6 weeks later

Our July visit was our first trip to Parkham in our 'new car', and it was also the first long journey that we had done.  By the end of the journey I had just about got the hang of the complex electronic systems that are fitted to newer cars these days.  I then had to get used to driving the car in the narrow Devon lanes!

It was around 6 weeks since we were last in the village.  June had been a busy month for us in Cheshire with family birthdays and child-minding duties.  The Granary had not been empty as two lots of close friends had asked if they could use the cottage.  Although we never planned to let the cottage commercially we have on occasions let friends stay for a few days, and of course our children and grandchildren do come down most years.  It is good to feel that the cottage is being used in our absence although we always arrive with some trepidation, particularly when young children and dogs have been visiting.  As it was we had nothing to worry about and the cottage was clean and tidy when we arrived, they had even taken all their rubbish home!

We very soon switched into our Devon lifestyle which consists of days spent visiting friends, walking the dog, reading, visiting The Bell and of course tidying up the garden and all the usual household chores.

Despite the weather turning dull after a few hot,sunny days we did notice the large number of butterflies around the lanes, on the coast path and in our garden.  We had seen a few butterflies in Cheshire but mostly small tortoiseshells.  I am no expert on butterflies but there seemed to be a wider range in Devon and those in our garden included red admiral, peacock, large white and meadow brown.  Last year we visited Meeth Quarry near Hatherleigh, a Devon Wildlife Trust reserve where there were also a number of fritillary species.  We have not yet seen any of the hummingbird hawk moths which were in The Granary garden last year, feeding on the valerian.  With the recent hot weather the valerian has  gone over but they also feed on buddleia, which are flowering well in the garden.

With very mixed weather for much of our time in the village our walks were somewhat restricted, we did manage a lovely coast walk at Greencliff and one walk along the sands at Greysands without getting wet. 

The footpath to Greencliff

On our walks around the village it was good to see the number of swallows, including swooping in and out of the bus shelter.  We do get swallows and house martins in Tatton Park but not so many in the residential areas of Knutsford, although a group of screaming swifts did fly along the High St, not far from their nesting site in the park.

We were pleased that the weather was dry on the morning we left as it makes packing up so much easier.  We generally expect some delays on our journey as we now have to battle the M5 and the M6.  On this occasion we also had a diversion off the A361 at Landkey, which added another 20 minutes to our journey, but the remainder of our journey was uneventful.  We hope to be heading back down to Parkham at the end of the month.