LOCATION: Salisbury to Bath
What's happening?
We were smart and hadn't taken the luggage beyond the first floor which meant our get away from Bath only required dragging the bags down two flights of stairs for a quick getaway away. We did need to be "spritely" because @Nigel had no legal options for parking in this narrow access way.
The Adventure
The folders were ready and we were on the road, on time to be taken from town to town to once again sample the highlights of Somerset and Devon after a little servo stop. I only mention the ⛽️ because it was unmanned. Just four pumps - no shop, no human - just fill up at the equivalent of $3.50 a litre) and go!
Some of our stops today:
Pulteney Bridge in Bath - one of the most iconic river crossings in England — a rare bridge lined with shops on both - when you stand on it it looks like a street - descend the stairs and the arches rise in perfect symmetry over the weir.
The Circus and The Royal Circuit - almost adjacent, two spectacular residential areas. The Circus is a perfect circle of three curved terraces forming a continuous ring while the Circuit is a long, dramatic arc of 30 terraced houses overlooking Royal Victoria Park. It features one rebellious yellow door (it was law to paint them white, painted in 1972 by resident Miss Annabel Wellesley‑Colley.- took on the council and won by a ruling in parliament
Wells - the smallest city in England that boasts the Cathedral (over 300 medieval sculptures) , the second oldest mechanical clock (1390!!! two knights chase each other on the quarter hour) ) and the Vicar's Close. The Close is the oldest residential street in England.and the houses are tge residents of the choir members of the Cathedral! There are also Swan here (didn't visit them( that are trained to swim up and ring a bell for food.
Country driving - lots of driving today through narrow hedge lined laneways and through tunnels of overhanging trees. Plenty of sheep and cows, rolling hills, patchwork green fields, small villages and plenty of @Nigel stories as we passed the Quantock Hills. Undulating hills, deep valleys, rivers, fields of heather and even spotted the feral horses, the castle at Dunster before skirting the coast and hitting Exmoor.
Our first views of the imposing coastline and we stopped here for a little balanced on the edge of the world moment.
Twin villages of Lynton (at the top) and Lynmouth (it was the location of the tragic flood) and a ride on the funicular rail. They’re connected by steep hills, wild scenery, and one of the quirkiest bits of Victorian engineering in England - a water‑powered funicular (we could hear the tank fillibg) linking the two villages since 1890. No electricity, no engines — just gravity and a water filled tank.
Visited the museum here that recounted the devastation of the 1852 flash flood that hit the village killing 34 and leaving 500 homeless.
Change of plan! Next stop, theoretically was Clovelly (pronounced Clo (rhymes with toe) belly (rhymes with belly). Unfortunately, while we were sitting comfortably in the railway car, @Nigel came off third best in a one on one on the narrow laneway with a bus and a rock. The front left hand tyre wall was slashed and the core of the tyre was exposed. It was driveable, at slow speed, but needed attention. On the fourth try, he located a workshop, with a replacement and with time to fix it in North Devon.
At our limping pace, it was a 90 minute drive in the wrong direction, with hazard lights on and frequent pull overs to let building traffic pass - for a meetup with @Richard at the workshop. After 20 minutes, Richard emerged and declared, that after removing the wheel and inspecting the damage, the tyre was actually "fine" - only the wall had been slashed, but there was no damage to the "core" and no replacement was necessary!
Great outcome, but at now 4 pm we had missed entry to our last stop at Clovelly and had no choice but to head back, now through pouring rain, to Hartland and the Anchor Inn, our overnight accommodation.
What a wild coastline but we were snug and happy to eat in (fish and chips for @Mac) and tune in to the World Cup.
What a day of contrasts. Need to get up a little earlier tomorrow to retrace our steps, hopefully on fully inflated tyres.
A moment 💋 for our vicarious adventurers the @Littlens
Survival Barometer
Steps: 11 130
Weather: 19 (jumper worthy) and wore the rain jacket - car was registering 14 by the time we reached Hartland
"Nanny, I bet you used wool from that sheep to crochet my beautiful skirt!"
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