Devon

In mid-May, we spent a weekend in a little cabin in a tiny coastal town near Bideford, which is in the county of Devon. We were crazy lucky with the weather and it was sunny and in the high 70s. Highlights of the trip included the best fish and chips Meade or I has ever tasted (doused with loads of vinegar) and a visit to the clifftop village of Clovelly. The village has been entirely preserved as it was in the mid 19th century, inclusive of cobblestone streets, thatched roofs, and no cars. They use sleds (previously pulled by donkeys and now by children- according to some local kids) to carry goods up the narrow, steep roads. The whole village is owned by a single family, and has only been owned by three families since the time of the Normans. We also had a beach experience unlike any possible (lucky for us) in the U.S. I suppose that because England is a crowded place with lots of people and not much coastline, the beaches are packed with people and it is not a quiet, relaxing place. On the contrary, right on the sand there were multiple vendors with generators going and....a bouncy house! (But of course). The English and their ice cream and their bouncy houses- what is the deal? Linnea and Aaron loved it all.