We had a couple of days left in Salcolme, so first we set off for Bolt Head which is an old RAF radar base on a headland near to our campsite. It was a lovely sunny day when we set off and then we walked through a hailstorm! This soon passed over and the sun returned and we saw some Dartmoor ponies who were very interested in us and a couple had a bit of fuss. Then onto the headland where the view was fantastic. 
We then headed to Paignton and onto the red sandy beach with the dogs. The beach was the busiest we have seen so far and there were loads of dogs playing, walked along the beach to the rock pools at the end by the sandy Jurassic cliffs where there was a large pool which we ‘encourgaged’ Prince to jump in (gave him a helpful push!) and he did lots of swimming back and forth, he’s not too keen on swimming in salt water but has a go! Then we walked back to the Pier and had a walk to the end of it, you had to walk through the amusement arcade and it was heaving with people, seemed a very strange place to be on a lovely sunny day!
Next day we decided to go to Kingsbridge for a little look round. It was a lovely little town with lots of local shops (butchers, bakers, deli) it seems to have been unspoilt so far by any supermarkets, it even has a small cinema on the high street where we spotted a film we liked the look of (Up In The Air – George Clooney) so we bought some tickets for later! We had a little trot around its small harbour before putting the dogs into the car and heading for a little café//restaurant called The Old Bakery which we saw had wifi. When we went in there was no-one around and just as we were wondering about going upstairs a man popped up behind the bar. He turned out to be the owner and asked us what we’d like, we said a pot of tea and some cake and he was very enthusiastic about his home made cake selection (it was justified enthusiasm, yummy). So we had tea, cake and downloaded some tv on his wifi, a highly recommended restaurant! We headed back to the van and stopped on the way at Hope Cove a beautiful little village with a small cove beach, we had a little walk up the coast path to get a better view of the setting sun, and discovered that we could even see the Eddystone lighthouse 18 m
iles out at sea! Later on we went back to Kingsbridge for the film, we went through to our screen and there was no-one there! So we picked some seats in the middle of the small cinema. Only 2 other couples arrived before the film started, it was a great film and you could even hear the whirr of the reel behind you from the projection box!
The next day we moved on to our next site, Abbey Gate Farm in Axminster. The site itself was great, a hardcore drive and 2 hardstanding pitches which looked relatively new, and a great view from the front of the van! Once pitched we set off for a little saunter into Axminster down the footpaths and lanes, it’s a nice little town with quite a few shops and a large church at its centre.
Next day we went to the Donkey Sanctuary by Sidmouth, the Sanctuary was first opened in 1973 by Dr Elisabeth Svendsen who was left 204 donkeys as part of a legacy, the sanctuary has since nurtured over 12,500 donkeys and currently has over 400 on site. It is a great tourist attraction with a vast area open to walk around in, play area, a café and gift shop. It’s free to get in and they just ask for a donation.
When we arrived we went to see the adopted donkeys before heading out on one of the walks, we stumbled upon a hedgerow maze which we spent a bit of time getting lost in before continuing on our walk around the fields. At this time of the year the donkeys are mainly indoors, but we did see quite a few in their barns, and as we headed back to the centre we were allowed into one of the barns to get a closer look and meet the donkeys face to face. We then headed back to Tonks, on the way back through Sidmouth we stopped for a look around. Nice town with some great local produce (which we sampled) and a pebble beach. We then drove into 
Beer to have a look around. A lot of the shops seemed to be closed on Mondays, but it has a lovely village centre with a brook running alongside the pavement through the village and down to the sea. The beach is a steep pebble beach and we saw about a dozen fishing boats parked up on the top of the beach, there is also lo
ts of beach huts which we presumed were mainly used by the fishermen. As we walked down the beach to the waters edge the noise was amazing as the sea crashed against the pebbles smashing them up the beach then dragging them down again. On the way back to the car we spotted that The Anchor allowed dogs, so we popped in for a pint, had a very warm welcome from the barman so we sat by the fire and he even brought the dogs some water. We then headed over to Seaton on the way back, where we had a little walk through the town and down to the sea front, over the sea defence onto the pebble beach.
We woke up to heavy rain the next morning and Phil refused to get up! When we finally did we just sat in the van drinking tea for a bit listening to the rain on the roof, Phil decided to stay in the van which was a wise move as he was still happy when Linda got back from Lyme Regis with
the dogs, she had given up on trying to get Phil out of the van so went on her own! Lyme Regis was a nice little town with small local shops, the beaches allowed dogs but only on leads so not over good for dogs. Walked to the east beach as the signs said that was ok for dogs but the beach was out of bounds because of a landslide in 2008, so back to the centre and then walked west past the beach huts to The Cobb which is the harbour. Then walked back to Tonks through the Jane Austen gardens.
The next day we decided to move on again, only an hours drive down the road we arrived at a campsite in Wareham forest. We pitched up and then took the dogs for a walk in the forest, Prince got filthy (again!) and the pair of them spotted a deer in the woods and shot off after it. Prince came back pretty quick, but Smudge was on a mission! After a lot of shouting and heart palpitations she finally strolled back, out of breath and looking very pleased with herself. In the forest we also spotted some signs for a car rally which will be passing through on Saturday, so there may be a chance for us to get a free glimpse!
