Paignton

Had a substantial breakfast with reasonable coffee at the pub a couple of doors away because our pub didn’t serve breakfast. We spent a little while looking through Dorchester and bought some books and apples from the market in the pedestrian mall. We were away before 10am. We drove along minor roads, which was a good thing because we came across a tower monument to Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, He served as flag captain to Admiral Lord Nelson, and commanded HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. Nelson was shot as he paced the decks with Hardy, and as he lay dying, Nelson's famous remark of "Kiss me, Hardy" was directed at him (although these were not Nelson's last words, as is sometimes claimed). Hardy went on to reach the apex of the naval service, becoming First Naval Lord at the Admiralty in November 1830 and reaching the rank of Vice-Admiral of the Blue in January 1837.

the monument is managed by the National Trust and has only been open for a couple of weeks. We were able to climb the tower and the views were spectacular.

From there, we stuck to narrow, minor roads and ended up in Lyme Regis. We’ve been there before and although it is very touristy, it is a pretty place. The beach is stone rather than sand and there were a few people swimming.

We went on to Beer, a small fishing village with lots of tourists. The day got warmer still and we walked a little along the coastal path for a different view of the blue water.

We made a small detour to see the Babbacombe Cliff Railway, built in 1926. The track is 720 feet long and takes people up and down the cliff between the top of the Babbacombe Downs to the Oddicombe beach.

We checked into a B&B guest house and went off in search for wine and nibbly stuff for dinner. There was a beach front meeting of motorbikes this evening, and all Wednesday evenings during summer, with the “Bikers Make A Difference” group. They raise money for charity and this evening there were more than 800 bikes. We heard most of them go past our window and Gary & Rick went for a walk and looked at the bikes, very impressive.

Off tomorrow for a “round robin circular tour”, a steam train ride from Paignton to the mouth of the river Dart, a ferry across the river to Dartmouth, a boat up river to Totnes and a bus back to Paignton. We then have one of the really exciting parts of travelling, a much needed trip to the laundromat.

Forecasted temperature tomorrow is 20 degrees.