Missing South Devon

Usually, we go back to South Devon at least twice a year and stay with my brother who still lives in the South Hams. This is where I was brought up as a child (Salcombe and Kingsbridge). This year we have not been back because of my stroke sadly.

I get very emotional these days (stroke) and thinking of "home" - my dad (who died in 1987) used to call it "the promised land" - makes me fill with tears. I shall get back there again before too long, I very much hope. Strange how thinking of the South Hams makes me tearful, but it does.

Brother's visit

Tomorrow, my brother and his wife are driving up from Devon to stay a few days. They are good company and it is always good to have them come to stay.

It gives my wife a chance to have a glass of wine with company. I have not been allowed alcohol of any kind since my stroke last September. Can't say I've missed it. but I wish I was fully fit again.

The South Hams

I was born and brought up in the beautiful South Hams of Devon, UK.  This is a gentle land of rolling hills, estuaries and farmland surrounded on 3 sides by rugged coastal scenery and on the other side by the southern slopes of Dartmoor. This last week I was back there on holiday in the best weather possible: wall-to-wall sunshine and blue skies. Outside of school holidays the area is not busy with tourists and May is an ideal time to visit.

This video is of Salcombe at the very tip of South Devon, taken yesterday from Snapes Point.

Walking in Devon

Originally I come from the South Hams in Devon. It is a beautiful part of the world with some great clifftop and country lane walks. Last week, I went back  to visit my brother for a few days and do some walking.

Unlike in the high season when there are lots of visitors, this time of year before Christmas it is so quiet. I chanced on some lovely fine sunny weather, albeit cold, and did a couple of longish (for me) walks around 10 miles each.

Thurlestone, Devon

Although I cannot guarantee the weather, I can assure you that this most beautiful part of England is at its best when it is quiet. I shall go back next December too.

Where ancestors walked

Starehole Bay near Salcombe, Devon

Today my wife and I walked to Bolt Head in South Devon, not far from Salcombe. The weather was perfect with bright sunshine and a not too cold wind with temperature about 11 deg C.  My ancestors back to at least 1428 lived and worked just a few miles from here.