The Inn Over the Road!

A busy couple of weeks in Parkham with the highlight being the opening of 'The Inn Over the Road', the temporary bar in the village hall, whilst the renovations to The Bell continue.  A great job has been done by local tradesman to create a fully operative bar and this was well supported by villagers on the opening night.  The plan is to open 3 nights a week when there are no other bookings for the hall.

Hopefully work on the renovation will begin soon as the protection of the building has now been completed.

We have had a very sociable time on this trip.  As well as visits to the new bar we have had  dinner with friends on a couple of occasions, met up for coffee with other friends and had a few drinks with friends in The Granary, courtesy of the 36 pints of Enville Ale I took with me.

The weather has been mainly dry although sometimes cold in the wind.  We still managed to find plenty of sunshine and enjoyed beach and cliff walks every day.  We took the opportunity to visit the beautiful grounds of Hartland Abbey for Bluebell Day and walked down to the coast from the Abbey, a lovely gentle walk. We also did the more strenuous walk from Northway down to Peppercombe and up again.

We also ventured a little further afield for a day out to to Mortehoe, which is not far from Woolacombe, it was a beautiful day and the views were spectacular as we walked around Morte Point.

One  evening we joined members of Bideford Rotary Club for a tour of SS Freshspring.  Built in 1946, SS Freshspring is recognised as being of national historical significance on the National Register of Historic vessels. She was the last of 14 Fresh Class water carriers and her duty was to replenish Naval ships with fresh water for use in boilers. She also acted as a fire tender when required.  The ship is being restored and preserved at Bideford Quay with plans to convert it to carry cruise passengers in comfortable well appointed cabins along with seafaring cadets or volunteers accommodated.

It was an interesting trip and a good opportunity to get to know members of the local Rotary Club.

We also continued with some decorating jobs at The Granary including preparing the walls in the kitchen for another coat of emulsion and yet again working on the decking outside. The Rescue Paint I used in August last year was not as effective as expected and had peeled off in several places, probably because it has been exposed to the wet Devon winter.  It has now been rubbed down and 2 further coats added  so will have to see how well it lasts this time!

We returned to Stourbridge and were able to enjoy our own bluebells at their peak although sadly the tree peony had almost finished blooming .