Cornwall and Devon
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You won't be tracking jaguar or riding elephants to find tiger or trekking to mountaintop monasteries, but you could well be having adventures finding dinosaur tracks and great little fossils, then you can visit manor houses and castles and end your day in a cozy, comfortable B&B after dinner in a friendly pub.
Think Outside of Cities and Tour Buses
After you've seen London, it's easy to branch out with a visit to the university towns of Oxford or Cambridge with their ivy covered walls and impressive colleges or a day trip to Stonehenge. All of that is terrific, but branch out further... We think driving is the best way to ramble around..... and if you're not used to driving on the left, this can make it an adventure all by itself! For a really relaxing trip, get out of London and try driving the charming coast and small towns of south west England... through the counties of Dorset, Cornwall and Devon.Cornwall and Devon are on a peninsula that juts into the Atlantic from the southwest corner of England. It's a quiet region with lots of small roads that lead to small towns. It may not have the glittery big name draws of some other regions, but go ahead, explore... you won't be bored.
What is there to See in Cornwall and Devon?
For starters, there are castles and manor houses to visit all up and down the peninsula. Check out the Great British Heritage Pass. This gets you into many historic properties for a single low price. If you plan to visit several of the properties it covers, the pass will save you money.As you make your way south west, you'll drive through Dorset and Devon first. You can start along the Jurassic Coast where you can roam the beaches and find fossils from the Mesozoic period, about 160 million years ago. Move forward in time and visit an Iron Age Hill Fort called Maiden Castle. The Jurassic Coast extends through
East Devon
to the River Exe. Pause in Hayes Barton to take a photo of Sir Walter Raleigh's birthplace. Follow the river up to Exeter. It's also a university town, but it's main draw is probably the 14th century Norman Gothic style Cathedral.
Follow the coast around into Cornwall. Dartmouth is worth spending a night, with its castle and harbor. Spend some time in Plymouth for the history. Sir Francis Drake sailed from here in the Golden Hind to circumnavigate the world and later to defeat the Spanish Armada. The Pilgrims set sail in the Mayflower for America. If you want to see old sailing ships explore a little town called Charlestown.
Near Land's End where England gives way to the Atlantic, you will find St. Michael's Mount. It's a medieval castle and abbey about 1/2 mile off shore, connected by a causeway at low tide. At high tide you'll have to take a boat to visit. Historians believe it was built about the same time as Mont St. Michel in France. We had to stay in the tiny town of Mousehole... With a nickname like MouseTours, how could we stay anywhere else?
All around the Land's End area there are prehistoric stone monuments... The Merry Maidens Stone Circle, Men-An-Tol Stone Ring, the Lanyon Quoit Dolmen, and Chystrauster, an ancient village.
Continue to follow the coast around and back northeast and you will find Tintagel which is connected with Arthurian legend. Was King Arthur born here? Did Merlin the Magician live in a cave under the castle?
Wineries!!! In Cornwall and Devon?
We've read that there are vineyards popping up all through Cornwall and Devon. They are all relatively small. As Californians with our own little backyard vineyard, we love checking out new wine growing areas. We didn't stop at any on our last trip, but we will check the internet and make a point of it on the next one.
Leaving Cornwall and Devon
Leaving Cornwall and Devon you can drive through the beautiful and lonely Dartmoor National Park. For a dose of more recent history, and if you like aircraft as much as Mark does, stop in Yeovil at the Fleet Air Arm Museum.And that day trip to Stonehenge...? We stopped in Stonehenge on the way back to the airport. Late in the afternoon and early in the morning, you are more apt to have it more to yourself. We like to stay in Avebury where there is a stone henge monument that is larger and older than Stonehenge, and at Avebury you can find a B&B and wander among the stones. We love both monuments.
Check your guide book for details on all of these... remember our goal is to inspire you to travel, not to give you all the details.... read up then go and discover them for yourself!!
Happy travels... even if you don't travel the world... just remember that life is a journey... embrace and enjoy it! Judy and Mark
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