Our first week was spent here in Devon - and it couldn't have been a better choice. Amazingly child friendly and the cottage was a home from home. The kids absolutely loved being able to roam around without us constantly watching them, made friends with some of the other children, and wore themselves out swimming and playing on all the play equipment.
Burgh Island in the top left of the picture (taken from Bantham Beach)
We then spent 2 further days on Bantham beach which was really lovely. It actually looks across the bay to Bigbury, but is quite a bit larger so we were able to space ourselves out a bit from all of the other people that were also taking advantage of the glorious weather.
Bantham Beach taken from Bigbury
The children had a whale of a time building sandcastles, running in and out of the sea, jumping over waves and collecting shells with their hero of a Dad (more about this later). A boogie board was purchased so that Sam could don his new wetsuit and attempt to ride the waves. Sadly, he didn't quite get the hang of it but hey, he's only 5 !! There's plenty of time to make a surfing champ out of him yet !
Kingswear taken from the Ferry on a return trip from Dartmouth
So, on to the hero bit. Driving home from the beach one day, we were coming through a small village and heading up the hill. Suddenly there was a terrible screech of brakes followed by a very large bang. Paul looked in the rear view mirror to see the car behind us somersaulting through the air, eventually ending up on its side. The car it had hit was half in the hedge.
The panic and dread that runs through you when you see something like that is awful. Paul slammed on our own brakes, leapt out of the car and ran back down the hill. I got out of the car and ran up the hill to try and stop the oncoming traffic. When Paul reached the car, the driver was still strapped in and was conscious - she was crying and saying that she could smell smoke so Paul turned into the incredible hulk and yanked the sunroof off so that he could pull the woman out through it ! Fortunately, the car didn't go up in flames, but of course we were then worried about the lady he had pulled out and whether he might have done more damage by pulling her out and not leaving her where she was until the ambulance arrived. The couple in the other car were trapped - both cars were complete write-offs.
By this time a number of other cars had come across the accident and were all trying to help. Eventually the emergency services arrived and the fire brigade prepared to cut the roof off the the trapped couple's car so they could be rescued. The passenger was very shocked and upset, apparently she had been in a serious accident before. Then the air ambulance arrived (which was very exciting and also very windy !!)
The police took our details and said we could go. And the children slept the whole way through it all !! Good in one way because at least they didn't see the horrible mess, but sad in another because they would have loved to see the firemen and the air ambulance landing.
We received a phone call a couple of days ago from the lady Paul rescued and fortunately both she and the other couple sustained only minor injuries. She was extremely grateful to Paul for getting her out of the car and said that she didn't actually remember the accident itself, which is probably just as well. So - there you have it. My husband is officially a hero !! (well, I think so anyway)
So, back to the holiday .... our 2nd week was spent in Cornwall. Paul is a Cornishman born and bred and his family still live there. So fortunately for us, we have free accommodation whenever we visit.
Unfortunately though, the weather changed 2 days into the 2nd part of our holiday, so we only managed to visit the beach once.
The rest of the time was spent being wind and rain battered in St Ives, Flambards and Fowey.However, Paul and I did have a lovely meal at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant at Watergate Bay. We treated ourselves as it was our wedding anniversary at the beginning of July and we just hadn't had time to go out for a meal beforehand. If you haven't been to either of Jamie's restaurants, I can highly recommend them. Whilst I haven't visited his London restaurant, the Cornwall one was fantastic. The service was great and the food absolutely gorgeous. The setting of the restaurant is amazing - set into the side of a cliff overlooking Watergate Bay, the whole front of the restaurant has sliding glass doors that completely fold back so that you feel as though you're actually sitting on the beach. Fortunately, the rain had stopped so were were lucky enough to have a table right at the front of the restaurant and watched the surfers in the sea until almost 10pm. A really lovely evening !!
Sadly, the bad weather resulted in us cutting our holiday short by a day. But, once we got back to Essex the glorious weather was still here, so we could continue our holiday, at home, in our own pool !
It was so lovely to have almost 2 whole weeks to spend with the family and not feel that I had to keep going off to check emails and put orders together. To actually be able to sit outside with a glass of wine and read a book, or just veg out in front of the telly of an evening and not be crouched on the living room floor putting together orders was a real treat.
Of course, being back home means that everything is now back to normal and I'll be spending the best part of the weekend making up the orders that came in whilst I was away. Still, I really shouldn't complain. I'm very lucky to have such a lovely little business and to be able to work from home.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend !
2 comments:
What a fab holiday. I was in Dartmouth last weekend on my girlie sailing holiday. I sooo love that town but, given the choice, would live in Kingswear. That way you get the prettier view across to Dartmouth, you get less tourists traipsing around and you get the evening sun shining on your side of the river (not that I've given it careful consideration or anything).
I just hope we get the glorious sunny weather next week when we are in Cornwall. Which Cornish beach is that? You didn't say.
And a huge pat on the back for your chap. The folks involved in the crash were so lucky that no serious injuries were sustained and that helpful people were driving just ahead of them. Some wouldn't have been as kind as you and stopped to help.
Hi Ethel (or is it Edna - I never know !!) Thanks for your lovely comments. The beach in Cornwall was Hayle. It's 3 miles long so there's plenty of room for everyone ! Lucky you sailing in Dartmouth - I really love the town too. If I could move to the South Hams area of Devon, I'd be there like a shot !!! It's such a beautiful place - typically English !! Sarah x
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