Simply Devonly

We made a trip down to beautiful Devon county to visit Grahams Aunt and Uncle. Devon is in the south west of England and contrary to popular belief- is not a shire.

Graham was born in Devon and so we had to take a look around.

On the way through we went past Bath and suddenly Stone Henge loomed out of nowhere! You can see from the photo, that you can't get very close to the stones. So much for visions of romping around and pretending to be a druid. So we decided to forgo the entrance fee and take a photo as we zoomed by. Not too bad for a drive by shooting...

There seemed to be a huge circle that was fenced off, and everyone was tromping around ten metres or so from the actual site.

Devon is home to the most beautiful cottages with thatched roofs and stone fences. Grahams relations live in a lovely little village with narrow lanes and full of cottages. The house that they live in is 400 years old and they have retained one of the rooms with the original ceiling- it is too short for me!

One of the houses in the village

This house is so old it is actually mentioned in the Domesday book of 1086! (The book was commissioned by William the Conqueror to assess the amount of settlements/resources owned by England. To see how much tax he could raise... cheeky)

Patchwork fields framed with old stone fences

The Devon coast



Wuthering heights style.

The hilarious sea taxi, that takes you back from one of the islands, when the tide is in

Choose a descriptive word, quaint/picturesque/gorgeous

During our stay, we were lucky enough to be taken over to Cornwall for a day trip. Cornwall being famous for pasties and clotted cream. We did try a pasty- it was yuck, but the clotted cream was something else. It is like a whipped butter/cream thing that you have on ice cream and scones. A bit unusual on ice cream, but they have it on everything here- from porridge to green beans! I wonder what the heart attack rate is????

We walked through a big park, and there were lots of follies dotted around

Fosse in a folly! Ha-ha dancer joke.

The Cornish coast

I don't know how well you can tell from the photo- but the entrance way is miniature, there must be a step inside.



Very cute Cornish town, where the old marker between Devon and Cornwall is.

Dreamy sunset in Devon

 Murray and Graham enjoyed the trip

 Devon lanes- frighteningly narrow, with steep grassy banks up the side, we were so lucky not to come upon anyone in our huge van.

Action shot at night! This reminds me of sleepy hollow, and the headless horseman.

Melaina and Graham xoxox

Boat life

As you may or may not know, we live on a little canal boat just outside of London.

It is a bit of an unusual choice for London, but it has been pretty fun! Graham's cousin lives on a canal boat, and by lucky chance, another boat became available.

We decided to try it because a) It's about half the price of renting in London and b) It's a good story to have!

It has been lots of fun when the weather is warm- we sit on the roof having picnics and drinking wine. When it gets cold, we light the fire and read some books.

Everyone seems to have the same questions- so here are some common answers:

* Yes we move it, we move it to get water every few weeks and to pump out the toilet (love sitting on the roof in the sun when it's moving!). We can move to different locations, but we have stayed further out of london because it is safer.

* Yes it has a toilet/sink and shower (with hot water)

* We have a fire place to keep it warm

* It has a bedroom, bathroom and a very open plan tiny lounge/dining room/kitchen

* There is a double bed- almost full length, but not quite!

* There isn't much electricity, you can charge your phone/laptop when the boat is running and charging the leisure batteries (lights/water pump etc) but no TV

It is a very narrow long space to get used to, and although we wouldn't do it again- it has been heaps of fun

Our boat- Alcedo is the name

The entrance/lido deck

Looking outside when we are driving along

A mystery kitty friend got on board and made itself at home

You might think swans are lovely and elegant. You would be seriously mistaken. Swans are scary/loud/aggressive and rapey. Geese are worse- they hiss and won't let you pass on the tow path, but ducks murder other ducks! The canal is like living on the scene of mafia wars or home and away.

Grahams cousins boat is far more attractive and larger than ours! Going through the lock

Under the bridge towards the lock

Inside the boat- this is the lounge/dining and kitchen

Picnic on the roof- excuse the rubbish!

 Driving through the lock

 Cap'n Graham driving the boat.

And that is all there is to it! If you have any questions, feel free to ask

Melaina & Graham xoxox