I have borrowed both the title of Charles Kingsley’s book and the name of a small north Devon town actually named after the book, for this blog, however with good reason. We are on the road heading to the western most point on mainland England. The town’s name is also the only one in the UK to include an exclamation mark.

After arriving in the UK and a relaxing weekend catching up with Diane and Jeremy, we head to Canterbury. The reason for coming to the UK in winter is to clear Anne’s mother house for future sale as she has moved into a retirement home. No exciting exotic locations this time I am afraid, just elbow grease, mostly, for the next couple of months.

After two solid weeks of house clearing/sorting, a soul crushing experience, a break is called for and a chance to catch up with family and friends. We have planned a week long road trip heading west all the way to Land’s End.

To collect the car for our trip from Gatwick Airport, we must take multiple trains and in doing so end up with just under an hour to spare in Tonbridge Kent en route. Here I spent my first Christmas with Anne way back in 1974. We walk the high street, but every shop has changed since I lived there, even my local pub where I once worked has become a child care centre! Nothing like getting them started young!

As we cross the South Downs in Sussex, the water running down the side of the road is white! So much rain even the chalk hills are fully soaked.

We spend the first weekend of the road trip with Anne’s nephew Timothy, his wife Bex and two sons near Salisbury, explore the city and have a great weekend with them all. Next stop is my sister Tansy where we are treated royally with as generous hospitality as we were in Salisbury. What can you bring to such people? Well sunshine of course. It seems that the south of UK has been under grey clouds and almost continuous rain since the start of the year. We, it seems as per the photos below, are able to conjure up blue skies and sunshine from time to time although I think our powers do have limitations. We have been referred to as “Sun Whisperers” by one individual, nice title I think but probably a little unrealistic.

With Tansy and John, we visit Wimborne Minster and get a short tour of the Minster of St Cuthburga church by the Canon who Tansy knows. The Minster has a history stretching back 1,300 years and even has a king buried there, although they are not sure where.

We depart Dorset for Exeter, following the same route we took on Streak and Storm back in 2022, but that was in summer. A car in winter is a much more comfortable option. As a child, we always by-passed Exeter on the way to our summer holiday destination in South Devon. I have never visited Exeter, but today, that all changes. We are visiting our friend Sam who lives there.

After lunch Sam takes us on a unique walking tour of Exeter taking us from Roman times, through Medieval and Victorian to the reconstruction after WW2 bombing damage. Roman walls, complete Elizabethan houses moved to make way for roads and much more, Exeter is a fascinating place, and with the right guide such as Sam, well worth a visit. We will return one day for a more detailed look.

It has been estimated that there around one million potholes in the UK, about one every 100 meters. Local councils are supposedly responsible for their repair but are financially constrained, who isn’t? As Anne drives across Dartmoor trying to avoid the water filled potholes on the narrow single track lanes, we come across some enterprising local men and women filling potholes. I suggest to them that after the repairs they set up a toll booth as those who maintained roads centuries ago did to pay for the repairs and they do need a Wacker Plate so all donations would be gratefully accepted if you are passing through Widecombe-in-the-Moor.

We make our way to the nearby and very quaint Rugglestone Inn to meet Pat and Andy, our friends from Brisbane who have settled in Cornwall. It has been a couple of years since we last met, we were on Streak and Storm then. The conversation flows and it is great to see that they are well and happy. Pity they so far away, but I am sure we will catch up again in some remote pub in the west of the UK.

Our next stop is the North Devon hamlet of Rockford. and a opportunity to take the back roads, the shortest route across Dartmoor. The narrow single track lanes, in places covered in layers of mud and water, make for an interesting journey. At times a 4×4 would seem more appropriate but we reach our destination and enjoy an evening drink with the hosts in the Rockford Inn. A short walk along the East Lyn river showed us the beauty of this area and gave us a taste of the variety of walks available.

A short detour as we head west to the Lynton & Barnstable Railway.

As we pass Bodmin, this is the furthest west we have been in Cornwall to date. We are going all the way west to Land’s End this time, and then back to see Tiff, another of the adventure motorcycling world which we fortunate enough to be part of. Tiff lives in Porthcurno, a small village close to Land’s end, known for the terminus of the first undersea telegraph cable and the Minack Theatre, but first Land’s End.

Late in a February afternoon with the wind whipping rain around us and clutching our headgear we made our way to the end of mainland England. Our first time here and judging by the lack of company plus everything being closed, this is probably not the best time to visit, but we do enjoy the outdoor elements and while our stay was brief, we were happy to have seen Land’s End.

We arrange to meet Tiff at the Minack Theatre, not realising that she was cycling there in the rain. As we catch up over coffee, the clouds part and sunshine beams down on us. Tiff suggests we start with the Rowena Cade Museum, she is right. Rowena Cade’s story is both fascinating and a testament to what a single person can achieve. Starting in 1929 she and a few helpers carved a theatre of of the Cornish cliffside. From carrying sand up the cliff to creating carvings Rowena Cade spent decades building what is an amazing clifftop theatre that attracts both performers and over 100,000 visitors a year. I will leave the rest of this fascinating story of a formidable woman for you to uncover when you visit.

An overnight stop in Torquay and we are back on the job at hand. Three weeks to the next road-trip.

– Anthony