Everyone slept in rather late this morning and we had a quick breakfast of toast and jam before heading down the hill into town.
We took the boys for a walk to see the local arcade and circus that was setup in town. The circus wasn't starting until 1pm so we wandered around checking out downtown.
We found a grocery store and were quite surprised at how low the prices were on so many foods. Krista stocked up on English Dairy Milk as they were super cheap for these large chocolate bars.
We bought some wine and beer for our supper later at Crispin and Mimis.
I was able to locate a hairdresser for a trim for a whopping 7 pounds. With our busy schedule over the last few weeks and next 2 weeks, a trim was required! I had a lovely visit with the young lady who had never been to North America or even Ireland for that matter. As she whittled away 'down to the wood', I shared stories of our travels much to the enjoyment of the other 15 women in the shop who I think quite enjoyed the change of accent and topic of conversation.
After I finished, I joined up with the family at the arcade and played bingo for a bit before we headed off to the fish and chips restaurant to grab lunch. We marched back up the hill to Redcliffe and settled in the garden worn a delicious feast of fish, chips, peas and garden salad that was to die for. We had a delicious fruit salad for dessert and packed up for our afternoon hike.
We filled the backpack with beverages to take to Crispin and Mimis. Paul took all of us in the Land Rover and Anne joined us later with the dogs in the Mercedes.
Paul wound us through every tiny road imaginable to get us to the Moors near Crispins. We left the car and hiked up the steep hills of the moor to a large rock outcropping at the top called a tor. We climbed the top of it and some incredibly great photos. On the way up we passed sheep and horses just mulling about completely disinterested in our existence.
Once the photo shoot was complete, we hiked around the Moors for over an hour crossing 500 year old rock clapper bridges over the creeks and the river Exe. We climbed a hill coveted in rocks arranged in a circular/oval formation. Rumour has it that it was an ancient worshipping area where sinners could go to beg for forgiveness. If it was granted some sort of sign was given. If not, one could be crushed by a falling rock. Sounds sketchy...
The vastness of the Moors was staggering as we could have hiked for days in certain directions but eventually we came to our millionth stone fence that bordered on Crispin's property. We walked round the back to discover his home conveyed from a 500 year old longhouse! Shaped like an L, it had 2 floors and was built in sections but I side, the renovations had begun and it was staggeringly beautiful.
The drawing room was the original room where the animals would be. The sitting room would have been hay storage. All the bedrooms upstairs would have been living quarters and so on.
Each room served a specific function. All the ceilings on the main floor were incredibly low such that anyone over 5' 8" would be wise to duck going through door frames.
When we arrived, we met Mimi and children Hetty (Henrietta almost 7) and Lily (Elizabeth 3). Gigi (Georgina 5) was having a nap. Mimis parents were visiting from 2 hours north as Mimis sister and family were visiting over the last two weeks. What a busy day/week/month!
Thursday August 11a2
Mimi whipped up a fantastic feast and we had a great visit be it far too short. The kids all played in the yard til dusk and then moved inside to the myriad of playrooms available to them.
Crispin arrived home from work and we had a tremendous viator getting caught up on decades of change in our lives. Time really has flown as he approaches 40 and us a lot closet to 50.
After a quick dessert of phenomenal bread pudding and Ice cream, we bid them farewell as Uncle Paul began our 40 minute trek through the back woods of the countryside toward Dawlish where we arrived well past 11 and in great need of some sleep. We did a wee bit of packing and called it a night. What an adventure! !
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