A Devon break

Last week I went to Devon (and Cornwall) for a couple of nights to stay with my Gran. The weather was a bit wet but we still had a wonderful time. We explored Exeter, had many cups of tea/coffee, lingered in cafes to escape the rain, talked about all kinds of things, fussed over Tessa (her cat), enjoyed a very blustery beach walk, played a lot of Scrabble and ate big bowls of soup in front of the telly.

(Instagram photos - homemade bramble jelly using my gran's old jam kettle; my gran's cat Tessa who has the softest fur imaginable; feeling refreshed and rosy-cheeked after a beach walk; my reading material for the train ride home)

She may be 64 years older than me but I get on really well with my Gran. I love hearing her stories about being young in the forties and fifties, going to lots of dances (including one where she met my grandpa), and then becoming a farmer's wife and raising four daughters in rural Devon. I think this is where my love of the countryside must stem from.

It felt great to see the sea again, even if it was raining and blowing a gale. There were only a few brave souls out walking their dogs; so different to the sunny busy holiday place of August. But I find it just as beautiful on a wet February day. One of my dreams in life is to live close to the sea - there's just something so captivating and life-affirming about it. 

 (Summerleaze beach, Bude)

"I want to know what it says, the sea. What it is that it keeps on saying."