Belated anniversary treat

Our 26th wedding anniversary was on Wednesday, but as hubby was away working last week, we decided to go out for the day today. He gave me the choice of where to go and I fancied going up on the moor, Dartmoor that is.

We are lucky to have the sea and moorland relatively close. We drove just under an hour and stopped off at Bellever Forest for a walk. The weather was bright, but with a chilly wind, so we wrapped up warm and I donned my rather fetching flowery wellies. For some reason my walking boots are no longer waterproof and with the amount of rain we’ve had recently, I didn’t want my tootsies getting cold and wet!

This area is mainly large firs, however the Forestry Commission, are doing quite a lot of work here. Some of the large firs have been felled and Spruce Christmas trees have been planted amongst the existing taller trees. Some people, I’m assuming children, had started to make a shelter. It was rather good I thought!

Further along our walk, we came across a slight obstacle! The amount of ground brought up by this tree falling was quite amazing!

Rather than climb over the trunk, we decided to head back to the car. Hubby’s back had had enough walking and we were feeling hungry. So we made our way to our chosen hostelry, taking in the scenery as we drove along...

 I love it up on the moor and I think sometimes we take it for granted, as it is so accessible. We had to pull over at one point, we saw some Highland cows, which I adore. Unfortunately the photos are not good,  a) It was very windy and b) I couldn’t get too close. I was comfortable with the two settled down, but wasn’t sure about the one on the road.

Eventually we got the the Warren House Inn at Postbridge. It is an inn owned by the Duchy of Cornwall and has no mains facilities at all, even the water comes from an underground spring. The present inn was built in 1845 and the fire has been burning continuously since then....

We settled down to eat a rather delicious roast beef for me and  chicken & tarragon pie for hubby. He couldn’t manage a dessert, but I enjoyed Baileys bread and butter pudding with clotted cream. Extra work at the gym next week! We left the inn feeling very relaxed and extremely fat and full. The wildlife outside the inn, were having their grassy lunch too...

The weather was changing, and as happens up there, changes very quickly. By the time we parked up at Princetown, overlooking the prison, it was very murky indeed...

I  remember when I was very young, we used to go for ‘a run in the car’ on a Sunday and often drove to Princetown. My grandma always watched to see if she could see anyone escaping! It’s a very bleak place.

The weather worsened, so we headed back home to the warm. I then cooked up a massive chilli con carne for hubby, our son,  daughter and her partner. None for me, I was still full! So it’s been a lovely day and I’ll sleep like a log tonight. Thanks for popping by, cheerio for now, Ann x