Devon and the English Countryside with friends!

Well, hello! We took a fabulous four day break to the

countryside with our good friends Laura and Gavin (a.k.a. Lord and

Lady Holmes). They were in England visiting family and friends

and decided to take us along with them to the country - Devon

to be exact. They also had a big surprise for us - they are expecting

their first baby in February! Congratulations again you two!

So, on our way to Devon we stopped at Stonehenge.

It was much more enjoyable in the summer but still awe inspiring.

Last time my legs were numb by the time I walked around it.

We arrived at The Mulberry a fantastic B&B in a

small town called Cheriton Bishop. The food was amazing, the beds

super comfortable and the service impeccable! Great pick Gavin!!

Derek and I decided to take a walk around town and

came upon loads of little farm houses with thatched roofs!

They were so old!

We also saw tons of wildlife on the trip - horses, sheep,

wild hares, cows, and deer. Look closely there is a huge

buck in the picture. They heard me a mile away and all

looked up and watched us go by.

The next day we set out to explore and stopped in a beautiful

seaside town called Sidmouth.

The beach was all pebbles. It felt great to be by the

water again!

All along Devon's south coast are huge cliffs that

make up the Jurassic Coast. This is England's first

natural World Heritage Site. This exquisite section

of coastline encompasses 185 million years of the earth's

history. For more info go to http://www.jurassiccoast.com/

Next we took a small hike up to the top of some of the cliffs.

Everyone knows how much I love ice cream and lucky

for me Devon is famous for it's cream and ice cream.

Next, it was onto the boys favorite stop - yes a town

called Beer! Only in England!

We took a break to pose with the pretty flowers

that lined the street.

And here is Gavin surrounded by his beloved country's flags.

Beer is a working fishing village and you can eat

lobster, crab and prawns right off the boats. They serve everything

whole here - not exactly what we are used to in America.

And now it was tea time on the beach! How fun!

The nest day we headed out to the English Riviera.

the name of the town is Torquay. It had beautiful red

sandy beaches, tons of sunshine and palm trees!

The gang after a wonderful day at the seaside.

The last day we went out in search of Dartmoor. Most

of the streets Gavin drove around on were single lane country roads.

Thank goodness we had Gavin and his brilliant driving skills!

This is Castle Drogo. My first English castle and the last

official castle to be built in England. It was built between 1911-1931.

After the Castle we made it up to the moors. There

are tons of free roaming ponies and of course a phone booth.

We hiked up to the top of one of the granite hills. There is

Laura waving hello!




Dartmoor was the place that inspired one of my all time favorite

books - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles.

The higher moors are a vast treeless expanse. It is very different than the

rest of the Devon countryside.

Derek climbed all the way up this granite hill. You can camp,

hike, climb, white water raft, ride, and bike within Dartmoor.

It also boasts many rustic pubs, fancy restaurants and boutique hotels.

There is something for everyone.

We ended our trip with the world famous Devon Cream Tea.

Now I deserved a treat! Good thing I did all that hiking!

Cheers!

Leah and Derek

P.S. if you want to see more of our pictures from Devon click below:

http://www2.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=232639321/a=47321137_47321137/t_=47321137