Devon/Cornwall

Well...

Here I am sitting in a coffee shop sipping my English tea and enjoying a delicious scone as I type this. When in Rome...



When I stayed at the hostel in Key West and met some Brits I remember they had said that I was lucky to know someone who had a cottage in Devon. They were right!!!



This part of the country is absolutely incredible!! I can't wait to post the pictures but the pictures nor my attempt to describe this place will do the scene any justice. I was in love with London 'til now. Now my heart bleeds for the beautiful countryside of Southwest England!! ;-D



We set off on Sunday sort of late and stopped by Stonehenge on our way to Devon. Lee was right, it is just a bunch of rocks in a field BUT... how did they get there, who put them there and why? We still don't know all of the answers to these questions and it really is amazing and almost eerie as to what the meaning is behind these 5,ooo year old pile of rocks! One of the things that amazes me is how they got them to where they are now. The largest rocks came from the furthest away, Wales. And why this particular field??? There's a circular ditch that is dug around where the rocks are displayed and at one point this ditch would glow white from the limestone in the earth. There were also burial sights scattered about in some of the farmer's neighboring cow fields. These tombs were covered with large mounds of dirt and the deceased were buried with several items that maybe were important to them then or symbolized something for the afterlife. These burial mounds also had a circular ditch around them that would have been bright white before years and years of the elements would cover them in dirt and grass. One of the things that I found to be the most interesting about Stonehenge was that during Summer and/or Winter Solstice there is a rock that is off set from the circular formation in the middle and when the sun would rise during this time of year the ray of sun would shine directly over the off-set rock and beam directly through the center of the other rocks placed in the center. Very cool!!!



Then we drove about another 2 hrs. west until we reached the county of Devon or Devonshire. This part of England is just absolutely breathtaking!! My first day here Lee dropped me off at a coffee shop while he surfed. I had some things that I needed to catch up with online. When I was finished with that I wanted to find a nice quiet place with a pretty view in a park or something to write out some postcards. Walking though the tiny little village-like town that is set on a soft slope with the main streets laid out like a wish bone I sensed that the water was "this way" and followed my intuition. When I came around the corner at the top of the wishbone street the view that opened up before me took my breath away!! Maybe I was being a little naive but I honestly didn't expect something so magnificent!!! I found myself on a huge grassy cliff that overlooked the Atlantic Ocean!! To my right was miles and miles of these tremendous cliffs!! To my left below was the golden sandy beach scattered with loads of people either playing in the sand or laying in it and messing around in the water. Further left was the adjacent cliff. These cliffs are made up of dark slate and have obviously been pushed up way back by the continental shelves rubbing against each other. You can see the marks in the cliff side like the rings of a tree. The dark rocky cliffs are topped with the most perfect grassy fields. It really was something to take that all in!!! I had a lot of fun that day playing around on the man-made wall of rocks that came out like an arm protecting half of the beach from the impending ocean and walking along the cliffs barefoot in what felt like the softest grass!!! A completely amazing view!!! Truly felt like you were at the end of the world!!



Yesterday it 'lashed' or 'pissed' down rain for most of the day but we made the most of it!! We went to a small fishing village that dates back to the 1400's called Clovelly. It was set along a steep hill but again walking through this village there wasn't a spot that you didn't get an amazing view of the ocean or the cliff sides. These cliffs were completely covered in trees and thick foliage, the most amazing greens!! The best part about this fishing village is that it is one of the most preserved villages in England because of where it is located. On this steep hill the 'roads' are only small cobble stoned paths that you have to either walk in your goods or use a donkey to pull a sled-like contraption for the heavier stuff. And of course there is always getting things via the sea. At one point it was a port that the pirates used for smuggling because of it's hidden location. Very quaint and beautiful village. Charles Dickens lived there a bit as a youngster and there was a museum house that showed what life was like at those times. Very cute little place!!