video of dances which was fantastic. The way the men and women moved in skin tight suits was unbelievable to watch. We also saw some fantastic sculptures. 

We visited the Hepworth gallery and gardens the following day and saw many of her works set into the gardens. We also saw a production of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew by the Kings Shakespearean Company in the Guildhall one night which was very well performed. The town also had a cinema so we went to see a movie (our second one since leaving Australia) called Summer in February set in Cornwall in the early 1900s about artists A J Munnings. A nice story about a love triangle and a sad ending but interesting. 

We left St Ives wishing we could stay longer and headed back up the country to drop the car off at Shrewsbury. We stayed there overnight then caught the train up to Holyhead where we stayed in a guest house. The next morning we boarded a ferry to Dublin.

Holyhead is in Wales so I can now say I have been to Wales. We had a great Indian meal for dinner and the guesthouse room was very pretty. We are excited about going to Ireland as we both haven't been there before. 

As you can see from the photos below my camera is stuffed as it seems I have picked up some dirt on the sensor. Might have to buy a new one in Ireland. 

Uffculme - Cullompton Devon

We stayed on a small property in the country cottage called High Park Barn, which I am guessing was a barn conversion. We had a lovely green hill facing us with a horse feeding off the grass. Very quiet with a town centre consisting of a pub and a grocery shop. There are diary cows and chickens down the lane and sheep and a horse in a paddock across the road. 

The roads here are very narrow and the hedges high so you can't see around corners for traffic. It got very spooky when a car would come the other way and you had to find a way to move over or a siding to pull into for safety. 

As this was a base we took off for other towns. We visited Exeter with lots of young people as there is a university there and a huge cathedral which we visited when an orchestra was practicing for a concert so we got to hear them play and the choir to sing. The city is large but we will still able to get to points of interest on foot.

We visited smaller places like Topsham which is a beautiful sea side village with lots of small boutique shops and the Saturday had a market in the hall.  They had advertised that a food festival would be on that day we visited which was to have a 'long table' where the community enjoys a meal together on a long table in the Main Street. On arrival we found out that it had been cancelled for 2013 which was disappointing. We still enjoyed looking around at the harbour and shops. 

We travelled across to the 'English Riviera' aka Torquay to discover a different landscape. I rather liked Paignton as it had some very old looking guest houses and was what I thought Torquay might be like. We drove to Brixham which is a quant fishing village with a replica of the Sir Francis Drake ship the Golden Hind in the bay. It was very busy with loads of tourist but we enjoyed walking around the harbour. 

Our small village in Uffculme has a Woollen Mill called Coldharbour Mill and when we visited and got a guided tour of the machinery that used to be used for weaving wool. 

We had to laugh when we noticed down the road a security camera directed at a heap of dirt. Not sure if the dirt was special or what but it was being guarded out the front of a property. Very funny. 

Ludlow take two

Yaa we now have a car to get around while we are in England. It's a Vauxhall Corsa and drives very well. We took off to Ironbridge which is the home of the first cast iron bridge and the area is a World Heritage Site. The bridge was finished in 1781 and the area was seen as the birth place of the Industrial Revolution as cast iron foundries were established and industries sprung up in the district. 

The Abraham Darby III  followed on from his father and grandfathers work in cast iron to make the sections for the bridge. The family were Quakers and we learnt a bit about their philosophy in that Quakers see all as equals and treat women as equals ensuring they were educated. They dressed more plainly than the other town folk but their homes were very warm and well appointed. They welcomed anyone into their meetings but were treated badly for their beliefs. Quakers refused to go to war, swear an oath and were against slavery.  This did not go down well with the rulers and as a result they were not allowed to go to university and could not become doctors or lawyers. They moved into business and commerce which brought the Darby family to Coalbrookdale and their work with iron. Later a town built up around the bridge and the area was renamed Ironbridge. 

We visited the houses of the Darby family and even got to dress up in period clothing. We visited the Museum of the Gorge which has a miniature town displayed and information regarding the problems associated with the polluting of the river over the ages. 

Last day in Ludlow:

We both took ourselves off to get hair cuts and for me some colour other than grey. Had a very chatty young women do my hair and enjoyed hearing about her travel plan for her honeymoon. 

Time to get packing and ready for tomorrow's drive to Exeter. We will miss this place and its beautiful landscape. Our next stop is a cottage on a property 30 minutes from Exeter. They have horses there but not sure what over animals.