Weekend in South Devon

It was a great weekend. Matthew has been into running half marathons lately, bless him. He ran in the Endurance Life South Devon Coastal half marathon on Saturday with his mates Jerome and Pete. I went along to show support, which I did while sipping 7% cider in the very quaint pub at the starting line. I had never been to Devon and thought it would be a perfect excuse to see some more of England.

We drove to Torquay on Friday night and we all were going to stay in a flat that Jerome's friend owned. What I didn't know is that is was a flat that was being worked on and no one lived there. This meant that there was no heat and hot water, which would have been ok had I known. When we were about an hour away Matthew suddenly realized that he forgot that we were supposed to bring our own bedding down. At first I thought it was no big deal and I am sure that we could borrow a blanket and pillow from the people who were living there. Except that no one lived there. All I have to say is that it was freezing and thank goodness we had a sleeping bag in the trunk/boot of the car. It had to be one of the worst nights sleep I had ever had. We slept in all our clothes and I think we both averaged about 2 hours of sleep that night. Oh, Matthew....

On Saturday we had to drive another hour to get to the village of Beesands where the marathon started. We drove through Dartmouth and had to take a ferry across. It was a small ferry that could only hold eight cars and a few pedestrians. From where we were crossing you could see Dartmouth University or Darty if you are a Peep Show fan. Matthew and Pete had their photo taken with Darty in the background doing an El dude brothers pose. Peep Show, by the way is one of my favorite shows.

Beesands is right on the coast and it was absolutely beautiful. The sun was out and it was a bit warm. We were right there on the sea. If you are going to run half marathons this was the place to do it. Matthew ran it in about two and half hours and I spent that time chatting with a very nice woman from Somerset in the pub. Next to us were a group of elderly gentleman who were playing Euchre. Apparently the come in every Saturday to play cards and have a bit of whiskey. They were a fun bunch alright. Feisty!

After the marathon Matthew and I headed back to Torquay to the B&B we booked for the night, at a very competitive rate I might add. We stopped at beach on the way back and sat in the sun for awhile. It was really nice. Kids and dogs running on the beach, people eating ice cream. It was a beautiful day. We ended up getting to the B&B around six and stayed in. Matthew was pretty wore out from the run so we ordered pizza and watched a movie.

On Sunday after our full English, without the meat. I am sure if you don't have the meat it disqualifies it from being a full English, but we are trying to eat healthy so no bacon and greasy sausage for us. I am slowly getting used to rashers, but I miss streaky bacon. As for an English breakfast sausage, no thanks. I just can't get a taste for them. Maybe because they look so disgusting....It's all a matter of opinion. (That's my diplomatic way of saying that I think they are gross and I hate them!)

We left the B&B and our plan was to drive back up to London along the coast. We were very lucky and had amazing weather. It was sunny all day, it was good to see the sun. It doesn't show itself as often as I would like. Matthew and I stopped at several beaches. Our first stop was at Maidencombe beach just as we were leaving Torquay. As we were walking down the stone steps to the beach I stopped and told Matthew that I couldn't believe that this is what we get living in England. This is the country where we live and three hours away from London was this beautiful beach. It's amazing. England is beautiful and I feel so lucky to live here. We sat on the beach, walked on the rocks and skimmed stones into the sea. How lovely is that?

As we were driving off from Maidenhead beach I spotted the tree swing. The tree was on a small patch of land and across the way was an old farm house and a tiny little pub. On the steps of the house there were daffodils and herbs for sale. We bought a small pot of lavender for 50p. You just put your money in the box. It was this magical little spot and I felt happy and at peace. I loved having a go on the swing. It was just fun and delightful.

At another beach we stopped at I found some beach glass. Now I have always wanted to find beach glass and I found three really good pieces. I felt like a carefree kid. Walking along the beach looking for glass and eating ice cream. That's pretty good as Matthew would say. As we continued to drive back we stopped off for a pint at a pub that had a thatched roof. You just can't believe it. Or I can't believe that this is my life now. I love driving along on the tiny country roads, through the little villages.

We got back up into London around 9p.m. It was a great weekend.