October in Parkham

Our visits to Parkham this time last year were restricted by COVID and also, having just moved house, we were pretty busy in Cheshire.  It was therefore two years since we had spent time in the village in the autumn. Whilst the rising number of COVID cases both in Devon and Cheshire was still troubling we decided that life must go on, but we would take sensible precautions.  Our visit was therefore a great opportunity to enjoy a few sunny autumnal days walking and also cosy afternoons and evenings catching up with friends over a tea or coffee or in The Bell.  Most of our friends have either had or are due to have their booster jabs so hopefully this will keep us and them safe well into 2022. 

We have now been visiting this part of North Devon several times a year for over twenty years and of course living part of our life in Parkham for the last 8 years.  Over this time we have developed some strong and deep friendships.  We have seen very little of our old friends from Stourbridge since September 2020 and we have not yet had the opportunity to develop such friendships in Cheshire.  This has made us appreciate just how important our North Devon friends are and we value the time we are able to spend with them most months.  Of course, we also have to recognise that they also have their own lives to lead and sometimes busy diaries mean that there  is not always the opportunity to meet up whilst we are in the village.  However, on this occasion we managed to catch up with most of them.

We enjoyed several sunny days and on one of these took the opportunity to walk from Brownsham down through the woods to Mouthmill.  We had planned to retrace our steps for the return journey but as we reached the coast, a stream of vehicles was arriving for a shoot in the woods so we thought it wise to avoid the area.  We took  the route back up the steep zig zag coast path, along Brownsham Cliff and then back along the  footpath towards the car park.  It is only a three mile walk but seemed much longer, we have become unused to steep paths as the area around us in Cheshire is generally very flat.

We also enjoyed a walk along the coast path from Westward Ho! towards Abbotsham.  It was high tide with a rough sea so we enjoyed watching the waves breaking over the rocks below.  We do have to take care on that walk as the path has some treacherous drops and, with a dog that has accidentally fallen into a canal on two occasions, we need to ensure she is on the lead whenever there is a risk of falling!

On the next afternoon it was low tide, an ideal time to walk down to Buck Mills and enjoy a walk on the sand.  There were a couple of people swimming but we were not tempted.

Back in the village it was good to see all the pumpkins outside The Bell with villagers now able to participate once more in organised activities and events like the Parkham Pumpkin Pageant.

The pub seems to be getting busier each time we visit and, as it was half term  there was a steady flow of diners each time we called in. I can imagine that things will be a little quieter until the Christmas season begins in earnest. 

With the falling leaves and Halloween activities there was a definite feeling that the end of the year is in sight and many will be happy to say goodbye to 2021 and to welcome 2022.  As I write this in early November I understand that Rachel is already decorating The Bell for the season so by the time you read this, Christmas will well and truly have arrived in Parkham.  We look forward to joining our friends in December to celebrate the season.

A Late Summer Visit

As family members, desperate for a break, were using the cottage in the school holiday we postponed our August visit until the middle of September. We also benefited from fewer tourists and less congestion on the motorway, although it was still surprisingly busy. We were also blessed with lovely weather for most of our stay.

Our first outing was to RHS Rosemoor to take advantage of the special opportunity to take dogs at 4.00pm one afternoon. Whilst we can understand why they do not want dogs generally in the gardens, the chance to visit without shutting the dog away for several hours was not to be missed. We were able to have a very relaxed saunter around the grounds along with many other dog owners. It was all extremely civilised and hopefully the success of the session will encourage them to offer more in the future. We visited the RHS shop and bought an Eryngium (Sea Holly) plant for our Cheshire garden having failed to grow one from seed when the seedlings dried out whilst we were in Parkham in July.

We were soon back into our routine of regular walks around the village and surrounding lanes. The honeysuckle, which was coming into flower on our last visit, was covered in berries. Our walks now took much longer than usual as we could not resist stopping to pick the delicious blackberries (it is an advantage of dog-walking that we alway have a clean poo bag handy!). On one village walk I managed to see the ‘village peacock’ for the first time in several years. 

