By: Blonde Two
After saying goodbye to our lovely East Devon Walking Festival map trainees last Sunday, we Blondes didn’t feel that we had explored enough of East Devon, so we set off on a mission through the green lanes to Sidmouth.
Sidmouth is an elegant seaside town set on the majestic East Devon Coast, the coast path there is ripe for Blonde exploration, but this will have to be on a day when we feel like some uphill walking! Here’s Blonde One doing a very seasidey thing!
We had an interesting time along the lanes between the Bowd Pub (most excellent carvery) and Sidmouth. Some of the tracks were rough flint and made strange, metallic noises when we kicked rocks. Other tracks were not so pleasing; we had particular fun squeezing down Nettle Lane (East Devon nettles can apparently sting through trousers!) Then we enjoyed sliding around Muddy-Rut Lane, which must surely be impassable in the winter. It just goes to show how useful local knowledge can be. On a map, an easy track looks exactly the same as an impossible one!
As well as lanes, we found some rather lovely houses (we are considering moving in):
This one looked warm and welcoming.
This one didn’t!
I think we both came away convinced that we should explore East Devon some more. It’s not at all Dartmoor, but it is very lovely!
