Well, here we are in Devon, England at the Mill Inn. We had to cancel the first part of our plan which was a Road Scholar trip to Wales. Mary Anne managed to salvage the second part—a visit to see our friends Sally and Michael Oxlade. We have now begun a trip with them through Devon and  Cornwall. After that we plan to go to the Isles of Scilly before returning to Barton Stacey where we will spend a couple more days with Sally and Michael. 

Baton Stacey is not too far from London geographically speaking.  But there is a world of difference between London and and the village of Barton Stacey. I should explain—unlike the US which has big cities, suburbs and rural areas, England can better be described as having large cities and small villages. 

Anyway, we are here in Devon, which is mostly a collection of villages and some larger cities. 

For the most part it is countryside, and it is magnificent. When people in the States think of Britain, they think of London. This is not like London at all. There are acres and acres of rolling hills, grass and farmland. And there are plenty of sheep and some wild ponies. 

We saw quite a few sheep, cows and magnificent vistas. And that was before we had lunch at one of the surfing beaches we stopped at along the way. While we were having lunch there was a torrential downpour that lasted all of 10 minutes, and then everybody was back on the beach. 

Not a surprise, but everywhere we go there is a building, often a church, that is, round numbers, 500 to 1,000 years old. The buildings are in excellent shape. And they are magnificent.

Among other things on the way we also went to a surfing beaches, and to a lighthouse by the English Channel.

We finally made it to our hotel for the evening, which was of course, excellent. We bunked in for the night, had an excellent dinner and breakfast the next morning. Then it was on our way to Cornwall, where we will stay for a few days. 

Until next time,

JFB