Flower Power

Today was the big finale for our trip - RHS Chelsea Flower Show. This really is a huge event and even with taking out membership to attend on the first member day and getting an early start, there were still hordes of people all trying to get a front row position for a look and photo before moving to the next exhibit.

We arrived at 8.30am and left at 4pm, walking the 30min journey from our hotel and back again at the end of the day. We experienced a couple of showers of rain but they only lasted a minute or so, we think we avoided the worst of it when we were in the pavilion. The sun shone and the sky was often blue when it wasn't looking grey and stormy.

The worst thing about Chelsea for me was not being able to purchase plants and garden paraphernalia which was plentiful and worthy. For Rod it was the crowds of people. The best thing about Chelsea for me was  500 exhibitors of interesting, beautiful, unique, inventful, gobsmacking and luscious garden displays and related products. The best thing for Rod was that I couldn't purchase plants and garden paraphernalia ! But seriously Rod liked the clever creativity and inspiration that was plentiful and varied.

Enjoy the photos, I have plenty more and then there are Rod's photos.

Tomorrow it is up, up and away. A chance to sit back and let some one else do the driving and navigating. A chance to just stop and catch our breath and rest. 

Looking forward to seeing and hugging family.

Culture the Victorian Way

The day started with rain so some inside activities seemed to be the order of the day. The forecast wasn't too threatening when we set off so we walked with jackets, hat and umbrella. We faired reasonably well with drizzle and a short shower or two the worst of it.

Along the way we found one high-end shopping street with street side flower displays getting into the Chelsea spirit.

Our journey took us straight past Harrods so we diverted inside for a little look along with quite a few other plebs.

Our first official activity - 2 hours wandering through the Victoria & Albert Museum. What a building and what amazing items they have for viewing and how well they display the exhibits. An excursion here whilst I was studying a History of Decorative Styles would have been just the thing. However it is never too late.

Art, architecture, furniture, fashion it was all here, current and dating back to the pyramids and everything in between.

My mind was blown trying to comprehend how many people and how many hours were taken to craft this tapestry.

I have never seen authentic armour before.

This balustrade was made from glass. I love glass.

Next activity to be fair and cater for Rod's interests - 2 hours wandering the Science Museum.

Earth and space, a good display of early steam engines dating back to James Watt, trains planes and automobiles, technology of all types from the earliest inventions to the present day. We hardly scratched the surface before it was time to move on. 

This bridge on one of the upper levels had us walking over glass. I love glass.

Astronauts and the practical logistics of space travel were displayed.

Then this evening we walked to the Victoria Palace Theatre to see Billy Elliot the musical.

It was absolutely splendid. Evertything about it was clever and well performed. Quite a few of the sets rose up from the stage floor or others pulled out from the side of the stage. At intermission Ice Creams  and drinks were sold from a person with a tray on each level inside the theatre just like in old movies. The decoration of the theatre itself was rich and sumptuous. It was a real treat.

Tomorrow Chelsea Flower Show (and a forecast of thunderstorms!)

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

This morning we said goodbye to Devon and caught the 9.28 from Teignmouth Station to London. Train travel is one of our favourite modes of transport and this trip was nice and smooth.

This is a return to London for us, what's more we are even staying in the same Hotel as last time. We are enjoying the familiarity and even dined tonight at one of the pubs we visited 5 years ago.

As soon as were checked into our room at 2pm and refreshed, we set out to discover or rediscover the city. We hadn't gone far when we saw Tate Britain at Millbank on the Thames.

A beautiful building inside and out, the interior was bright, filled with natural light. 

The tall ceilings were well suited to long installations of art.

The Gallery is a permanent home to a large collection of works by Turner including this self-portrait.

The unexpectedness of some of the work on display reminded us of our MONA experience in Tasmania, like this one made from toast.

After refreshments in the Cafe we continued along the Thames crossing over on the Lambeth Bridge.

We then continued along the Albert Embankment before returning back to the other side of the river via Vauxhall Bridge. Two of the buildings that got our interest during our walk we discovered to be MI 5 and The Secret Service. 

During our walk we came across a number of high powered Floodlights with generators and bundles of heavy duty cables and of course security people wearing Highvis vests. We became very interested and when we returned to our Hotel we carried out some Google research looking for any filming that might be taking place on the Thames.

