Sunny April

We have managed to spend almost 2 weeks at The Granary this month and for most of the time the weather was great. For the first few days we were hit on occasion by bands of low cloud but within a mile or so it had disappeared and we were in sunshine again.

Again there was plenty going on in Parkham and around.  This included Hil preaching in the village church  for the first time.  We also attended a fund-raising dinner for FIG (Families in Grief) a charity set up by one of the friends we have made in the area.  It was a great evening at Bideford Rugby Club with the food being provided by a number of local restaurants, who just charged the cost of the raw materials.  The Rugby Club also provided a glass of Prosecco on our arrival.  At the end of the meal we were asked to put into an envelope money based on what we thought the meal was worth.  Depite much joking about what you can get for a fiver everyone gave generously and the dinner along with an auction raised several thousand pounds for FIG.

Friends from the Midlands came down to visit us although they stayed at Northway (www.northwayholidaycottages.co.uk) which is run by our friends Bob and Pauline.  They did not know the area and were pleased to be shown some of our favourite places.  This included Rosemoor which we visited on a wonderfully sunny day  -  the gardens were really looking at their best with fantastic displays of tulips in particular.  Anne wanted to visit the church at Morwenstow, just over the border in Cornwall but still only 25 minutes from The Granary.  We had never been there and were pleased to visit somewhere new. Unfortunately the Church was locked which was unexpected on a Sunday afternoon but it was a beautiful building in a wonderful setting very close to the coast.  We also walked along the coast path and came across 'Hawker's Hut' where in the nineteenth century the Rev Hawker, the vicar of Morwenstow would sit to meditate and write his sermons -  what a fantastic view.

The view from 'Hawker's Hut'

The Rev Hawker was famous for rescuing bodies from shipwrecks on this dangerous coast and carrying them up the cliff and to his churchyard for a Christian burial.

We enjoyed a number of other walks along the coast path where primroses were still in flower and now joined by the first bluebells.

Primroses and Bluebells

Brownsham Wood

The coast path near Greencliff

We also managed to find time to complete a few jobs on The Granary.  A friend helped repair a stone wall and I replaced some broken panels of trellis.  A lock broke on a uPVC but a local repairer came round promptly and did an excellent repair job, he will also be replacing the 'blown' double-glazed windows in the bedrooms.

Our last evening was spent in The Bell with a  number of our friends where we said our goodbyes for the next few weeks.