We sadly left Lundy and returned to the mainland, we had just a few days in the UK before heading to France. Another chapter in our trip was about to begin, but first some admin.
Dora needed a little maintenance, we wanted her spic and span for when she would meet her European motorhome cousins. Her tires were getting to the end of their lives and we needed a full years MOT (ITV for our Spanish readers) before we left. We had also booked a few days in another Landmark trust property, this time just outside Bude in Cornwall.
We got there quite late as it was a two hour drive from Ilfracombe and the boat had not returned until six pm. The lanes we were driving down were very narrow, and we were once again fearful of Dora’s lights. The bushes scratched painfully down her sides. Eventually we reached the small hamlet of the Coombe valley and began to look for Number 2 Mill cottage. Dora had to ford a small stream and then there was the property, typical idyllic country cottage with thatched roof and even a timber gutter. Again all of the surrounding properties are run by the Landmark Trust. Ours is the lean to and the first two windows. Our neighbours next to us didn’t talk to us, I don’t think they liked Dora next to their Audi!
Next to us was the mill, although this has not be converted, not sure why, probably the purist attitude of the Landmark trust. There were several other properties, small sheds etc. that had also not been converted, but this once again heightened the solitude of the place.
This was our living room before we dumped all our stuff in it! No embarrassing picture to comment upon this time! Another thing we had to do was our laundry. Really cute little cottage though and with an oven, which we vowed to make good use of as it is the one thing Dora lacks.
Outside was equally idyllic, a small patio with a brook running past. There was also a small outhouse right next to the back door. This might have contained a small generator for the four adjacent houses. Every evening shadows would flit past our window, bats going out to hunt.
One disadvantage of the location was there was no internet connection. We was assured a signal may be had just a few hundred meters away. We never found any. What we did find was a beautiful little bay.
Susana has also not lost any of her new found enthusiasm for shore life, in particular seaweed!
You were able to continue up the Southwest coast path by scaling the cliffs and you get a similar Lundy type vista.
and if you looked carefully on a clear day you could just see Lundy on the horizon.
She seems very far away though.
We spent a few days around Bude, this time the laundry was a service wash, so we didn’t have to wait around too much, and it really wasn’t any more expensive. With the oven, we further explored the delights that Lidl had to offer with a some gammon shanks, which although un-appetising when in their plastic bags, were Ok when cooked and I thought they tasted OK, I don’t think we will be having them again as Susana was less than sure. We will give you a mini-blog update on the Lidl food experience soon. I also made some scones and we consumed vast amounts of Cornish clotted cream, well I did and was still eating them when we were in France.
After Dora got her new shoes and eventually a new MOT, as the garage could not understand why we wanted a new one when we had ten months left on the old. She also had a good clean, inside and out. Some of our things were rearranged which means somehow we have created more space, and all our fresh laundry was packed away and we were heading south towards Plymouth.
On the way we stopped off at ‘The Jamaica Inn’, which was recently dramatised on UK TV; www.jamaicainn.co.uk, which I can imagine being dubbed into Spanish shortly, knowing how they love British period drama. We loved it, even the mumblings of Joss, I would be intrigued to know how these get translated into Spanish. Quite enjoyed the museum, although was about smuggling rather than wrecking as in the book and film!
We got to the port very early so had a couple of glasses of wine and dinner. Everyone else came and manoeuvred around us and the time soon passed before our boat docked and we were able to board.
Massive boat with two floors of cabins, tiny bunk beds a shower and a toilet, even smaller than Dora. Everyone headed to the bar, we headed outside to watch us leave at 11.00pm.
The French crew were fishing at the stern. No sooner had they cast and they were hauling in something really strange, it took us a while to work out what they were. 30-40cm long and very cylindrical….squid. ‘What the F*&%, its crazy’ I exclaimed, much to Susana’s mirth. No wonder we no longer have a fishing fleet! The guys on the adjacent pier were also not looking impressed. The engines started, the French fishermen pulled up their rods and the boat pulled away and we left the UK.
GDR
