A Sunny Day in Devon

Today was pretty much the ideal day that I'd imagined Wwoofing would be. Which made me very glad that I'd decided to do this! Having arranged the night before with Barley, one of the other Wwoofers, to go for a walk, we met at 9am for some porridge before we set off. Barley had seen that at 12:30pm that day, there would be a low tide at Erme Mouth, and so we could cross over and walk a circular route back.

Erme Mouth estuary

Though there was a slight frost that morning, the sun was shining with all its might and so we set off at a brisk pace towards the sea. Arriving at Erme Mouth was wonderful. The views were truly stunning and the atmosphere was great. Due to it being half term and a lunch time low tide, many families had come, bringing their dogs and there were a few horse riders too. Even someone with a kite! 

 When we first arrived, the water was still rushing out so we went for a wander up the river a little and couldn’t resist taking lots of pictures! There were dogs rushing in and out of the water and it was just so pleasant! We then headed back to the edge nearest the sea where there was a large stretch of sand and saw a few people on the other side of the rather deep water raking for something, cockles, perhaps?

We then decided to brave it and headed to the shallower part and wade through, sans boots and socks. GULP! Let’s just say my legs were PINK PINK PINK after the bracing (freezing) water! But you know what, I thought I was a bit chilly before then, but for the rest of the day I felt much warmer. I must be acclimatising! However, my trousers did get wet, even though I rolled them to the knee. I was pleased, (and rather smug) to notice that being 100% cotton they really dried out quickly and I’m tempted to buy another pair online as a back up. I can always get some thermals to pop under as they are quite thin.

After shoes and socks were returned gladly to the feet, we set off up the path on the other side, having been told by Leah, one of the other Wwoofers, that there was ice cream at the top. And we thought, if there’s ice cream, there’s bound to be tea. And lo and behold! A teahouse! 

A straw owl sits next to
the right chimney

Reaching it, we both decided that hot chocolate was in order and so that was bought, along with a hot pasty for me...just what I needed! As we finished, Leah, Barry,  (and Lola the dog) joined us, so more tea was bought. Barley and I then set off on our circular walk to head back to Orcheton Quay. But first, having purchased postcards and stamps, we wandered into Mothecombe to post said cards. This was a very pretty little place, and Barley drew my attention to the habit of making straw birds as part of the thatch. Having found the post box, we then set off on our circular walk. It was great: beautiful weather, stunning views and a good walking companion to chatter to. We managed a good route avoiding all main roads until the very end and so were back just in time for a cup of tea. 

acres of blue sky....bliss!

I did notice that my hips were so achy and it’s clear that I’ve been sitting in a chair in front of a laptop far far too much! It was nice to get out and make something worthwhile out of the day though and a great way to be introduced to the area. And here is the route we took!

*Note* More photos will be uploaded to the album soon!