Excitement plus, Advance notice indicated the Lambeth Bridge would be closed tonight between 8pm and 5.00am tomorrow morning for filming. More research revealed that the filming is for the next James Bond film Spectre being released in November. We couldn't resist a return to the river after dinner to see it lit up with more lights than usual. There was some action with boats along the river and a helicopter made a low level appearance and hovered around somewhat on a few occasions. Designated marshals wandered up and down asking spectators not to use flash photography.

We shall always feel we have a special  Bond with London now.

Off with the Ferrys

This morning before we resumed our walk on the South West Coast Path we took a little dis - track - tion. The Babbacombe Cliff Railway has been offering a service to take beach goers down to the beach and back up again since the 1920's. We couldn't resist the ride just for the fun of it.

There were only a few beach huts on this beach and they were all identical.

Today's walk was rated strenuous in the guide compared to yesterday's moderate walk. As the distance was somewhat less we decided to take it as a stroll to conserve energy. We strolled past 2 golf courses.

We journeyed through more woodland, some of the paths were muddy still from Thursday's rain. Sometimes a tree or branch blocked the path.

Many gates and very occasionally, stiles were negotiated.

We did a lot of walking down hills and then as to be expected climbing up the other side. The exertion was often rewarded with stunning coastal scenery.

Maidencombe was a quaint micro village, it's Inn and surrounding buildings had thatched roofs.

Turning our backs to the coast, the view was often worth a picture or two.

We arrived at Shaldon after walking up and down many steep inclines and with each up we hoped it would be the last, so finally when it was we decided to reward ourselves with a cream tea ( substitute coffee) at The Ness where we sat outside enjoying the sun and the opportunity to sit and relax whilst eating scones, jam and cream.

From Shaldon we were intending to cross the River Teign on an historical ferry. We could see the ferry going back and forth whilst we were at The Ness so when we arrived at the Wharf at 4.15 to see that today, instead of operating until 6pm they were stopping at 3.45 we knew we were being punished for our scones, jam and cream indulgence.

Looking on the bright side we got to see more of Teignmouth than we otherwise would have by crossing the 500m bridge. 

Today's scenery was less varied than yesterday. A lot more effort wa required for similar views. We visited less beaches and there were far less amenities available along the way. We think we walked about 14km's, the pedometer shows 28,000 steps at the end of our day.

Tonight we purchased our first takeaway dinner for the trip, having Pizza on the Promenade, as it was still pleasant outside at 8pm.

Tomorrow it is off to London on the Train.

Coasting the Path

We set off from the tidy, proud town of Brixham at 9.40am to walk the Brixham to Babbacombe stretch of the 630 mile South West Coast Path. The weather conditions were ideal and got better as the day progressed.

Our path soon changed to steps. We were to encounter many steps during the day, some up, some down, some regular concrete others irregular stone or the roots of trees.

Our first hiccup came as we made our way through the wooded path, we still don't know if we missed a sign or there wasn't one but we diverted from the coast for longer than necessary and took longer than it should have, however the wild flowers were very pretty and birds were plentiful.

When we rejoined the path it took us through a golf course briefly.

We explored many bays snd coves, some sandy and others pebbly.

At Broadsands we encountered a film crew on the beach and all the vehicles and people that are part and parcel of such a happening. 

Broadsands was also the first place we located the hundreds of Beach Huts that went on to be popular at all the main beaches. 

They are the size of a small garden shed with one door or two half doors. The doors are almost always a bright colour. It would seem that they are generally leased on a yearly basis and it is possible to hire one for a day or a week. We saw into a couple as we walked fast and they were decorated in a homely fashion with a cabinet set up for making coffee and tea, mugs hanging on the wall. Deck chairs folded, ready to be set up out the front of the hut when needed.a few were undergoing a bit of spring sprucing.

A viaduct is always good for a picture and can often mean.......

.........steam trains!

Paignton Pier was the real deal with amusements and rides, a Casino of sorts and eating venues. 

The coastal scenery was spectacular. 

There were surprises around every corner it seemed. But our biggest surprise was when we saw the large wheel at Babbacombe that looked identical to the one we had seen at Torquay. 

If you haven't guessed it already the wheel we saw at the end of the day was the Torquay Wheel and we had made a wrong turn when we decided to leave the path and take a more direct route to our Babbacombe B&B. As it was approaching 6.30pm we opted for a taxi to right our wrong. Not to worry we were still pleased with our achievements for the day. 38,000 steps as per my pedometer, 9 hours out and about - walking with photo stops, ice cream, pastie and coffee stops and approximately 16km covered.

Tomorrow - Babbacombe to Teignmouth.