Laugh

A chance to catch up with the girls, rug, towel, swimming cossie packed...just add plastic wine glasses, a bottle of cava and some sparkling girly friends. An evening swim on Barricane Beach (www.beachcombercafe.co.uk), a little adrenaline boosting rock jumping and a brisk dry off and change behind some rocks. Our best kept locals secret - a cafe on the beach, no frills attached that serves curry till the sun goes down; bring your own drinks and watch the sun go down! Our yearly pilgrimage a toast to friends remember, some now living away from the coast, some moved on and some sadly missed.


Watch until the moon is high in the sky then follow the path around the bay to Woolacombe (www.woolacombetourism.co.uk). Stop off at the Red Barn for a nightcap or a warming hot Chocolate. Catch a local band playing and warm yourselves up with a boogie!. If the wind has dropped and the moon is in the sky finish up with a moonlit walk on Woolacombe beach. A skinny dip in the sea if it's calm and the phosphorescence lighting up the water. Romantic, yes but just as good to share with friends.

Play With Abandon

Another of our favourite escapes is Appledore www.appledore.org

Charles Kingsley's 'Little White Fishing Village' across the estuary.

This quaint fishing village nestled on the quayside where the river’s Torridge and Taw meet. Tucked across the river from the Billowing sails of Instow’s sailing club Appledore maintains an old world Devonian charm tempered by a thriving cultural scene. This small fishing village boasts both a Visual Arts and a book festival at different seasons in the year and has a working shipbuilders yard www.appledore-shipbuilders.co.uk. Narrow streets and colourful cottages lead down to the quay where it’s not unusual to come across a troop of performing Morris Men www.tarkamorrismen.org.uk on a balmy summer’s evening. Visit the North Devon Maritime Museum www.devonmuseums.net and then check out the chiming tide and time bell recently commissioned from sculpture and musician Marcus Vergette. This week visit the Appledore and Instow Regatta. Watch the hotly competed salmon boat racing or join in the crab competition down at the Appledore harbour.

By far our favourite is an afternoon spent competing to catch the biggest crab followed a locally produced Hockins Ice-cream – try not to drip it down your t-shirt!

Listen Hard

Augusts skies are full of contrast. Waking to a clear blue heaven full of promise can soon give way to an afternoon heavy with smoldering low cloud which turn can develop into the most fantastic sunset. You can listen to the shipping forecast or the Westcountry weather but nothing is really as informative as sticking your head outside and looking out to sea. Spot Lundy in the distance and follow the Devon rhyme 'Lundy high fine and dry, Lundy low rain or snow!'. However, low sky or high the weather in August this year is still balmy. Even a day with low clouds is sill warm enough to get down on the beach albeit with an extra jumper and a flask full of tea. Back home in the garden we opted for an evening with family and friends and stocked up the firepit at the bottom of the garden in amongst the orchard. Deck chairs out, a cold glass of wine in hand in hand, sand still in our toes from the day on the beach and the bonfire burning - it felt like being back at boy scout camp again! One of the boys had caught a bass snorkeling off Baggy Point in the afternoon so we wrapped in foil, added some sliced lemons and fresh dill from the garden and struck it on the embers on the edge of the fire. Mmmmm nothing like the taste of freshly caught fish to the accompaniment of a little bit of Jack Johnson in the background watching the sun go down.