We then headed to Paignton and onto the red sandy beach with the dogs. The beach was the busiest we have seen so far and there were loads of dogs playing, walked along the beach to the rock pools at the end by the sandy Jurassic cliffs where there was a large pool which we ‘encourgaged’ Prince to jump in (gave him a helpful push!) and he did lots of swimming back and forth, he’s not too keen on swimming in salt water but has a go! Then we walked back to the Pier and had a walk to the end of it, you had to walk through the amusement arcade and it was heaving with people, seemed a very strange place to be on a lovely sunny day!
Then we set off for a look at Torquay, we parked up a hill past the harbour and walked back past a place with huge nets up in the air and when we looked over the wall there were penguins there, it was an attraction called the Living Coast, which looked very impressive from above. We had a mooch around the harbour and looked at all the posh boats , then past the Pavilion which is a lovely ornate building which houses some shops and coffee shops and around the other side of the harbour where we bought an ice cream ( who cares its winter – its sunny!)
Next day we decided to go to Kingsbridge for a little look round. It was a lovely little town with lots of local shops (butchers, bakers, deli) it seems to have been unspoilt so far by any supermarkets, it even has a small cinema on the high street where we spotted a film we liked the look of (Up In The Air – George Clooney) so we bought some tickets for later! We had a little trot around its small harbour before putting the dogs into the car and heading for a little café//restaurant called The Old Bakery which we saw had wifi. When we went in there was no-one around and just as we were wondering about going upstairs a man popped up behind the bar. He turned out to be the owner and asked us what we’d like, we said a pot of tea and some cake and he was very enthusiastic about his home made cake selection (it was justified enthusiasm, yummy). So we had tea, cake and downloaded some tv on his wifi, a highly recommended restaurant! We headed back to the van and stopped on the way at Hope Cove a beautiful little village with a small cove beach, we had a little walk up the coast path to get a better view of the setting sun, and discovered that we could even see the Eddystone lighthouse 18 m
iles out at sea! Later on we went back to Kingsbridge for the film, we went through to our screen and there was no-one there! So we picked some seats in the middle of the small cinema. Only 2 other couples arrived before the film started, it was a great film and you could even hear the whirr of the reel behind you from the projection box!The next day we moved on to our next site, Abbey Gate Farm in Axminster. The site itself was great, a hardcore drive and 2 hardstanding pitches which looked relatively new, and a great view from the front of the van! Once pitched we set off for a little saunter into Axminster down the footpaths and lanes, it’s a nice little town with quite a few shops and a large church at its centre.
Next day we went to the Donkey Sanctuary by Sidmouth, the Sanctuary was first opened in 1973 by Dr Elisabeth Svendsen who was left 204 donkeys as part of a legacy, the sanctuary has since nurtured over 12,500 donkeys and currently has over 400 on site. It is a great tourist attraction with a vast area open to walk around in, play area, a café and gift shop. It’s free to get in and they just ask for a donation.
When we arrived we went to see the adopted donkeys before heading out on one of the walks, we stumbled upon a hedgerow maze which we spent a bit of time getting lost in before continuing on our walk around the fields. At this time of the year the donkeys are mainly indoors, but we did see quite a few in their barns, and as we headed back to the centre we were allowed into one of the barns to get a closer look and meet the donkeys face to face. We then headed back to Tonks, on the way back through Sidmouth we stopped for a look around. Nice town with some great local produce (which we sampled) and a pebble beach. We then drove into 
Beer to have a look around. A lot of the shops seemed to be closed on Mondays, but it has a lovely village centre with a brook running alongside the pavement through the village and down to the sea. The beach is a steep pebble beach and we saw about a dozen fishing boats parked up on the top of the beach, there is also lo
ts of beach huts which we presumed were mainly used by the fishermen. As we walked down the beach to the waters edge the noise was amazing as the sea crashed against the pebbles smashing them up the beach then dragging them down again. On the way back to the car we spotted that The Anchor allowed dogs, so we popped in for a pint, had a very warm welcome from the barman so we sat by the fire and he even brought the dogs some water. We then headed over to Seaton on the way back, where we had a little walk through the town and down to the sea front, over the sea defence onto the pebble beach.We woke up to heavy rain the next morning and Phil refused to get up! When we finally did we just sat in the van drinking tea for a bit listening to the rain on the roof, Phil decided to stay in the van which was a wise move as he was still happy when Linda got back from Lyme Regis with
the dogs, she had given up on trying to get Phil out of the van so went on her own! Lyme Regis was a nice little town with small local shops, the beaches allowed dogs but only on leads so not over good for dogs. Walked to the east beach as the signs said that was ok for dogs but the beach was out of bounds because of a landslide in 2008, so back to the centre and then walked west past the beach huts to The Cobb which is the harbour. Then walked back to Tonks through the Jane Austen gardens.The next day we decided to move on again, only an hours drive down the road we arrived at a campsite in Wareham forest. We pitched up and then took the dogs for a walk in the forest, Prince got filthy (again!) and the pair of them spotted a deer in the woods and shot off after it. Prince came back pretty quick, but Smudge was on a mission! After a lot of shouting and heart palpitations she finally strolled back, out of breath and looking very pleased with herself. In the forest we also spotted some signs for a car rally which will be passing through on Saturday, so there may be a chance for us to get a free glimpse!
Hello Both, Looks like you are having a great time. It's lovely to see the photos and read about where you've been. I bet the dogs think all their birthdays have come at once!!! Floss and Nell very jealous!!! Jane
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