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.