GrubsAbout...again!: Tree Swings, Pooh Sticks and The National Trust

Spring arrived bearing snow and red alerts and warnings to stay off the roads, streams capped with ice and freezing rain. Odd, as just a few days ago on a walk through Haldon Forest, we were reading up about the first signs of spring: daffodils and snowdrops and robins flitting, collecting bits for their nests, and bluebell shoots pushing their way through leaf litter. And we were looking forward to a gradual increase in temperatures. Recently, on a great day, the sky has been pure blue which fooled us into thinking there might be some warmth in the sun and t-shirts began finding their way out of drawers. But no. Thermals it still is and will be, probably for quite some time yet, at least until the snow melts.

The daffodils remind us that it’s almost a year since we arrived here. A whole year. And it still feels so new. With warmer weather and longer days on the way, hopefully around the corner, we look forward to continuing our days of adventure and fun in the country side.

Now, to catch up on a few things.

Churros on The Quay

Happy 40th!

Maciek turned the big 40 last June but it went by without much of a blast - that's how he wanted it. We did enjoy a warm evening on The Quay with street food and drinks and a meal (slightly disappointing - it seems English pubs are not what they used to be). We stayed out till 11pm not realising the buses left town on the hour only, so we wandered through the city in the dark wasting time, window shopping and convincing Noah there were no robbers hiding in corners! Maciek insisted on no gifts for his birthday (although I did buy him some pyjamas from Next - posh!) — instead, we all received a present, something we each really wanted. Amelia an art desk; Noah a bongo drum and me a family membership to The National Trust (£120), which has been the gateway to many days spent at many great places and considering it can cost £30 for a family admission for many of them, it was well worth it.

Almost everywhere we go we find tree swings, a simple but exciting delight for Amelia and Noah (and sometimes us if the rope looks strong enough!) And we’ve introduced them to ‘Pooh Stick’ races, inspired by the picture book Stickman, which is always a winner.

Killerton Estate, an 18th century house and grounds was gifted to the National Trust in 1944. At 6400 acres, and comprising of 18 farms, woodlands, orchards, historic parkland and landscaped gardens, it is one of the largest properties they own. The rooms display items and costumes from the period, with several offering interactive activities. The drawing room features a grand piano that anyone is invited to play (excluding Noah and his rendition of 'Eye of the Tiger'!) and on our first visit we were taken by surprise by a random mini recital courtesy of a visitor. I don’t remember now what she played, only that it was so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes, and it was met with appreciative applause from the mini audience. We’ve been back to Killerton several times, there’s so much to explore, and we’ve not yet visited the old post office, or many of the other sites on offer. In summer, Killerton hosted an outdoor stage production of Billionaire Boy, set in the gardens, which we enjoyed with friends. And at Christmas, the house was dressed for a festive Wind in the Willows display, but unfortunately, we missed this one (so many things to do!) Also on the grounds is an area of woodland set high on a hill called The Clump, and was the site of an Iron Age fort. There is also evidence there of Roman occupation. It’s quite an awesome place to explore, and it’s also where (at the risk of sounding completely weird - not a new concept to some, I’m sure) I had a magical encounter with a tree! But more on that another time.

Knightshayes has come up before in a facebook post, but it’s another one we keep going back to. It’s a gothic revival house, and apparently a country gentleman’s dream. And though Maciek is not your average country gentleman, he’s quite taken with this place! Owned by the Heathcoat Amory family for three generations who made their money in lace (the lace factory can be seen from the house in the nearby town of Tiverton), it was handed over to the National Trust in 1972. Another house set on acres of land including woodland and farms, a Victorian walled garden, and an awesome nature playground made out of four fallen oaks, that keeps on drawing us back.

Compton Castle is a fortified manor house dating back to the 15th century, and has connections to Sir Walter Raleigh. Part of the house remains residential, and the part open to the public is not big, but still cool, and the medieval kitchen leads into a room full of dress ups, and it was there that I met the villainous Henry the VIII!

Parke is one of our favourite spots, one we discovered not long after we arrived, as it’s close to Bovey Tracey on the edge of the moor. An expanse of woodlands and meadows and grazing areas, the River Bovey runs through it, and there are many paths to explore —it’s wonderland for dogs! We ‘discovered’ a pebbley beach on a shallow part of river that babbles quietly along — it’s a great spot for a picnic and a paddle in warm weather, but as we also discovered, popular dogs charging through off their leads and snuffling around our picnic blanket! They’re like bombs, the dogs, charging through your Kiplings and tea without warning!

Dartmouth is another one that made it to facebook before I had chance — it’s a charming town on the coast that we ‘fell’ into by making a wrong turn and finding ourselves on a car ferry! There we discovered bluebells, and probably the first of the tree swings. There’s a castle, but alas, it’s owned by English Heritage, not National Trust, so tight purses

wouldn’t allow us in. One significant memory is skimming stones into the sea, and that funny snapchat video Maciek did and sent to Aunty Jo (the wide mouth one, with a high pitched voice going “We’re on the beach. I love the beach. This is the beach, in Dartmouth! Happy Days!) I’ll try to post it! We can’t wait to go there again, at bluebell time.

Corfe Castle is in Dorset, and we went on a road trip for my birthday in September. This also made it to facebook before I got chance! It was one of the first English castles to be built partly of stone where others were still made of timber and earth, and was built by William the Conqueror in the 11th century. It’s awe-inspiring where it stands ruined on the top of hill commanding a view of the village below. Unfortunately the munchkins who tagged along with us had ideas about spending all their pocket money on wooden swords in a sweet/gift shop in the village before going it, and the regretted it when they saw you could dress up in the castle grounds, sword and all, for free. A miserable, argument fuelled period of time ensued! Nevertheless, we made the most of it. And after, drove to Durdle Door, a natural limestone arch on the Jurassic Coast. The car park was a fair hike away from the pebbley beach, down quite a steep path and steps, where we sat and ate Mars Bars and drank tea from a flask. We were surprised by the ethnic diversity of the visitors; felt like every country in the world was represented and it was exciting and nice! We hadn't realised what a White British bubble we'd been living in! Such is Devon.

There's more. But this and the pics is enough, I think, in one go!

So - '2017 catch up' to be continued ...