Gothic Victorians And Medieval Walls

Today we left De.von and headed into Cornw.all.

At our first destination GreatGrandma helped McColley read about all the things he and Brayton would be able to do during our visit:

We then walked through a field (and down another hill) to find Lanh.ydrock:

We arrived about a half an hour before the house opened so we did the kids' treasure hunt through the gardens first:

The boys took a mid-treasure hunt break to play a little lawn tennis:

And ride a hobby horse. Pearson also made a friend:

Then it was back on the hunt where one of the things we found was a place to take a full family photo:

The last clue was outside the thatched cottage. We took a look inside and the boys got to design their own parterre garden:

Then it was through the garden gate and down to the stable yard:

While we waited for the restaurant to open for lunch the boys went and got their prizes for completing the treasure hunt:

After a lovely lunch it was time to walk through the stone arch and wander around the mansion:

In the warming room the boys attempted to fold a fancy napkin:

Then in the estate office we shocked the boys with some old technology:

Grandpa held a class on how to get the ball in the cup in the nursery wing school room:

And then McColley got to look gentlemanly in the livery room:

After our jaunt through the 1890's it was time to travel back a few hundred years and check out Restorm.el Castle:

B and the boys headed straight up the stairs once we got inside the keep:

Sir McColley and Sir Brayton defended the castle from the invading sheep army:

Down below Grandma, Grandpa and GreatGrandma checked out the very well preserved rooms:

Since we were all Cougar-ific we took a quick family picture before heading home:

South To The Sands

It was another amazingly beautiful day so we did the obvious thing and went to the beach!

We headed south to the Brit.ish Riv.iera - more specifically Go.odrington Sands in P.aignton:

Grandma and Grandpa bought a sunscreen and we staked our spot on the beach to build sand castles:

GreatGrandma taught McColley how to beachcomb for rocks:

He got so involved in his beachcombing that he didn't see a big wave until it hit him in the face!

We decided to give Pearson one more chance to put his feet in the water... he still didn't like it:

McColley was only tempted away from his beachcombing by the chance to jump some waves:

Despite earlier reticence towards the water, seeing his big brother jump waves convinced Brayton to give it a try too:

When our parking time ran out we left the beach and drove to Ca.leton Fishacr.e:

We couldn't take pictures inside the Art Deco house (which was really cool).

We took a short break in the shade after our house tour and let Pearson put his feet on the cobblestones:

Rested by the shade we wandered back out into the sun to explore the gardens. The boys got the chance to do some pond scimming:

Brayton caught something in his net first and Daddy helped him figure out what it was:

Then we continued down the garden path... which was a giant hill... of course:

Tired of the main path, B decided to lead us off into the jungle:

After a few turns there was a bit of confusion (and argumentation) about where we were:

Luckily we found our way back to the visitor's center and celebrated with ice cream:

Climbing To The Sea

Today we decided to head north and hit one of the major tourist attractions of North Devon - Clovel.ly village.

Cl.ovelly is built onto a cliff and its High Street runs from the top of the cliff to the bottom:

The whole village is owned by one family who keeps it up to 18th Century standard by using traditional building techniques. While the whole village is a tourist attraction there are a few homes that are set aside as museums.

We had fun poking around the Fisherman's House Museum:

After having lunch and wandering around the upper half of the village we began our journey all the way down to the water:

We made it all the way down and then out to the end of the quay:

The boys asked to climb up to the second story of the quay so they could get a look out to sea:

B, Pearson and I decided to walk back up to the top while everyone else took the cheaters' way - a Land Rover. We can truly say we conquered the Clove.lly Steps!

Since the sun was still shining bright we headed down the coast a bit farther to Ba.ggy Poin.t near Cr.oyde:

It was so beautiful that we decided to walk out to the water... which proved a bit more difficult than anticipated:

Eventually we figured out that it was just easier to take off our shoes and walk through the water:

Since we had worked so hard to make it out to the sandy part of the beach we had to all put our toes in the 'official' Bay:

South West To Devon

After our local adventures on Friday we had plans to drive down to Devon on Saturday... and then I got terribly ill... and so did McColley.

So on Saturday B drove Grandma, Grandpa and Brayton down to our rental cottage in Devon while Pearson, McColley, GreatGrandma and I stayed at home for an extra day.

Finally on Sunday our whole group managed to get to the cottage.

Brayton and Grandma had a great time showing McColley how to 'play' snooker:

Today most of us were feeling well enough to do some sightseeing (unfortunately B was the last one affected so he stayed at the cabin).

We decided to go to Okeh.ampton Castle first:

Grandma helped prep the boys for wandering around by reading them a book about castles at the entrance:

We then all got audio guides and climbed into the castle ruins:

We found the three room kitchen quite interesting:

We climbed all the way up to the keep to check out the oldest section of the castle:

Then it was back down the hill where Brayton took our group photo:

Before leaving the boys got a few toys... and took the opportunity to try and beseige the castle:

We left the castle and picked up some picnic food on our way out of town.  Our next stop was -

It was a beautiful spot for a picnic:

The Foundry is the last still operational water powered foundry in the country. The boys had a few puzzles to solve in the display section:

We had one good, tired worker:

And one upset striking worker:

Before we left we got to see a blacksmith make a snail (similar to the one GreatGrandma had bought in the gift shop):