Branscombe and the beauty of Devon

If you were to ask a holiday maker about what they would imagine to be the idlic English village and coastline. The village of Branscombe in Devon really would be it.

Beautiful, charming and quaint with an absolutely stunning coastal paths and seaside towns nearby it really is the perfect place to relax and get away from the stress of the working world.

After receiving an invitation to go camping I leapt on the chance to escape for some much needed relaxation. And after setting up on a near by camping site I was soon enjoying the fresh air and rolling hills of Devon.

I spent the first day just relaxing, drinking and chatting with friends, it was the next day when we decided to explore along the dramatic and steep coastal path that I got to experience a bit more of the sun, sea and stunning beaches that makes Devon such a special place.

Miles and miles of dramatic coast line, dappled forests and beautiful towns just begging to be explored where just some of the things I experienced on the walk we took that day. And waiting at the end was the wonderful town of Beer, with its charming shops just begging to be explored and its long awaited beer garden where we restored our energy with drinks and delicious food (all rounded out by a live band).

The next day the rain was coming down thick and fast but as it was my last night we decided to treat ourselves by wandering down mist covered lanes to a wonderfully old fashion tea house where we had cake, tea and scones. It was a wonderful send off especially as I had really enjoyed the lovely misty countryside on the way down.

As I was given a lift to the station I lay back in my seat and let the train stream through the countryside and carry me back from the beauty of Devon to my home.

Cornwall Part 2: Polperro and the sea cliff walk

 After a day spent lazing on the beach me and my camping buddy decided it was time to do something a bit more active. We had had the sea side town of Polperro recommended as being an excellent place to visit and so we decided to take the cliff side walk to reach it.

It was a good ten mile walk all round from where we were camped and so we started early. The views themselves were stunning as we passed dramatic rock formations, beautiful blue waters, waterfalls and stunning beaches.

The walk was also great for nature spotting as we spotted diving birds, butterflies and dramatically coloured flowers and a bird of prey hunting high above the cliffs.

The walk itself took a little bit longer then expected and we arrived in the late afternoon. The town itself was as picturesque as expected and we spent some time exploring the lovely local shops, eating ice cream and topped it all off by having an exquisite lamb stew at one of the local pubs.

We left and made it in good time back to the campsite and we stopped for a little while to take in the truly magical sunset that slowly disappeared along the horizon. I spent my final night relaxing and watching the stars. By the time the next day came I was sad to be leaving Cornwall but also glad to be making my way back from camping to the comforts of home.

Where are all the wild things?

I have a question for everyone in the UK, when was the last time you saw a hedgehog? Or a Slow worm? How about wasps this summer? Or bees even?

Those were the questions at the heart of this year's governmental report on the state of nature. The report's findings were rather worrying: Out of 3,148 species that the report monitored, 60% were found to have been in decline in the last 50 years and 31% were shown to have declined strongly.

This has been linked to factors such as the destruction and degradation of Britain's natural habitats and global warming. With an emphasis on the decline of species with specific habitat requirements. The fact is the world of nature is changing fast and not for the better.

When I was a child I grew up in the town of Monmouth, I'm not going to pretend it was an idyllic childhood, but the lasting impression I have was one of being surrounded by the beauty and wonder of the natural world. There were multicoloured butterflies, bees nests to be avoided, slow worms to be gawped at and swallows that nested in the eves of our houses on late summer days.

But the question is how much of this wonder will our children have left by the time they have grown? Will they have insects to pollinate their crops? Will they be able to tickle trouts under rocks? Will they still see heron's fishing on the river? Or will they turn round to their parents and ask the question where are all the wild things? Where did they go?




You can find the report for yourself in the link below.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/stateofnature_tcm9-345839.pdf

Glastonbury and Wells: The lsles of Avalon

Set like a lighthouse amidst the rolling green seas that are the fields of Somerset. Glastonbury Tor is inescapably the first thing you see as you arrive into this beautiful and historic countryside.

I had decided to take a break from city life and catch up with a friend who lived there. So for me my Glastonbury weekend didn't involving getting knee deep in mud, as much as enjoying delicious vegetarian food and sunbathing on the hill of Glastonbury tor.

I started my weekend in Wells, a beautiful and quintessentially English town a couple of miles outside of Glastonbury and got introduced to the cathedral there. It turned out to be as impressive on the inside as it was on the outside. With a beautifully decorated high ceiling and a clock that came to life every hour with miniature figures.

After that me and my friend took an hour to wander around Wells and take in the sights, including a beautiful garden just near the abbey before taking a bus over to the town of Glastonbury.

Now Glastonbury itself is held as somewhat of a sacred site both to the local christains and pagans that have made the town their home. This is due to the fact that the famous Tor has been variously an iron age site, the resting place of an early church, a site mentioned in Arthurian legends and most recently a rebuilding of the church tower itself. The town is also the site of a thorn tree said to be planted by Saint Joseph of Arimthea. Who according to legends struck a staff down that became the famous tree.








It has become therefore somewhere to enjoy both the natural beauty, old worldly pubs and ambient spirituality (and admittedly sometimes slightly unhinged spirituality) which goes with the place. After catching up with my friend we spent the day pursuing shops, enjoying the beauty of the White Springs (a lovely underground building which houses one of Glastonbury's natural springs) and sunbathing on the Tor itself.

After enjoying some food at one of the local restaurants we got some beers and enjoyed the sunset overlooking the town itself. The next day we climbed the Tor and got to enjoy the wonderful views over Somerset that the hill provided, did some more shopping and enjoyed music from a local band playing at one of the pubs in the town.

I ended my last day having a pint and a nice Sunday lunch at the George and Pilgrim before heading home rested, relaxed and spiritually refreshed ready to get back to the working week ahead.

London calling

I decided that rather then going straight home after my flight, I would to take the opportunity to have a wander around London. Now I've always considered Britain's capital to be a bit of a strange place, it almost seems to me to be one of the least British feeling cities in the entire country.

Now whether that is because of the interconnecting spiderweb that is the London Underground, the fact that the place is such a melting pot or the way that the feel of the city changes completely from district to district (try going from the market places of Camden to the river front near Westminster to see what I mean) I just don't know. Whatever it is it leads to a city that somehow manages to feel both completely alien and familiar at the same time.

I started my time there by heading over to Trafalgar square and after picking up a coffee I took in the sights of Nelson's column before heading to the National Gallery to take in some art. I was halfway through the gallery when I remembered just how much I disliked Renaissance artwork (boring, samey and full of disturbing man child like images of Christ) so I reversed direction jumped on a train and set sail for the Tate gallery instead.

The gallery was beautiful, modern and full of interesting and thought provoking pieces and I spent a thoroughly cultured couple of hours wandering around it. Afterwards I decided that I was in need of a change and so I headed towards one of my favourite parts of London; Camden Market.

This awesome place is full of shop after shop of cool clothes, alternative people, great food and a beautiful canal through which boats pass upon a regular basis. I decided to get lost amongst the maze like stalls of the marketplace and after perusing the wares I decided on a snazzy little jumper for myself. I ended the day by getting in a pint at The World's End pub before heading to the subway ready to finally travel home.