Somerset in the Sun

The end of March saw us enjoying a few days in North Devon at Haven's Doniford Bay. We have holidayed in this area in the past, our first holiday together in 1985 and a few times with our children and my Dad in the 1990s.

Out of school holiday season caravan prices are a lot less, something I disagree with but having paid the higher prices for many years it's now a bonus to be retired and able to visit in low season. And so we booked a Signature Gold Front Sea View, it certainly had that ... we looked straight across the Bristol Channel to Rhoose in South Wales.

A tip when booking a Haven holiday, try to book a two bedroom caravan as the three bedroom Gold caravan although still fitted with all mod cons has quite a small main ensuite bedroom. 

Doniford Bay is a small site and a short drive from a pub but does have a fish and chip shop and bar/restaurant. With having such a great view and fully fitted kitchen we cooked ourselves most evenings, it was so nice having dinner watching the sunset.

The weather was superb, unbelievable for the end of March/early April. We started our holiday with a glass of La Gioiosa bubbly enjoying the blue skies.

The caravan site is on the Coastal Path which turns slightly inland to cross a small river called The Swill. We took a stroll and discovered Doniford Farm Park, a free entry animal park with a farm shop, restaurant and children's play barn.

It was lovely sitting outside with an ice cream with the chickens running around. I'm not sure what breed they were but they had huge feathered feet and looked very funny when they ran around.

As well as chickens the farm had pigs, goats, lamas, in fact most farm animals although I didn't see a cow. The goats were having a bit of a turf war, what a noise when they locked horns.

Hubby had many childhood holidays in North Devon so we were keen to visit some of the places he remembered. Dunster was one such place but unfortunately the castle was still closed for the winter season, it looked very impressive.

We did pop into Dunster and enjoyed a walk around the cobbled pavements. It's a very old village with a beautiful Yarn Market in the main street.

Running from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard the West Somerset Railway runs through Watchet and Doniford. We didn't take a trip as it was quite expensive and you could only buy a day ticket. I'm sure it must be busy in the holiday seasons but the carriages had only a few passengers, we would have taken a seat if shorter journey tickets had been available at a cheaper price. 

We did stand in Minehead station to see one of the steam engines take on more water and reposition for it's next journey before steaming on its way. There's something special about watching a steam train.

For me the highlight of our holiday was revisiting Lynmouth, going up Porlock Hill on the way .... it's very steep with sharp bends and cars used to struggle up it.

Lynmouth is a special place as it was our first holiday. Back in 1985 Hubby treated me to a few days at the Tors Hotel, it was lovely and we did return for a few days after our honeymoon, staying in the same room. It is no longer a hotel but apartments, an impressive building high over the valley.

We had a super time revisiting many places, it was such fun trying to replicate our 'kiss' photo on the same spot but the wrong way round, hee hee. 

To our delight the Cliff Railway was open, it's the highest totally water powered railway in the world. Each carriage has a water tank underneath, the weight of the full tank at the top brings the carriage down which pulls the lower carriage up. It must have been quite a challenge to build in the late 1800s.

The station at the top has been renovated but the view is the same as it was when we visited in 1994 with our very young children. 

Lynton (at the top of the cliff) has lots of little independent shops, we had a wander round before going back down to Lynmouth. We didn't take the funicular railway but walked the steep twisty footpath which has bridges crossing over the tracks as it decends. We certainly enjoyed a little refreshment back in Lynmouth.

Our short break was lovely, we really were lucky with the weather. Each evening the sunsets were superb, each different depending on the cloud. With our caravan being on the sea front and west facing we stayed warm whilst enjoying the views as the nights were a little chilly.

I'm not sure when we'll be visiting North Devon again, it was hard to believe our last visit was over 25 years ago. If it's that long again I doubt we'll be walking down Lynmouth hill.

Hanbury Hall

We have been members of National Trust for quite a few years now. We certainly make the most of our membership and visit as many places as we can, especially on our holidays. We also stop on route to a holiday as the cafes make a great rest stop, one such place was Hanbury Hall in Worcestershire, a stop off on the way to Wales. 

Although close to the M5 it was a windy route of small lanes, passing Hanbury Church high on the hill, to reach this 18th century stately home. There had previously been a manor house at this location but Thomas Verdon was the man responsible for building this William and Mary style house as his country holiday home. The rooms inside the Hall are quite large and certainly suitable for entertaining. 

The Hall and Grand Staircase are stunning with painted walls and ceilings by James Thornhill who was the artist who painted the ceiling of the Royal Hospital at Greenwich and the inside of the dome at St Paul's Cathedral. The design is so intricate and gives the impression of plaster and mouldings when in fact the surface is flat. I was fascinated by the way the painting on the stairs moves from the wall to the ceiling joining the two together.

As with most National Trust houses the furniture gave an impression of how the Hall was lived in and it did have a holiday home feel rather than a working house. Seeing how rooms were decorated, the design patterns on fabrics and the placement of objects gives me plenty of interior designs ideas for our much smaller home, I am always envious of the huge beds but they do seem to be always for short people.

Hanbury Hall has extensive gardens and planted in specific places and for reasons. Originally they were formal gardens similar and based on the gardens at the Palace of Versailles but as fashion changed they were replanted as much more open spaces. The gardens have now been recreated in their formal style, the symmetry was very effective from the house windows and looking back towards the house.

The warm spring weather and blue skies had just begun which added to our enjoyment of the house and gardens. It is somewhere we will visit again, especially if passing through Worcestershire.