I'm back and as promised, I'm going to go through some of the highlights from my Mulie holiday to Devon for Matthew's 30th birthday.
Brixham
We visited Brixham on one of the first few days of our trip and as if by luck (or bad luck if you take the lack of parking into consideration) the area was full of pirates! Don't worry, we didn't travel there through a time machine, it was actually Brixham's 2019 Pirate Festival. After we'd managed to park up (the festival meant that all the normal parking was closed....as well as half of the town's roads!) we set about rum-aging (pirate pun...it had to be done) through the town admiring the scenery. As soon as I saw the amazing view over the harbour, my camera was out and in action. Deep blue waters, lots (and lots) of boats moored up and a lovely clear sky set the scene for the day. We'd not made any plans, only to see what was on offer in the area and maybe tuck into some yummy Deon grub while we were there.
Everywhere was fully decked out in pirate paraphernalia- including the flats facing the pier and harbour and there were special events and spectacles going on throughout the day including cannon fire shows, face painting, hair braiding as well as the chance to explore the pirate ships of yesteryear. Visitors were also well prepared with costumes ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. Me and Matthew however didn't even get the memo, so felt like the outsiders in this pirates-only convention, but we certainly enjoyed seeing the extent and obvious dedication some people made to becoming a pirate.
The closer we got to the centre of the town, the more pirates there were. We were surrounded! We got lunch from a local fish and ship shop and sat down to watch the world and their pirates go by. Sometimes just sitting in a place for a while can reveal more about the area than you think. Munching on scampi and chips while looking out at the English Riviera on a sunny day- what could be better? Ooh, maybe some ketchup...
The South Devon Steam Railway
Imagine chugging along the coast of South Devon through the countryside in a beautiful vintage steam train....
Well this is what me and Matthew did between Buckfastleigh and Totnes Riverside. The views were amazing and as bookends to our journey from the two locations, we got to visit the Buckfastleigh Butterfly and Otter sanctuary and Totnes Rare Breeds Farm.
We started off by steaming down to Totnes to check out the rare breeds. For such a compact place, there was a lot to discover here from rare hens, to alpacas, spectacular owls and goats to name a few. As you can expect, the goats were full of character, greeting us at the fence inspecting us for any food or stray objects they could steal and eat. We took the opportunity to get up and close to the goats by going into their enclosure but before that, Matthew had a little incident. He was leaning over to give a particularly assertive goat a tickle on the chin and then the fence buckled under him. He managed to save himself (and the fence) before they all fell to the floor, but it wasn't without embarrassment on his end, and laughter on mine.
After he brushed off his ego, we went through the proper gate to see the goats in their enclosure only to be mobbed for the food we didn't have. It took them a while to figure out we had come empty handed, but they soon let up and we enjoyed giving them all a good tickle before moving onto the other animals and having some lunch before getting back to the train for the return trip to Buckfastleigh.
At the other end of the line at Buckfastleigh was the Butterfly and Otter sanctuary. At first, I did think that otters and butterflies are a bit of an odd combination in one place but then I thought between the rare breeds farm and the otters and butterflies, it's basically like going to the zoo. We had arrived just in time for the otter feeding so we watched the resident 9 or so otters being fed their favourite seafood dish then watched them frolicking about in the water and the grass begging and squeaking for more like furry little Oliver Twists. The centre is run by a small, dedicated team and their little collection of creatures made the place feel more intimate than a traditional zoo.
After watching the otters running about, we moved onto exploring the butterfly house. As soon as we walked in, three words came immediately to our minds: it's bloody hot. The sheer humidity knocked us both for six. Despite us already having an idea what butterfly houses were like temperature-wise, this was something else entirely. My waterproof jacket started to rapidly collect water droplets, and both mine and Matthew's camera lenses were not faring well either, both steaming up rendering any decent photography of the butterflies impossible. However, we both soldiered through the heat to look at all the butterflies fluttering about on the ginormous leaves, have a peep at the exhibit of developing chrysalises, and to gawp at the many tortoises hanging out and crawling all over each other around the pond. After that we had enough of the heat and decided to leave the butterflies, tortoises and otters to their day. It was a lovely day seeing the wildlife and the vintage steam train and we thought that the triple attraction the South Devon Railway offered was well worth the money.
Dartmoor National Park
The sheer beauty of this place was amazing and something I'll never forget. Stepping out of the car to nothing but still blue skies, rolling hills, a field peppered with wild horses accompanied by the sound of birds tweeting was so refreshing and quite frankly inspiring.
Me and Matthew were staying in a cottage in Ivybridge- a stones-throw away from Dartmoor National Park, so not going to Dartmoor was inexcusable, and I'm so glad we dedicated all the time we did to it. We didn't know exactly where the best place was to stop, so we put a small place called 'Two Bridges' into the sat nav and then headed off to see where it would lead us. Personally, I've always stumbled on amazing places by accident. By saying 'oh I wonder what's over there?' and not planning too much. This was another of those times. On our way to 'Two Bridges' we came across a long road with pockets of parking spaces peppering it, and it was along this road that we really experienced Dartmoor at its best.
Our first stop was by a vast open part of the national park and we set off exploring this area in greater depth, climbing hills, and avoiding the various poops left by the horses, ponies, sheep, and cows that roam freely in the area. I started to climb the hill with confidence- a confidence that started to seem more and more naive the steeper the hill got. However, I persevered and got to the top- something I was quite proud of. As I sat on one of the strategically placed rocks waiting for Matthew to join, I set out taking lots of pictures to try and capture what I was seeing. Of course, it's not very easily done. Dartmoor is something you have to get out and see for yourself. After a brief rest upon the hill, we descended and got back in the car for some lunch before finding idyllic spot number 2.
Our second spot was between a stream and an open field. Again, I couldn't believe where I was and sitting on another rock, I decided I wanted to stay forever. Fuck the job, fuck going home, I wanted to stay here among the beautiful view, golden silence, and wildlife.
When we crossed the road, we came face-to-face with our first wildlife- horses. There were several dotted about; 2 having a chinwag by the tourist sign and the others minding their own eating the grass and sniffing about. We thought maybe if we walked about in their immediate vicinity they would come and give us a 'hello' sniff. There was also the fear that they would give us a 'fuck off' kick or two, but we carried on, nonetheless. To our surprise we had success on the horse greeting front with the horse snuffling our hands, accepting a bit of grooming and even our offering of grass. We both filled with appreciation for the horse, and confidence that horse and human relations were still securely in the green. As we stroked another horse and got within bleating distance of a sheep, we fell more and more in love with Dartmoor. This experience was so much more than we had ever anticipated, and way more than we would've got going somewhere more touristy.
As we left our second stop, we turned back and saw 2 horses galloping along the road and were reminded just how truly natural this place was. I also had the song 'Wild Horses' by The Rolling Stones in my head.
If I'd give any advice for exploring Dartmoor, or any national park for that matter, is to look at the area and the roads around and through the park to see if there is another way you can explore the park and experience it without being surrounded by hundreds of tourists. You never know what you might see, and more importantly what animals you might meet.
That's all for today. I did plan to try and get all the highlights in one blog but as you can tell, I've rambled on too much. Instead of boring you with one extra-long post, I thought I should split it into parts. Who knows how many parts, mind you! Devon was such a great place- even with its windy unpredictable roads- it's a great place to go for a staycation.
I'll see you again later this week for the next instalment of 'Mulie in Devon: the highlights' but for now, goodbye!
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