Today we used the hire car and went out to see the sea!! It was so lovely being able to just go wherever we felt like it. We first went to Westward Ho!, okay the sun was out but the wind was so "keen" (cold). The tide was almost fully out and there were many people kite surfing. This is where people go on surfboards but hold onto kites. The kite catches the wind and the surfer whizzes over the sea. It must be very exhilarating and today there were loads of people trying to kite surf. I did manage to capture one on its way along the waves...




The wind was so cold, so it wasn't surprising to see the beach practically deserted. Considering the beach is 3 miles long, it was quite a surprise to see how quiet it was down there. The tide usually goes out over 1/2 mile and then roars itself back to the pebble ridge.

Well Mandi and I sat there for a while, protected from the wind somewhat by a wave breaker, but we soon decided not to stay any longer because it was it was really starting to bite!!


You can just make out the several surfers and kite holders down by the water's edge


There was a small family with children and buckets and spades, but everyone was completely wrapped up against the cold.


Then I looked across the car park and the wonderful ice-cream van selling Hockings Ices was parked there. Oh it's such beautiful ice-cream, made with clotted cream and made in a house in Appledore. I remember when I was a child and I used to go and knock on the door and ask for an ice-cream cone. If I was lucky, I'd also get a little bit of chocolate stuck in the cone (a 99). Now if it hadn't been so cold, I'd have gone over there and bought us a couple of cones. Maybe next week!!!

We then drove round to Appledore - West Appledore to be precise. Mandi hadn't realised that she could park down the slipway near the Lifeboat Station.

She decided to walk up to the Coastguard House and then perhaps down the slipway - she soon came back though, the wind just came whistling down the road!!!


I was a little more considerate - I stayed in the car, window open and so I took my pictures from the comfort and warmth of the car!!! I'm not that stupid!


This is looking towards the "bar" which is where the Atlantic Ocean meets the rivers mouths - you can just make out the white waves at the top of the picture - large ships require a tug boat pilot to negotiate the channel for them. The channel changes direction every day, it silts up too much so then it's dredged. Large cargo boats do manage to make their way over and up the two rivers. River Taw to Barnstaple, or the River Torridge on which I am on its riverbank.




As you can see there were quite a few boats completely beached, they were just waiting for the tide to come in, so they would once again bob on the waves!

There are a lot of rock pools there, which is where both of my children loved going when they were young. They spent many happy hours exploring these pools - no PC's in those days!!!



We then drove around to the main quayside of Appledore - it was still cold there, but the wind wasn't so strong. So we did manage to get out of the car and walk to the edge of the quay to take some pictures.


This is the view looking up towards the River Taw and that's Barnstaple in the distance.


You can see the movement on the water which was because the tide was on the "turn". That's where the tide which had been going out to sea, was then changing over and starting to come back in. The tidal current was swirling in different directions. It can be very dangerous if you are caught up in it.


This is Instow - and it's the one place I love going to. I love sitting on one of the benches along the quayside, and watch the dogs which are allowed to run on the beach.

I also took some pictures of the quayside of Appledore.


If you look at the last but one building on this row - the one with a shop on the roadside and four large windows above. I used to live there. Both of my children came there after they'd been born in hospital. Many evenings were spent with them while I sat on the quayside and they slept in their prams. I just used to love watching the world go by.

Well both Mandi and I decided that it was definitely too cold to be sitting around, so we came home. I was quite relieved really because my back was really complaining and I'd been stupid and not taken my pain-killers before I left home!!!



I really wish I'd taken some sunglasses with me - the sunlight was very strong and boy did I have to screw up my eyes!!!! Mandi of course just had to do her well known pose of sticking her tongue out - she's such a lady!!!!

Tomorrow she is driving to meet some old friends and she may stay the night, but I'm quite happy for her to do that. She misses her friends a lot, and whilst she's in the area (well she's closer to them from here - 40 miles) than she is in Turkey!!!

I wish you all a wonderful weekend.