Gill very kindly invited the "art group" back for another short break in Woolacombe. Unfortunately Andrea was unable to join this time, so we were 4. We missed out last year because of the house flood, so it's 2 years since we were there. Would our art have improved in that time?😅
MONDAY 7th October
We stopped off at NT Knightshayes nr Tiverton for a lunch stop, and also to stretch our legs. (John and I have done this too on a trip to Devon). Its a lovely property and garden. A few photos....
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| NT Knightshayes, Tiverton. This was just the cafe block! |
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| Quite a spooky looking house. No time to look inside. (next year!) |
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| A series of topiary on top of the hedge, was hounds chasing a fox. |
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The gardeners at work clipping all the hedging. One of them was down on
their knees with scissors. |
We arrived in Woolacombe mid afternoon.
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| First views of the sea as we dropped into the town, taken from the car window. |
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| A short stroll to the beach |
Louise and I had brought meals for the first two nights. Jeanette provided the wine. Louise had pre-prepared a delicious Chicken Galette, which was basically an open top Chicken Pie. It was delicious. AND an Avocado and Lime Cheesecake. With no cheese! That was also delicious, and would last all week. As would the moist flapjacket. Well done.
TUESDAY 8th October
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| 07.30am view from my balcony. 😊 |
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| The house pathway sloping down. |
Our original plan had been a bus trip into Ilfracombe, but the forecast was looking a bit unsettled, so Gill kindly drove us, which gave us the option of moving on to Arlington Court later where, even it rained, we could visit the house indoors.
We parked in Ilfracombe, stepped out of the car, and the heavens opened. So back into the car and within 5 mins, the sun was out. It was to be one of those days.
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| Damien Hirst "Verity" statue in the car park. |
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| And from the other side, where the internal organs are visible. |
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| Gill and Louise heading into the town from the carpark |
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We watched Lundy Island come and go many times
from the house window depending on the weather. We climbed
up to the Chapel on the top later. |
We were of course here to sketch! We settled on a spot next to the harbour.
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Gill and Jeanette looked this direction.
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| Gill's |
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| Jeanette's |
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I fancied this building and phone box and sat on this bench
joined by Louise.
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Anne's. "interpretation" with fewer windows. 😊
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| Louise's |
That was hard! And none of us felt the least bit organised. But.... we had filled out first page.
Time for a cuppa, so into the nearest cafe, which was nice and empty, so we decided to start another sketch, indoors this time. But it started to rain, so soon the cafe filled up with people. Some of whom were watching us. That was a bit scary.😕
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The other 3 were facing the cafe entrance looking to this window.
I decided to paint the interior looking to the counter.
Jeanette's
Gill's
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Louise's
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Anne's.... featuring Jeanette!😂
( those round tables are a nightmare!) |
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The man sitting next to us took this one. Jeanette had just seen
Louise's drawing. 😂😂😂
The rain had stopped again, so another stroll in the town, including visiting a couple of Galleries, and a climb to the Chapel on the hill over the carpark.
And then we headed to NT Artlington Court, where first priority was lunch.
Beautiful leaves on this tree at the entrance to Arlington Court.
A stroll in the grounds first whilst it was dry.
Most of the flowers in this border were Salvia's with their distinctive "square" stems.
Once more, the rain came on, so we settled for a bench in the glass house for some sketching.
Jeanette's sketching corner.
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Jeanette's
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| Taken by a visitor, who was photographing the robin, and who then emailed the photo to me. |
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| The Robin hung around and sang to us. I captured this on my GO Pro video. |
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| Louise's |
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| Gill who sketches twice and fast and started a second one... |
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| Gill started her second one. |
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Anne's. What a nightmare! lol. Wish I'd done a pot!
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| Another painting for another time? |
We had a quick look inside the house before we left and got back to Woolacombe in gorgeous late afternoon light......in time for a BIG adventure!
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| The pool of light moved across the bay very quickly.... |
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OMG What am I thinking about! I hate water.
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But, I regretted not going in 2 years ago, so was determined to give it a go. I knew I didn't have to get in too deep to get on a wave. It was staying ON the wave that I was nervous about. Jeanette, suffering with back pain, didn't join us, so I give her the camera to get some hard evidence and proof. 😂
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GO PRO screen grab
Jeanette couldn't get too close since she didn't paddle, so I eventually came out to take the camera in amongst " the action". 😊😎
 Me and Louise. Unbelievably I caught every wave!
Gill and Louise, as Louise's board flipped.
Great fun. I thought we had been in about 10 mins, but it was actually half an hour. Back to showers, a glass of bubbly, and a bit more indoor art, then I prepared dinner. I had brought "Chicken with Ginger, Saffron & Dates" , which went down well. A busy day.
WEDNESDAY 9th October
Gill drove us to RHS Rosemoor, approx an hour's drive. She and I are both members, so were able to get the other 2 in free as guests. Apart from Gill, none of us had been before, so our plan was to enjoy the garden, but also to find some suitable spots to do some sketching. Just a small chance of showers today, so fingers crossed.
The Hot garden
Knifophia
Dahlia
Some wonderful textures in the impressive vegetable garden
Would be a nice one to paint.
Doesn't do this tree justice. The light seconds before this had it lit up.
Peak time in the orchard.
Loads of apple varieties on display.
Acers by the stream
Shame about the hose pipe and gardener at this lovely house.
Jolly aster display.
Kniphofia torches.
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After a lunch, time to decide where to paint? I knew I wanted to be sat on a comfortable bench, so thought the sheltered garden with benches and pots would suit me, and the others were happy with that.
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| Gill's. |
This evening, we had booked dinner in a local restaurant, which Gill had recommended. Very nice food! Just before the food was served, a colourful sunset out front, but not the best foreground interest.
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| Mussels for Jeanette and dressed crab for me. |
Another great day. We actually managed to stay awake to watch a whole film tonight. (failed the last two nights 😂). We all enjoyed "Salmon fishing in the Yemen". Seen it before, but quite fun.
THURSDAY, 10th October... ALREADY?!
Making the most of our final morning, we watched a rain shower whizz across the bay, and then went for it, heading to Morte Point, and to hopefully see some seals. We couldn't risk it without rain jackets, but it really wasn't cold, so they would soon be off once we started climbing.
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| photo by Gill at Morte Point |
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| Setting up GO PRO |
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| Action! lol. |
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| The sun lit up the rocks just at the right time. |
It was just after this that we stood for a few minutes, and rewarded with seeing a seal. The tide was too far in for any basking on the rocks, so it was swimming. Too small for a photo.
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Bull Point lighthouse in the far distance. Too far for us today,
so we started to head back inland. Uphill! |
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| photo by Louise. She and Gill were always ahead. |
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| Lovely wall leading to the sea. Another painting? |
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| And the light hitting the cemetery was amazing. |
Soon heading through Mortehoe, and another climb up and over the hill to the bench before we descend steeply back to the track to Gill's house.
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| A long way down to Morthoe |
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| Amazing weather for our return to base camp. |
We continued our walk into Woolacombe, to pick up some French bread, cheese, and pate for lunch and clocked up 5 miles. All too soon, with bedding changed and laundry all washed and dried, we packed the car for our trip home, setting off at 2ish. A trouble free journey home.
Huge thanks to Gill for driving us there, back and around the area, and for your kind hospitality. A fun few days, with happy memories, AND a few sketches too to look back and, and hopefully improve on next time. 😉
Me and Louise. Unbelievably I caught every wave! 
