Blighty Bound - Day Fifteen, By The Seaside

 

A late start had us motoring over to Exmouth, very familiar ground for me as my parents lived there for many years, and prior to that we all lived just about ten miles away for many more years. We were off to visit my side of the family, and to stroll the seafront there, as that's always a pleasant experience. Following that, we were slated to head over to another seaside town, Torquay, for a chinwag with DW's family.

The weather was certainly set fair. The run across the River Exe and down it's eastern side was lovely, all bar the traffic queue getting into Exmouth itself. I had forgotten the roadworks on the Dinan Way extension, so we sat in a long line of cars for ten minutes or so while everyone negotiated the section of single lane running. I made a mental note to take another route out of the town.

We pitched up in St Andrews Road, down in the old part of town, and spent a happy day with said family members. We ate at an Italian-style restaurant on the Strand, then strolled along the refurbished seafront to Maer Rocks, and the RNLI Lifeboat Station. Given that it was a weekday, there were still a lot of people about, although the very fine weather was the obvious reason for the crowds. There were people on the beach, some even in swimsuits, which is quite unusual for late March in England. Being the Spring Equinox, the tide was out a long way, making the beach look even bigger than usual. Severe winter storms had altered the beach quite a bit, though, with the sand dunes completely disappeared, but Maer Rocks mostly covered with sand. Maybe the dunes moved? Exmouth is prone to the occasional reshaping of the beach, largely because it is subject to big storms in the winter, but also because the River Exe flowing into the sea there can do some strange things with silt and sand. 

The Lifeboat Station was looking lovely in the sunshine, and the small inshore lifeboat was launched while we were there, although it looked more like an exercise rather than an emergency given the lack of haste the launch team displayed. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) operates lifeboats, and now lifeguards, all around the coast of Britain. It's a charity that receives no direct government funding and relies almost entirely on donations to operate. We have always felt it a worthwhile cause, even though we've thankfully never needed its services, so we do donate and that was why we were there today. Money was spent in their very fine gift shop. If you've never heard of the RNLI, here is a link to their website: RNLI

Exmouth has changed a lot in recent years, but it's mostly for the better, albeit that I had to pay 40p for Jimmy Riddle in a bowl that the unit's previous user had not flushed. Still, it was an excellent visit, as most trips to Exmouth are.

Heading to Torquay, I went "over the common" rather than take the Exeter Road, to avoid the queues at the roadworks. Over the common means a drive over Woodbury Common, an area of high ground just to the north of the town. It has few trees but lots of Gorse and Bracken, and has commanding views of East Devon and of the Exe Estuary right up to Exeter. The trouble was that the Gorse was very tall, and when we could see over it, it was very hazy, so no commanding views, really. It was a nice run, though, but took a fair bit longer than I'd anticipated. But we didn't get stuck in the traffic.

We did get stuck in the traffic at Newton Abbot, though, where a car had broken down at the side of the road. The AA recovery van was part of the cause of the delay, as was the Police car with its blue lights on. The broken down car was off the road!

In Torquay, we took an interesting although not unpleasant route to our destination, and then I was deputed to assist with the purchase of fish and chips, which entailed being driven to a tangle of streets in West Torquay and waiting in a very long line. It was for family, though, so no problem.

A nice evening ensued, although we left Torquay very late, and I was on my last knockings by the time arrived home. Tomorrow's events are also family related, but I'm sure I will have something to write about.