A short break

We have been in and around the town of Dartmouth for a few days visiting a couple of National Trust houses and gardens that I have been wanting to see for quite some time. The first day we bought tickets for the ferry that would take us up river to the home of the crime writer, Agatha Christie.

We sailed past Agatha's boathouse, a delightful place where we sheltered from a spell of bad weather on our wander about the gardens.

Here is our first view of the house, just peeping out above the trees.

A cottage by the jetty, now a holiday let.

The view from the boathouse is lovely and the interior a delightful place. During a heavy downfall of hail we sat happily inside until it was over and the sun was shining again.

The house stands well with lovely glimpses of the River Dart below. It is crammed with 'stuff', all of it collected by Agatha Christie and her family, nothing brought in to set the scene as in some houses that are run by the National Trust. We had a very satisfying nose all about the place, house and grounds, with such a lot to see.

Autumn

Leaves are falling, we have had some rain, but there is still warmth in the sun and we sit out to enjoy it whenever it shines.

We are busy in the garden removing the bushes and plants that didn't survive the summer draught.

It is a pleasure to see a bit of rainfall even if it means that the leaves stick to the roof of the veranda!

Once a month we have a meal where we eat whatever we want, the rest of the time we eat to a cancer inhibiting diet. The access to the beach is a steep climb. We walk down a zigzag, along the beach and up another zigzag. It gives us a good appetite, ready to enjoy a meal in town. (And it works off a bit of the indulgent eating on the walk back!) We passed this pretty in pink bike and rider, well placed in front of a colourful beach hut.

We ate our starter and main course inside but the weather was so tempting that we took dessert and coffee outside.

I'm happy to be back working on the allotment now that the soil no longer looks like dust. It was not a productive year. I was so envious of the local Saturday morning veg stall, how did he manage such fantastic produce? He must have had access to far more water that I had been able to carry!

I've got lots of oranges on my small tree, but will they ever ripen? I doubt it.