Every May half term when I was at primary school we would go to Dartmouth for a week – we stayed just on the waterfront near to the cannon and chain ferry and the house had a lovely window seat that I used to sit at for hours watching the world and reading my books (not that they had many words in at that age)… Not much changes really – I still thrive on holiday with a view, a good book and being by the sea – now perhaps a glass of chilled sauv blanc is a good addition? In fact it wasn’t strictly half-term as the house rental was Wednesday to Wednesday – my naughty parents taking me out of school for 3 days… I don’t seem to have suffered I might add…
Anyhow, in Autumn 2012 we headed back to this area for the first time and stayed in a gorgeous cottage in Dittisham – Swilly Barn. It is rare that we stop in Devon these days, as we normally head straight through to our beloved Cornwall, but change and variation is good and Dittisham was a fantastic place for an autumn break.
The barn sleeps 4 so we had plenty of space for just the two of us. There are two double rooms, a large bathroom, comfortable lounge and fantastic kitchen. What sold it for me though was the location – it is down a lane and feels miles from anywhere, surrounded by fields with importantly next to no 3G reception and certainly no WIFI. We found one spot in the house that had 3G – which was actually a high windowsill in the kitchen that required some clambering to get to… Another treat was the proprietors alpacas who live in the field next door to the cottage and are inquisitive little creatures. After our first morning feeding them vegetable scraps we could see them waiting for us on each consecutive day. They were keener on carrots and definitely didn’t like the non-organic courgettes we tried to feed them… This place would be magnificent in the height of summer – it has a gorgeous garden and outdoor dining space too.
Dittisham is a cute little village – I actually had my first sail here many years ago and it was lovely to go back – a quiet and protected estuary! Of course – I’ve dug out the evidence…
The village, whilst small, is blessed with two lovely pubs – about 15-20minutes walk from the barn. We particularly liked the Ferry Boat, which is down on the waterfront and has gorgeous views. Devon is a great place for finding cute country pubs I must say: The Maltsters Arms was recommended by a friend and was another great place for waterfront dining and then the Rugglestone Inn on Dartmoor is possibly one of the most picture-perfect pub lunch spots we’ve found.
As one comes to expect from a Parker trip anywhere… if there is a winery to be found then we will sniff it out! On this occasion we did in fact find two. Sharpham’s Estate was cycling distance from Dittisham – and definitely far enough to build up a thirst. We had an enjoyable time tasting their wines as well as their estate-made cheeses. The view down to Totnes from the highest point of the estate was gorgeous.
We had reason to visit my grandparents in Cornwall during our time in Devon and took the opportunity to visit Camel Valley for the first time. I probably can count on more than two hands the amount of times we’ve been back to stock up… (And I really do need to investigate their self-catering cottages too). It is quite a slog down country roads to find, but well worth it – the views from the decking bar are gorgeous and the fizz is quite frankly unbeatable (it beats the french…). I would go as far as to say it is my favourite fizz (Brundlmeyer from Austria a close second) and vineyard of choice (Vergelegen and Tokara in South Africa are however something special too).
Not all of our getaway was blessed with great weather – but there is plenty to do on a rainy day – we spent time in Dartmouth and Salcombe on the gloomier days, mooching around the shops (which are fantastic I might add, especially if you have a penchant for nautical homewares) and taking advantage of the quiet restaurants and pubs. On the sunny days, when we weren’t wine-tasting, we were out on our bikes. This area of Devon, as well as Dartmoor, is quite hilly, but the scenery is stunning and well worth the hard slog to the top of the hill each time.
A gorgeous part of the world, in fact I’m headed back to Cornwall in November to stay at The Lugger Inn in Portloe which looks gorgeous and then in early December have a weekend in Taunton/the Quantock’s with friends.
Delicious is the word here!
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A lot of lovely things to enjoy!!