Mostly Devon and Dorset

This morning we woke up to another lovely grey, misty day...perfect English weather. We had a great breakfast that included a sunnyside up egg, sausage, bacon, tomato, mushrooms and toast. A perfect start to another day of exploring the nooks and crannies of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset. After breakfast we walked around the tiny fishing village mostly down by the harbour. It is a very quaint and picturesque town. But all too soon we were on our way. As we left town, we noticed a huge parking lot and we figured that they must have a lot of tourists come through. Thankfully, we had chosen to come at this time of year instead of the summer. On the way to Dartmouth, we stopped in Salcombe. We drove down some crazy roads. We thought the two way roads were skinny but when we went down this one lane road it was so skinny that when we met another car coming towards us we had to back up to the last turn, about 75 metres. We thought we could back off the road in a little patch of gravel in front of a small carport but the owner came thundering out of her house us telling us not to use it as she was worried we would hit her car. Anyway, we managed but it was hairy. We also had to make a hairpin turn on a steep, single lane road and we met someone at the turn, so we had to back up! It was crazy! I'm pretty sure that I closed my eyes. In Dartmouth, which is on the south coast but now in the county of Devon, we stopped and had a proper afternoon tea. They call it a cream tea and you get a pot of tea, 2 raisin scones, clotted cream and jam. It was very scrumptious! Then we took a ferry across an estuary instead driving up and around. It took about 5 mins to make the crossing but cost us almost £5. We continued our drove towards Southampton, where we are staying for the night not really knowing how long it would take to get there. In the morning, we had done a quick internet search to see what there was to see along the coast and one thing that popped up was these stunning cliffs near Sidmouth so we turned off the main road and went down to the coast again. We were rewarded for our efforts. Towering red cliffs stood stalwart against the sea. The waves were crashing in to shore and it was all very breathtaking! There was a lovely promenade at the shore and a cliff side walk, as well. It was hard to leave. After this we decided we better hightail it to Southampton as we had not gotten very far. It was a short distance to go but the roads could not always be relied upon to get us there fast. So we raced along through the beautiful countryside. Hedgerowed fields dotted with sheep and cattle undulated in the distance. We wanted to stop and take pictures at every turn. Eventually, we made it to Southampton. It took about an hour and a half longer than we had anticipated. Our hosts, Reuben's cousin and her husband, greeted us with dinner and some great conversation in their flat.