Ice Cream & a Paddle

Hi there everyone 😀

We are currently tucked up in the lodge in North Wales being buffeted by storm Debi and it seems a long time ago now … but back at the beginning of September we had a glorious warm sunny day and I just had a craving for ice cream and paddling. 

There was only one place near enough that would fit the bill so we jumped in the car and headed for Milldale in The Peak District. 

About an hour later and we were parked up by the river in Milldale marvelling at the feathery cloud formations above …

Milldale is a lovely little Peak District village. It’s sits right beside the River Dove with just a few pretty stone cottages …

… including Polly’s Cottage … which does the best ice cream ever …

We soon found a bench with a view and availed ourselves of Polly’s services …

You can paddle here but it’s a bit of steep step down into the water so we just had a very short walk over the Viator’s Bridge …

… and back again …

… before heading for my favourite spot for paddling at Wetton Mill …

It’s another lovely little spot … this time on the River Manifold. There’s a very nice cafe with seating by the river which has been a very welcome resting spot over the years …

The last time I went here for a paddle I went into the river on the far side of the bridge and paddled under the bridge and right along to the slope in front of the cafe. This time I was feeling less confident and the steep step down to the river and rocky river bed made me very cautious. I literally just had a quick dip of my toes in by the slope … I must be getting old …

Disappointed with my paddling attempts so far there was only one thing for it … the ford … assuming there was any water in it. I got lucky …

Having now ticked everything off of my ‘to do’ list there was just one more stop off we needed to make before heading for home …

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Exploring :: Marwood Hill Gardens & Arlington Court

Hi there everyone 😀

The day after Rachel & Tom’s wedding was a nice quiet one started off with a brunch of wedding night pasties …

We spent the afternoon having a wander around Ilfracombe having a bit of a closer look at the harbour …

… and Verity …

We ended our lazy day with fish and chips in The Dolphin. 

The following day was the last full day of our holiday and we had a big day out … starting with a visit to Marwood Hill Gardens …

It’s only a fairly small garden but we managed to spend a lovely hour or so having a wander in the sunshine …

Though we did resist making any impromptu purchases … there was a very impressive plant sales area housed in the walled part of the garden …

One thing we didn’t resist was the cafe, where we had a very welcome stop for lunch …

After we’d finished in the garden it felt too early to head back and we ended up at Arlington Court, a National Trust property that was kind of on our way back. 

As it was quite late on in the afternoon it was a bit of a whistle stop tour but we managed to see the stables and the carriage collection …

… the house …

… and have a quick look round the gardens …

It had been a lovely day but it was time to head back to our old sea captain’s house by the sea … to get packed up ready for the trip back home the following morning. 

Whilst I have to be honest and say I’d been a just a little bit dubious about what to expect from a week in Ilfracombe for the August Bank Holiday week … we actually had a really good week. It had been lovely to spend time in Bude with the family for a few days, to share Rach and Tom’s wedding day and to explore somewhere new … whilst staying in a property with the most fabulous of views. 

It will just be North Wales for us now for the rest of the year but it had definitely been good to see somewhere else for a bit of a change 😀

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A Seaside Wedding

Hi there everyone 😀

On the day of Rachel and Tom’s wedding we woke up to blue sky, fluffy clouds and some sunshine …

We had a leisurely get up and started the day with a decent breakfast …

We were soon ready for the off, with time for a selfie with a view before jumping in a taxi to head for The Tunnels …

It was only a short drive and we managed to catch a glimpse of Erin, looking like an angel in her flower girl dress as we made our way down to the terrace where the wedding was to take place …

It all looked beautiful and as we were some of the first guests to arrive we got to take plenty of photos …

We were soon all seated waiting for the bridal party to arrive. We didn’t take any photos during the ceremony but it was just lovely. Emma and Erin did fabulously as flower girls, the bridesmaids looked lovely and Rachel looked absolutely stunning. 

It was a beautiful ceremony and it was so lovely to finally get to see Rachel and Tom tie the knot in the most beautiful of settings, with all their close friends and family, on a lovely summer’s day. 

We celebrated with Pimms and scones with cream and jam … the Devon way …

… and plenty of photos …

After plenty of time chilling and chatting in the sunshine we moved upstairs for the wedding breakfast …

The room looked lovely, with fabulous views over the sea. We were soon all seated and tucking into plenty of tasty food, followed by a scrummy dessert …

It was then time for speeches, which brought a tear to my eye and plenty of laughter … before moving back outside for Rachel and Tom’s first dance as husband and wife …

We spent the evening just generally chatting and watching what was going on … and I realised I hadn’t actually taken a photo of Rach with her mum and dad …

The evening ended with pasties, which I was just too full to eat, so we wrapped a few up to take for our lunch the following day …

Phil made a good effort though and provided one of my favourite photos of the day …

We eventually said our good byes and headed for home. It had been the perfect day and so lovely to have been part of it. 

We woke the next morning to flowers on our doorstep …

… and pasties for breakfast …

Later that evening we had a bit of a drive round Ilfracombe and came across this view of The Tunnels from above … with another wedding in full flow …

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