Over the Dart to Kingswear

This morning it still wasn't clear how much rain we were going to have, but we decided not to take a River Dart cruise in case it rained the whole time. We followed John and Prue's advice and decided to drive across the countryside to the pretty little riverside village of Dittisham, near Dartmouth. The lanes were steep and narrow, and I lost count of the number of times we encountered a fully loaded haywain, and had to reverse. The hay bales that had been drying in the fields were being brought in to barns as fast as possible, as the weather had turned from merely wet to dreadful.

At Dittisham, we parked up, walked down a very steep lane to the ferry, and waited. A woman and her dog rang the bell for the ferry, but it didn't come. It began to rain so hard that we had no option but to dive in to the nearby pub. Once we had drinks in our hands, lightning began to strike. This did not bode well for the rest of the day.

Finally, the ferry (an open rowing boat with an outboard motor) arrived and we crossed the river to Greenway pier, the landing stage for Greenway house, the English crime writer Agatha Christie's holiday home.A long and soggy walk through dripping woodlands ensued, during which I rejoiced in having exchanged my flip flops for walking boots before leaving the car.

The house itself was under scaffolding, which made it rather dark inside. Although I liked the Georgian house and its proportions, I could not love the furnishings, which were heavy and conventional. I think the house was acquired by Agatha and her second husband, Max, in the later 1930s.They bought the house and extensive grounds for six thousand pounds, and had only just succeeded in restoring it to its Georgian glory when the second world war broke out. Greenway was requisitioned, and the US Navy moved in. One of the interesting pieces of 'graffitti' they left behind was a decorative frieze around the walls of the library, showing a sailor's journey on his boat from Galveston, Tx, to Dartmouth, and on dangerous missions around Europe, while practising for the D-Day Landings. Agatha kept this frieze in situ once the house was returned to her posession after the war. It was, she said, history.

One of my strangest discoveries was in the dining room, where the table was set for dinner, but, instead of a wine glass. a cream jug was set out for the teetotal Agatha. While the other guests enjoyed drinking wine, the famous author drank 'neat' double cream. Revolting! I discovered, too, that Agatha had worked as a pharmacist during world war I, and that had given her a good knowledge of poisons, which she used to great effect in her novels.She had also trained as a concert pianist, but shyness held her back. Finally, she and her husband Max Mallowan, an archeologist, never travelled, even to Syria, without their enormous rectangular loo seat, made of mahogany!

Later, we took the ferry back to Dittisham, and carried on down to Dartmouth and took the car ferry (again) over to Kingswear. We could have driven to Paignton, our ultimate destination, by heading back up river and thus avoiding another ferry journey, but that would have taken far longer. Besides, I'm a sucker for ferries!

This shot was taken in Dartmouth, looking out over the village of Kingswear, while we waited for the boat.

We checked in to our room in Paignton, a large town on the so-called English Riviera, which has palm trees and some elegant 1920s/30s architecture, but, like its neighbour Torquay, seen better days. Soon afterwards, we headed out to Brixham, the final and most charming Riviera town, a thriving fishing port. There we ate the best fish and chips ever (I had a whole lemon sole!) and chatted to another couple about why they'd decided to move to Devon. CleanSteve and I both have family connections in South Devon, though mine go way, way back. Nevertheless, it's a place where I feel instantly at home, and always have done. Maybe it's because it's in the gulf stream and is similar to the West Highlands, only with more money, cider and West Country accents!

I have back-blipped Thursday's shot, if you want to find out how or why I am now in Devon, not Cornwall!