After 4 days we were joined by our daughter and young family (not yet of school age) this meant that we had to vacate The Granary as there was not room for us all. Luckily we have friends at Horns Cross with a barn annexe in the garden which they kindly let us use. This had several advantages, in particular we had undisturbed nights and avoided the very early morning starts. We also awoke to a wonderful view of the coast at Peppercombe. 

Looking over Peppercombe

An atmospheric view of the path to Peppercombe

Walking along the lane from the barn each morning we could see right across the fields to Parkham but The Granary was just out of view. 

Spending time with young children meant that there were several visits to the beach as well as a visit to the gnomes, now residing at the Merry Harriers. The upside of this visit was an excellent late breakfast for the whole family. We also had several trips to the village playground which got a thumbs up from our grandson and family - much better than their local playgrounds! The grandchildren were also taken to The Big Sheep but we managed to avoid this pleasure. 

Our family and their other friends who were staying locally enjoyed an excellent takeaway meal from The Bell and we also were able to visit the pub and catch up with many friends on 2 occasions. Our visitors were also very impressed with the food at the Farmers Arms in Woolsery which we have not yet tried. 

There was little time for work on The Granary although I did manage to wash down the decking which was getting very slippy with algae. After 3 years we are really appreciating the benefits from replacing the wooden planks with composite material which needs hardly any maintenance. 

We celebrated our granddaughter’s first birthday, which was also the anniversary of our move to Cheshire, with a barbecue in the garden and once again enjoyed sausages and steak from Honey’s. On our daughter’s birthday we headed off for a beach walk at Northam but were thwarted by rain. However we made a first visit to the excellent new cafe at the Visitor Centre where they were happy to accommodate 6 adults, 2 children and 4 dogs! 

We returned to Cheshire on Monday at the end of the month and once again were held up, this time by a closure of the M6 which meant an hour long diversion around the lanes of Staffordshire. We now look forward to our next visit in October.

Summer in Parkham

 

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of our visit to North Devon towards the end of July was just how busy everywhere was. This became apparent as we drove down the M5/M6 and then when we visited popular places such as Instow and Appledore.   Clearly many people are taking their 2021 annual holiday in this country and we have now changed the meaning of staycation to encompass what in the past was just that, an annual holiday.

Luckily, many of our regular spots for walking on the coast remained quiet and we were able to enjoy the wonderful scenery on offer much as normal.  We often park near The Skern at Appledore and walk through the dunes onto the wide expanse of sand (when the tide is out) at Greysands and round onto the far end of Westward Ho! beach.  Although there were a few more parked cars than usual, once we had walked for ten minutes we saw very few people. It was only when we returned to our favourite coffee shop in Appledore to find no space available without a reservation, that the increased number of tourists in the area had an impact on us.  Instow seemed particularly busy but having friends living there meant that we could still find a parking space on their drive.  With the tide out, there was still plenty of free space for a beach walk.

Greysands/Westward Ho!

Of course, this influx of people is just what many of the businesses need after a very difficult 18 months and hopefully it will help them to survive and prosper.  It was particularly good to see many diners in The Bell on most evenings.  The number of drinkers had also increased and it was good to catch up with many of our friends on a Friday evening.

When we first arrived back at The Granary it was good to find that the mustiness had now gone and the cottage once more felt lived in, following our stay in June.  However despite having done a significant amount of gardening in June the damp, warm  weather had meant that everything had continued to grow and further work needed to be done.  Lavender plants we had put in 8 years ago were now looking very leggy and needed pulling up ready for some replanting with new grasses which I had grown from seed in Cheshire.  Containers on the wall which faces The Bell car park had also  become very overgrown and again were cleared out and will be replaced in due course.  Valerian had taken over any bare areas of the garden and again needed clearing to give other plants a chance to grow.

I also replaced The Granary sign on the front of the cottage which I had taken back to Cheshire for re-varnishing, a job which seems to need doing every couple of years.

We walked around the village most days and often follow the mill stream along the track running past Bocombe Mill. This is a  very special, peaceful spot with the beautiful woodland ferns and mosses and just the sound of the babbling stream.  The honeysuckle was beginning to flower and a wonderful scent wafted across our path in several places.  The blackberry flowers were also looking particularly pretty and hopefully a good crop of blackberries will be following on shortly.  Most of the trees were resplendent in full leaf and also provided useful shelter from the occasional shower.

