1982 - Home Leave to England - Devon

Monday August 16, 1982 – Truro

An overcast day with a bit of rain here and there. We had a darned good breakfast before setting off on our journey. We had chosen a Bed ‘n’ Breakfast establishment for our night in Exmouth and the Haines (our landlords) were very pleasant. At £6.00 a head we thought it was very good value. Matt loved the house which was a large semi-detached one and thought the whole experience was great fun.

After a couple of false starts we found our way to the coast road and made our way down the road through a number of very pretty towns including Torquay and Torbay. We were grateful for the fact that the day was not too pleasant – the traffic must be hellish on a hot day over a Bank Holiday weekend!

 

The view from our lunch stop

We got to the Dartmouth ferry at about lunchtime and joined a queue of cars that was gradually inching its way forward. We had no idea how long the line was until we finally reached a place with a placard which indicated that you could expect a delay of up to one hour from that spot. We found later that delay was the one expected when two ferries were running but as one was out of order, we could expect a delay of up to two hours. On the strength of that information we pulled out of the line and went to a very nice local hotel – The Redoubt – and had an excellent Ploughman’s lunch for £5.00 all in. The hotel was at the top of a hill opposite Dartmouth College and the views were magnificent. It would be lovely to spend a couple of days there but for the proprietor who can only be described as a wanker. He reminded us of Basil Fawlty but without the humour.

Polperro transport

Rab dozed off in the afternoon much to Matt’s chagrin as he was navigating and felt he should occupy the co-pilot seat in front. We by-passed Plymouth on the A30 and wended our way through the beautiful countryside to Polperro. Rab had fond memories of the place from a previous visit, but that was before it was so commercialised. It is still a very pretty place but the souvenir and other shops tend to detract a little in much the same way as power lines detract from a landscape.

 

Polperro

The Smugglers’ Museum at Polperro was interesting and then we headed for Truro where we had fish and chips and found a bed and breakfast for the night.

Tuesday August 17, 1982 – Yelland

Last night’s B ‘n’ B accommodation was not as good as the night before. Matt and Rab were crammed into one room with wall to wall beds and I had to go next door to sleep there. The breakfast was very nice and gave us a solid base to start the day. Based on this experience, though, Rab decided that tonight we should stay in a pub or hotel.

 

St Michaels Mount

We set off in a slight shower, bright and early at about 08.15. our first port of call was St Michaels Mount. Thank goodness that had not been spoiled by commercialism. We had hoped to drive over to the castle as the tide was low, but no such luck – and we didn’t have the time to walk there and back.

A Furry Dance??

On we went, by-passing Penzance and on to  Mousehole – which we learned was pronounce Mowzzle. Again a very lovely little place. There were a fair number of souvenir shops, but nothing like those packed into Polperro, probably because there just isn’t much room for anything in Mousehole. We finally managed to get our  Devon Cream Tea at Pam’s Place and it was, as advertised, very good indeed. The clotted cream was excellent and even Matt ate his.

 

Matt and me at the end of Britain mainland

Leaving Mousehole we made for Lands End but due to navigational errors on the part of the co-pilot we landed up (a) going through Penzance and (b) heading for St Ives. Matt took over the map, as navigator, and did a first class job of guiding us around Penzance through some very narrow lanes. My only regret was that we didn’t get to Ding Dong, a nearby destination. We finally made it to Lands End which again was very commercial. We laughed at all the Poms flocking like sheep into a large car park about a mile from Lands End at 25p while we drove on to the car park at the end of the road which was half empty and only 15p more. We thought it was meanness which made them park there, but as later events showed, it was just stupidity or the herd mentality.

We left about 13.30 having had our photo taken under the famous sign post and headed back to St Ives, stopping at a funny little pub for lunch. I had smoked mackerel, Matt had a Ploughman’s and Rab the crab salad – with drinks about £6.00 and good value. The road from there to St Ives was very narrow and we were held up several times as coaches and cars competed for road space. We finally got on to the A30/A39 which was pretty good most of the way and headed for Tintagel to see the ruins of the castle where, so it is said (probably by the tourist industry) King Arthur held court. Once again the Gadarene swine were filling the car park on the outskirts at 40p while we were able to park for 30p right in town. We were taken down to the castle by Landrover and walked back after a quick look around the ruins since it was getting late. Matt was most impressed.

In terms of the decision taken regarding accommodation, we tried a hotel -  The Commodore at Bideford. Thank goodness they didn’t have a room as that would have cost an arm and a leg. They suggested The Imperial at Barnstable, so we shot off there passing many attractive looking pubs and B ‘n’ B establishments on the way. Our trip was to no avail. The Imperial too was full. Onwards – to the North Devon Motel – full. Time now about 20.45 and it is getting dark. On to the Ulfracombe Road Motel – success! BUT – ghastly hotel costing £45.50 making it the most expensive hotel of the trip.

Back tracked with numerous rejections until we finally secured a room at the Fox and Hounds. Very small pub right on the A39. there are allegedly two other guests, but they have not been sighted. The family lives upstairs and also cooks there for the restaurant. Hope closing time is at a reasonable hour. At £19.00 it is a little more than the Haines, but not in the same condition!