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!

Starting my Life as a Land Girl

Well, I got here! 

As some of you know, I had planned to arrive here a few days ago, Monday 18th to be precise, but on the Friday, my car decided to leak fuel. So obviously I had to get that sorted. Now, part of me thought that this was a sign to be fully independent and set off with my rucsack and nothing else, but the realistic part of me, (the part that's never been camping, barely gardened and had generally no idea about rougher living), thought that was a little foolish and that a car would really be quite useful. So, I waited...and waited. Finally the part arrived, the car was fixed and I set off on the Saturday, packed and raring to go.

View of the M5 when stuck in the traffic

Well, that's not entirely true....I will admit that nerves did start to get the better of me....did I have the right clothes, what will it be like, will I enjoy it, what on earth was I thinking doing this, I should be getting a job, not galavanting off!

But the day dawned and as I packed up my car and made a thermos for my tea, I felt pretty good. Tearful farewells done, I headed down far too many motorways.

Approximately 350 miles later, 4 tea stops, one lunchtime snooze in a car park, a few traffic jams and lots of rain later and I was there. 

When I arrived everyone else was out so I did a quick circuit of the property and found the caravan I was staying in. More importantly, I found a mug and a kettle and sat down to read my book and wait with my tea.

Snug in my caravan!

Everyone else arrived shortly after and after introductions were made, and more tea was consumed, I headed to the caravan to settle in. 

A simple but tasty supper later and I headed to bed early, absolutely wiped out from driving all day. 

Preparations

So I figured that I should try and sort myself out and get some useful things. Having done far too much research I have acquired the following:

• A Vango Supernova 5000 sleeping bag, (bought online rather cheaply at www.simplyhike.co.uk; great service that let you purchase without registering and you could track your delivery, a site I'd recommend a look at)
• A Vango Fitzroy 70 +10 rucsack, (bought at a great bargain from Blacks: half price in the sale, and then with a voucher that my work had given to me as a leaving present, it cost me the grand total of £9.99. Not bad at all)
• a super absorbent microfibre towel, (again in the sale at Blacks)
• hand washing flakes
• LED torches, (including a head torch for reading)
• baby wipes (always useful)
• a travel hairdryer, (perhaps a luxury but a cold head usually means a cold for me)
• clothes: long sleeves, t-shirts, thermal top, jeans, cotton trousers, good top/jacket, and waterproofs
• far too much other stuff!

I already had some good walking boots and wellies so it was bits and bobs that I needed to sort. Time will tell what I need and what was stupid to get so I'm sure this post will end up with plenty of edit notes!

One thing that has already proved a good purchase, (Day 1) are my last minute buy of cotton trousers from Gap. I happened into the store on the off-chance that there might be something useful in the sale and I found these: tuxedo khaki pants. Now, these just seemed to me to be made for gardening: 100% cotton and roomy enough to stretch and bend. Perfect! Today they were tested as I waded across a low tide estuary with these rolled up. They did get wet, but dried in under 20 minutes in the sun so I'm feeling pretty smug! And instead of £35, they cost me a mere £6.99. Wish I'd got two pairs now!

That's all for now, I shall come back and write a full list of things one should take at a later date when I've tried and tested my stuff, but for now, there you go!