THE RAIN IT RAINETH EVERY DAY...

Travel.Travel,Travel. Jane -Hazel- & Angela.

This time last year or maybe it was the prior week but it was mid May and it was everything the quintessential May should be,and in particular it was sunny. Well this year,sunny it was not! May 2026 was still beautiful,this month with all the freshness of spring still in it can't NOT BE,but when the ground under your unsteady feet is slippy and muddy it's not the time for yomping. So back last November I rebooked to stay at the remote place on Dartmoor that id stayed at in 2025.If you are one of the many people who dream of living in a world of no signal,you'll find it there. I'll identify it,it's called Lingcombe Barn ,nearest place is Chagford and you can book it through Sykes Cottages. If you've dreamed of living on the earthly equivalent to Mars,it's for you!

0ld stone Gateposts,mossy rocks and abundant wildflowers,this is Stitchwort but all over the moor there was abundance of bluebells.

.But at very New Year 2026 I was ill with my leg and knew I wouldn't be competent to cope with going to Lingcombe so I asked my friend Angela to go instead which she did. But as began to feel a bit better I decided to travel to Chagford and maybe visit one afternoon which I did. So I got to see the cottage, it was too wet and muddy to walk any paths this year. They say never go back but I glad I did!

The wonderful roaring log fire is in The Three Crowns hotel at Chagford. I got there at 10am on the bus from Moretonhampstead,dripping wet from rain,rain,rain. It was such a welcome sight. I definitely was not the ideal picture of the usual Three Crowns guest but they made my room available for me early which was nice of them. Very few Three Crowns guests arrive on the bus! The bus services in that edge of Dartmoor area are nightmarishly minimal

In this same week my sister Hazel and her group went to Northumberland to walk some of the coastal path and in particular visit Lindisfarne or Holy Island. To get across to the island they booked a taxi with a local company which I'll name because not only are they reliable but the drivers are very knowledgeable and like a mini tour guide as well. Because the tide times vary every day it's important to know the safe times to drive over -and back. Some brave hardy souls walk the Causeway but you'd need to be pretty confident in both your strength and research skills to do that! The taxi.company,a long established family firm are BASHERS cabs. It's such a funny name,it sounds like out of the Beano!, but trust them,they know their business and their tide times

. Angela loved the cottage and she hired a car,an absolute necessity. On the last day with me on the train back to home Angela wanted to visit Lydford Gorge. The reason is curious. Many years ago my Mum gave Angela an old road map book,just one of the many surplus books in our house. Angela took it with her to her home up north but only looked in it a few months ago. Her foster son Kai has turned 18 and is learning to drive but he is also “autistic” and he focuses on maps. Well good for him. We all know how dream making just studying a map can be. Angela says that having Kai in the car with her when she's driving around locally is better than SatNav! So Angela gave Kai this road atlas that is so old it predates motorways which fascinates him. But a piece of paper slipped out and on this peice of paper was notes about Lydford Gorge. So when Angela learned she would be staying at a place from where she could go to Lydford she was pleased. And it is a beautiful place judging by the photos Angela sent me

I say beautiful but in the medieval days Lydford Prison was a dark and bloody place where all moorland crimes were dealt with so it had a dark side. So that is our travel and I've found that my body can't cope now with this strenuous long travel so I'm glad it's over.