Tag Archives: Knowle

An Otter but no Beavers

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Having setttled in at the oddly named ‘Pooh Cottage’ site, we opt for a wander into Budleigh Salterton, along the lanes into the back of this tiny Devon town, then down to the front. Whlle Budleigh Salterton is a typical, British, seaside town it is pleasingly undeveloped, boasting no high rise hotels, lurid arcades or Bingo parlours. The beach is pebbly and fringed with a few beach huts, plenty of fishermen’s paraphernalia and a promenade. A cursory stroll on the prom reveals a little gem- a small, rustic seafood restaurant with all kinds of delicious-looking items. Rockfish Cafe. Over a coffee we peruse the menu and resolve to return in a day or two.

On our way back to site we stop in Knowle village and get a beer at the lone pub, The Dog and Donkey, which also offers a tolerable menu, meaning there won’t be a whole load of cooking going on before we get home!

The weather is still good and we’re up for a good walk next day, striking out and up a long hill by the golf course. Once we’ve gained the top there are great views down to Budleigh beach one side and Exmouth the other, then a narrow, downhill track leads to the town. The streets behind the beach offer a few interesting, independent shops as well as a Co-op and the usual crop of charity shops. One tiny shop has attracted a sizeable queue for ice cream so it seems churlish not to join it. The quirky store’s walls are lined with jars of interesting herbs, nuts, spices and pulses as well as old favourites such as peanut brittle, so there’s plenty to look at while we wait.

Later we’re back for the seafood at Rockfish Cafe and it’s a chance to have lobster- something which doesn’t present itself too often. It’s delicious- served with very little besides mayonnaise, crusty bread and some lettuce. Perfect!

On our last day we opt to start off at the estuary of the River Otter and follow the river upstream- a scenic route beside water meadows. Of course, seabirds are everywhere here, searching the mud for tasty treats. There are beavers here in the river, though we’re unlikely to spot any unless we’re up at dawn- which is never going to happen for us!

The footpath comes to a halt at a bridge and a water mill where there is a cafe, gift shop and farm shop selling all kinds of items. It’s pleasant, tables placed outside by the millstream. It’s also very busy, thronged with tourists. After restorative coffee and cake we retrace our steps back along the river to the estuary and back to Pooh Cottage.

Later, at the Dog and Donkey, we eat a mediocre meal and sit back as an ’80s Night’ begins to get underway in the huge room at the rear of the pub. A trickle of people files past us, attired in appropriate 80s garb, which is enough entertainment as we finish beers and creak our way up the hill to the site and our van. Farewell Devon for now…

Novels by Jane Deans [Grace]: The Year of Familiar Strangers and The Conways at Earthsend. Visit my website: janedeans.com

Not Winnie…

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For our third day at Bagwell Farm we’re off on another walk- in the other direction this time but again, from the site, starting off up a hill and eventually coming across Fleet and old Fleet church, tiny and charming with its own miniature churchyard. You can go inside, too, which I do and there are just a few pews, an altar and everything a church needs. A left behind cardigan slung over the back of a pew signals that the church is used. We have a sit on a stone bench outside. There are glimpses of the water through the trees.

Then we’re following the lagoon behind Chesil Beach again, coming round the coast path to an enormous, white hotel, Moonfleet Manor, sitting in an imposing position overlooking the sea. It’s a warm day and we’ve been walking so when we spot an ice-cream sign it feels rude not to investigate. But we have to work for it! The obvious entry point to the hotel is embellished with ‘no entry to hotel’. We backtrack. We must enter through the garden, which is behind a wall. It’s very lovely, with raised beds full of all kinds of interesting plants, but there’s no sign of an ice-cream. [It occurs to me that recent posts must convey the impression that I am on a constant search for ice-cream, although on this occasion it’s Husband’s idea…].

Getting through the garden is not the last part of the quest- we need to circlumnavigate the entire hotel building until we find the cafe at the top of a great lawn and there, finally, is the ice cream machine. We get our reward, a brief interlude before the hike back to site. It’s the last day before we move so we give The Red Barn- the site’s own pub/cafe, a try. The food on offer is mostly pub grub, ie burgers, battered fish, lasagne- all with chips, but it’s good enough for a cook-free evening after a long walk.

Next we’re off into Devon, our next-door county and to a site called Pooh Cottage in the village of Knowle, near Budleigh Salterton. On arrival to the site, off Bear Lane, we trundle up a slope and are met by loops of caravans and motorhomes immaculately parked on hard standing pitches round manicured ovals of lawn. Reception is in a kind of log cabin. it’s quiet- eerily so.

We’re led off to our pitch by the owner- who I’m tempted to call Mr Pooh but I manage to suppress the urge, although we’re allotted a pitch in a field at the back where there’s just one other unit. It feels a little second class here in a featureless field with tall hedges but no matter. The village of Knowle is down the lane, across a busy road and down again. There isn’t much to Knowle but it does have a pub, at least! And it is walking distance to Budleigh Salterton, where we’ve been before but will revisit.

Novels by Jane Deans [Grace]: The Year of Familiar Strangers and The Conways at Earthsend. Visit my website: janedeans.com