Backpackering 6 - Day 11

 

The sea when we arrived in Torquay two days ago

 

The morning we left for the train station. Calm.

 

Backpackering 6 - Day 10

 

Babbacombe Miniature Village.

The site is set in a valley leading down to coast and is more akin now, after 60 years development, to a miniature city.

From a modern GWR train

to climate activists for the grown up visitors to connect with,

like,

our current housing crisis.

But not all so serious, thankfully. 😂

The inside exhibition has 12th scale models you can get close too. 

Backpackering 6 - Day 9

 The walk up to Truro's station,

to board a very swish GWR train to Torquay via Newton Abbot.

A short walk for,

lunch - nasi goreng for me and flatbread with chicken on skewer.

Backpackering 6 - Day 8

A visit to Truro's Victoria Gardens,

to enjoy,

the peace and quiet on our rest day.

Backpackering 6 - Day 7

 

Falmouth harbour with Royal Navy ships. 

A view from the headland.

Old port defences.

With Jacob and Toby, the reason for our visit.

Backpackering 6 - Day 6

 A 2 mile morning walk to the coast for lunch. Note the 20 mph zone post. Such a fuss in Wales with their recent introduction. It seems England has already had them for some time. 

The harbour, completed in 1804,  is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Pier Hotel is where I stayed,  30 years ago, overnight on a site visit to see a student on a work placement in one of the  local clay pits. A fishing boat arrived in the middle of the night with the crew decending on the bar. Not much sleep did I get.

After lunch, a Cornish Brunch, messed up by the clock going forward, 

an amble along the cliff top. 

Backpackering 6 - Day 5

 

The Eden Project, created in a disused clay quarry 25 years ago. 

On the left, the Tropical House and on the right the Mediterranean House.

The T House, very lush,

The M House more orderly.

It being late March, the grounds have a bit of a way to go to compete with the Houses.

Backpackering 6 - Day 4

 

Today is a train day, Exeter to St Austell with a stop off at Plymouth for a wander and lunch. Nosh on the way.

Passing the lighthouse,

down to the coast

we got a bit too adventurous walking up to the fort wall.

Had to return the same way, but not before the view was recorded for posterity. 

A remembrance for the seafarers who did not survive the 20th century wars.

Backpackering 6 - Day 3

The cathedral has the longest, uninterrupted vaulted roof on the planet.  Very impressive, given that this building was finished around 1400.

This astronomical clock dates from 1448, the out circle tracking the sun , with the inner one the phases of the moon. The top clock, ticking the minutes, was added in 1760.

Next, after a wander around the impressive Albert Museum, an amble down to the River Exe and canal, built in the 1460s, making it one of the oldest in the Uk.

The Custom House,

defended by 2 impressive 1792 canon.

Taking a loop walk around the dock to get back to our bed for night,

we passed a nesting swan

and this crazy looking fellow staring out of a medieval wall niche. 

Backpackering 6 - Day 2

On our way to Exmouth,

to enjoy a lunch along the Esplanade, 

watching the passers by on the beach,

before taking the 2 mile walk to Orcombe Point.

The geoneedle is made from different rocks from along the Jurassic Coast, marking the western end of it

Took a rest before the walk back.

Backpackering 6 - Day 1

 Arriving at Exeter Central Station,  the walk to our accommodation took us past the city's cathedral,

Richard Hooker's statue 

and this late 16th century house followed 

by these buildings of the same era. An interesting start to our new adventure, I think you must agree.