Storm damage at Mount Batten

We have weeks of storms and heavy seas, including last night.  Today it was dry so we thought we would go for a walk around Mount Batten.  As we walked along by the river we were surprised to see the damage that has been caused by the sea.  Stones had been flung from the river onto the path.  Paving stones on the path beside the water had been taken up and flung across the grass.

The wall around the seating area of the Mount Batten Inn had been damaged and men were making it safe.  The gangway to the ferry pontoon had also been damaged and the ferry was docking further up the river.

It was amazing that there was so much damage in what is a relatively sheltered spot, in the lee of  Mount Batten  and within in the breakwater.

Saltram snowdrops

For once it wasn't raining so we went for a quick walk at Saltram.  I particularly wanted to see the snowdrops that I anticipated would be out by now.  And I was not disappointed.  As soon as we entered the gardens we saw the snowdrops that had been planted in the first flower bed during the last year.

There were also snowdrops around several of the trees and at the side of the Lime Walk and other beds in the gardens.

There were also other  flowers out showing that Spring was on the way.  An occasional daffodil was in flower, although most were still in bud and and there were some primroses peeping through.  Crocuses  were showing their colour but not fully out.  Amongst some of the beds of snowdrops there were aconites.

There were also shrubs and trees in blossom adding to the colour in the garden that brightened the day.

Azelia

Camelia

Witch Hazel

 Having walked around the gardens we decided to walk down to Snowdrop Wood in the grounds on the Boundary Walk towards Marsh Mills.  On the way we saw a new signpost which was a very interesting design.

 There were a lot of wild snowdrops in the area of Snowdrop Wood.

Shaugh Bridge

It had been raining nearly every day for over a month.  It was a showery day today, but we wanted to get out for a breath of fresh air.  Last week we had taken my mum to Ivybridge and walked up the River Erme from the viaduct.  The river was spectacular as it rushed over boulders.  Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me so we decided to go to see what another river was looking like.  Today we chose to go to Shaugh Bridge where the rivers Meavy and Plym meet.  The sight did not disappoint us.

Dawlish to Dawlish Warren

It was a sunny January day.  I wanted to go shopping in Newton Abbott, but the weather was too good to spend all day indoors, so we decided to catch the train to Dawlish and have a walk along the South West Coast Path to Dawlish Warren before catching the train back to Newton Abbott for shopping.

There were stones and sand on the path showing the sea had been over the sea wall in the recent storm but today we could walk along in the dry, admiring the calm sea on one side and the trains going along on the other side.  The views were beautiful as we looked down the Jurrassic coast.

The cliffs were red as vegetation has slipped recently.  Men were working on one section and another part looked precarious with water flowing down the cliff.  There were some interesting shapes in the cliff face where earth had been worn away.

Plym Bridge in Winter

There has been a lot of rain recently and so we thought we would see how the River Plym was flowing at Plym Bridge.  We parked on the Estover side of the river and started by looking at the river by the bridge.  Although it was flowing fast, we were surprised that it was not that deep under the bridge.

We started to walk up the river and although the ground was flooded in places the river had not broken its banks.  There was a lot of water flowing into the river from the surrounding ground, making waterfalls.

At times there was white water as the river flowed over boulders, completely submerging them, but it was nothing special until we came until the weir, just past Cann viaduct.  The water flowing over this gave a  spectacular sight.

Being winter there was not much to see in the way of flora or fauna, but we did notice some catkins by the Cann Viaduct - the first signs of spring.

Cothele Christmas Garland

The Christmas garland that decorates the Hall at Cothele is famous and each year we go to see it.  This year the good weather meant they had more flowers to use in making the garland so it was larger than usual and they had decorated around one door in the same manner.  It was even more impressive than usual.

Our visit was further enhanced by there being a talk from one of the gardening staff about how the garland is made.  This was really interesting. It is amazing how much time is spent growing and preparing the flowers for the garland all through the year. We saw the rope that is at the base of the garland and she showed us how they attach bunches of pettisporan using wire and a long instrument (like used for rug making)

There was also a display showing the flowers that were in the garland.

As usual the walls of the Hall were decorated with beech twigs and the doors were framed with Christmas foliage and a fire was burning in the hearth.  It all made for a very attractive Christmas room.

Even outside the Hall there was colour brightening the day -  a border of irises.

After viewing the garland we had a quick look around the gardens where there was still some autumn colour, then walked down through the Valley Garden to the Chapel in the Wood and onto the Quay.  From there we walked up till nearly the mill before climbing up the hill back to the House.

Cremyll to Cawsand

It was a bright sunny day so we thought we would do a walk along the South West Coast Path. We have often  done the part of the walk that goes through Mount Edgecumbe Park but not all the way to Cawsand.  Looking back on this blog I see that it was 28 February 2013 when we last did the whole stretch, just a couple of weeks after moving to Plymouth.

We parked the car at Devils Point and took the South West Coast Path through the Royal William Yard to Admirals Hard where we caught the ferry to Cremyll.  Although there has been rain lately the path was not too muddy.  It was not too hard a walk until we got to the steps.  Usually we go up one flight of steps then turn back to Cremyll, but this time we had to continue to the top and it was a hard slog.  However, once we had conquered them it was easy walking all the way.

Twice on the way we saw deer but they ran away before I could photograph them.  There were still some leaves on the trees, but not many and not much autumn colour.  The views out to the Sound, however, were beautiful.

View to the Breakwater and Mew Stone

The walk is about 4 miles and we were surprised how quickly we saw the villages of Kingsand and Cawsand.  At this point we stopped for lunch on a bench looking out to sea with the sun shining on us.  It was really warm for the last day of November.

Kingsand and Cawsand

Walking through the narrow streets of Kingsand we were charmed by the quaint old cottages. We noted that the car park in this village was £1 for 6 hours.  I am sure this is a winter rate, but worth remembering if we want to come in this direction by car.

View through a garden gate, Cawsand

Cawsand was in shadow and a little chilly so we decided not to linger but catch the next bus back to Cremyll.  Fortunately we only had a couple of minutes to wait,  The bus ride itself was very pretty with views over woods and fields to Millbrook and across to Plymouth.  The tamar bridges stood out in the sun. The bus links with the ferry so we were soon back home.