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November 2, 2022

Travelling corner: My summer 2022 in South Devon, UK

I know it’s already November but I still dwell on our travels in summer 2022. It was our second trip as a family of 5, so still a big adventure for us all. Also, at that time, I really felt I needed a break from our daily routine, so we decided to make the most of the summery weather and we headed to South Devon.

Little Dartmouth and Dartmouth

We decided to stay near Dartmouth, a river-side town. We recently enjoyed coming back to places we visited in the past. This time, we even started our trip with the exact same location. We parked our car in the Little Dartmouth car park and went for a walk. However, this time we took a different direction (but to the same final destination, as the routes link together later on) and we went towards Dartmouth and its castle.

Dartmouth Castle

The walk from the car park is not very strenuous, but the last part is very steep. You can also come by boat / car. The castle is beautifully located, just on the banks of the river Dart with the views over the river and Dartmouth town. I really enjoyed climbing the tower and visiting the medieval church of St Petrox. My children loved the little café next to the castle, as they had ice-cream (!). So we finished our castle trip sitting with our treats, and enjoying the river views…

Greenway House

That was an unexpected day trip! In our summer chalet, we were going through the local leaflets and we found a picture of a beautiful house. It turned out it was the summer house of Agatha Christie, aka my favourite author in my late-teens. That trip was the cherry (icing on the cake?) of our stay in Devon. Our little trip started with a boat ride from Dartmouth to Greenway House, or as Agatha called it, ‘the loveliest place in the world’. The summer house is a beautiful white building with a rich collection of items inside (apparently the family enjoyed collecting things and they collected cca  (what does this mean? About?) 12,000 of them!). Also, I could spot books in all the rooms I’ve been to (including the toilet!). Outdoors, we went for a walk in the garden and then down to the boat house. The boat house was the place to relax, set on the river with a small swimming pool downstairs, and a living room with a fire place and a balcony upstairs. I could see myself relaxing there!

These were the highlights of our summer in Devon. I also plan to write about our favourite beaches there too, so watch this space!

What are your favourite memories from summer 2022? Please let me know in the comments below.