I normally make at least one "pilgrimage" to Cornwall each year but on this occasion decided to shorten the journey somewhat and confine myself to Devon. I had booked myself into a new venue for me, the Premier Inn at Newton Abbott which is actually located on Newton Abbott Racecourse.
Defore reaching Devon I had some unfinished business in the Cotswolds; photographing poppies. Given that my chosen location between Lower Swell and Condicote (i.e. "pretty much in the middle of nowhere") was not far off of the cross-country route to the M5 I set off early and by 8:00 am had my poppy images "in the bag" and set sail for the M5, joining close to Gloucester.
I was heading for Shaugh Prior where the rivers Plym and Meavy converge; a good location for "water and rocks". I arrived at about 11:30 having stopped en route for a McDonalds Sausage and Egg McMuffin (having accidently missed the service area with a Greggs). This can onlt be put down to "piss-poor planning" on my part.
Leaving Shaugh my plan was to spend some time at Burrator Reservoir; I had made a couple of "flying" visits in the past but thought that it was worth an extended visit. I knew that my satnav would direct me down a very narrow road so I smugly ignored it's directions only to be flagged down and told that the road that I was on was blocked so I had to take another route which also turned out to be very narrow but, thankfully, pretty much deserted.
I arrived at Burrator at about 14:00 and drove all the way round, stopping off at various points including one which allowed me access to the shore. I left at about 15:30 and headed to Newton Abbott and checked in to the Premier Inn. The adjoining pub named The Grandstand is a Beefeater Inn and I had a couple of pints there and dinner. Unfortunately, they, apparently in common with much of the hospitality industry were short of both staff and some menu items but I managed to choose a chicken dish which was available although the service was too slow for me and I passed up the opportunity to indulge in a chocolate sundae (which tells you how slow the service was!)
Returning to the Grandstand the next morning there was a further slight disappointment in as much as the breakfast was "cooked to order" rather than buffet, which I prefer, but not the end of the world.
My plan was to go to Dartmouth and then onto Plymouth. I arrived in Dartmouth at about 10:00 and took several images around the waterfront. I then had a look around the town and indulged in a coffee at an independent coffee shop. I then set off for Plymouth only to be thwarted again by a road closure, eventually parking up a few yards from Plymouth Hoe at about 12:30. I spent a few hours around the Hoe and the Barbican area before purchasing a "meal deal" from the local Co-Op and devouring it sat on a bench looking out past Smeaton's Tower (aka the lighthouse) to sea. Finally I had a walk down to the Tinside Lido before setting of for Newton Abbott via Shaldon where I strolled along the beach taking a few images along the way. Given the previous evening's experience in The Grandstand I "gave it a miss" and bought a "takeaway" dinner from the Tesco store opposite the hotel.
I returned home the next day, stopping off at Gloucester Services for a coffee and then finally taking a slight detour to capture some last poppy images. There are images in the Devon and Cotswold Galleries.