Another of our favourite walks is the footpath down to the coast at Greencliff.  Over the years we have watched the growth of the many saplings planted alongside the path (presumably by the National Trust) and this year much of the pathway had also been improved with new hardcore.  In fact it all looked a little too man made but will improve as the vegetation which had been cut back reappears over the next few months.  Once at the coast it is a great place to sit on the  pebbles and just watch and listen to the sea.

Greencliff

After almost two weeks we decided to return to Cheshire on a Sunday as the weather was miserable and not forecast to improve.  We left fairly early only to find our first diversion at Tiverton because of an accident and then there were several other incidents along the way meaning that in total we were in the car for around 6 hours.  Family members are visiting The Granary in mid August and we will be back in September.

We are back!

Having been away from Parkham for over 6 months it is so good to be writing
this blog sitting in The Granary courtyard in glorious sunshine.

The COVID epidemic and our house move to Cheshire has meant that we have
spent little time in Devon in the last 18 months. However, in Mid-June there was
a very convenient break in the work we are having done on our Cheshire home
with building and decorating for the most part complete, and new flooring to be
laid at the end of the month.  We therefore grasped the opportunity to head off
down the M6 and M5.  

One of the biggest challenges was trying to remember what we had left in the
cottage in December last year and what we therefore needed to take down with
us.

We arrived to cooler and duller weather than in Cheshire however, this was ideal
for us as there was plenty of work to be done.  Our small rear courtyard garden
and gravel area out front were looking distinctIy neglected and a major tidying
managed to create 15 bags of garden waste for the recycling centre, with a few
more still to come. Although the cottage was occupied for a week at Easter by
our son and family they clearly were too busy enjoying the coast to tackle any
gardening!

The Granary courtyard looking a little unloved!

The cottage itself also smelt a little musty, which was not surprising, so we have
had windows wide open for several days to let the place breathe again.  
After a couple of days, the sun appeared and we were treated to some beautiful
Devon days which we were able to enjoy to the full with the majority of the tidying
up completed. Walking around the village lanes with high hedges and views of
the rolling hills made us appreciate why we love this part of the world so much.

A view from Parkham

We made our first visit to The Bell for over a year on Friday and were made very
welcome by our friends.  

On Sunday we went to St James again, our first visit for well over a year.  Whilst
the internal paintwork is now in need of urgent repair this did not distract from the
beauty of the garlands used to keep alternate pews closed for social distancing. 
The garlands were made from dried hydrangea heads saved from a wedding last year.
On Monday evening we also heard a single church bell being tolled 72 times to
recognise the lives lost in Grenville Tower, four years ago, and remembered here
in far away North Devon.

We did of course get to the coast on several occasions and walked on the beach
and coast paths.  For many years we have been visiting the North Devon coast
almost every month so this year has been very different with our first visit in June.It was good to be back and to breathe in the sea air again.

The coast at Greencliff

Whilst near the coast we visited the Pier House at Westward Ho! and enjoyed
coffee on the outside terrace watching the tide coming in.  It would have been
even better without the background music playing, which distracts from the sound
of the waves crashing on the rocks.

We also visited RHS Rosemoor, hoping to see a good display of roses. Whilst a
few were in flower, we were a week or two early for most but maybe will catch
them next time we are in the area. The gardens themselves were looking in
good condition and there were some wonderful displays of late spring flowers
including beautiful white foxgloves.

White Foxgloves at RHS Rosemoor

One of the main reasons for our visit was to catch up with friends, many of whom
we could only see fleetingly at a distance on our last visit in December.  We
spent several mornings and afternoons catching up with their news over a cup
of tea or coffee.

As I write this, we are beginning to prepare for our return to Cheshire. Some
cleaning of the cottage will be required before we leave and another trip to the butcher,
Honey’s to collect sausages for the freezer as requested by our children and
grandchildren.  We hope to return towards the end of July when summer
should have well and truly arrived.