Day 9 - Them roads is narrow in Devon, they is.

Took a lovely day trip around Southern Devon today.  The day started cloudy & cool but ended in wonderful sunshine. We headed across the Torquay and Paignton seafronts before turning toward Totnes and onto Dartington Hall & gardens.  Here we stopped to look about the gardens and to visit a tree planted in memory of my Nan.  It's a beautiful place and a lovely place to visit should you ever be in the area.

Leaving Dartington we headed to Rattery as we were driving past and I couldn't resist visiting the place I lived when I was just 6 years old.  Still a working farm but much has changed.  The roads (lanes really) in and around Rattery are the narrowest yet, with only a foot or less on either side of the car in places.  Yes, these are two-way roads.

Next stop, Bigbury-on-sea.  A beautiful sandy beach at the end of a twisty Devon road along which you can expect to have to pull to the side of the road to allow others coming the other way to pass.  I even had to fold in my mirror at one point to avoid it getting clipped.  You have to learn the art of slow driving to survive on these roads else you'll go head to head with a bus, lorry or other vehicle larger than you. High hedges and narrow windy roads really reduce how far ahead you can see and so you must take care.

At the beach we found a spot on the island to have our picnic lunch and relax for a while.  The tide was out and so we were able to walk both to and from the island.  Should one get caught on the island when the tide comes in, a vehicle can be taken that will take you across the beach to the mainland.

We drove back toward Torquay via Kingsbridge and then Dartmouth where we took a small ferry across the river Dart to Kingswear.  More winding narrow roads leads us back to Torquay where we stopped at Cockington village before heading home for a wonderful home-cooked meal with wine.  A great day & thanks again Sally for your wonderful hospitality.  Tomorrow we're off to Bath.