Monday 17th Dartmoor

Monday 17th
Well our expectations have been exceeded.
In 2010 when we did a tour of Great Britain, on our last night we drove out from Plymouth to an hotel in Dartmoor for our farewell dinner. It was such a magical evening we decided that if ever we came back we would stay the night at the same hotel, well, we are at that hotel tonight and it has capped off a beautiful day driving through the south coast of England.
We left Christchurch late in the morning after a casual start to the day. It was nice not to have to be on the go and to be able to take our time along the way.
Leaving Christchurch, the towns just merged into each other, Christchurch, Bournemouth, Poole, they just seemed to go on and on. Then we hit some country roads, following the coastline westward.
We stopped for a break at Portland which is an island out from Weymouth, it would be a very popular resort at the height of the summer season, and was the site for testing of the bouncing bombs made famous by The Dam Busters.
These roads were smaller and drove through quaint villages with thatched cottages, along roads edged by hedge rows and covered by trees that arched over the road, just like as though you were driving through a green tunnel, just beautiful. There seemed to be another village every few miles along the road. Some of the houses are built right on the edge of the road.
There were some motorways along the way which covered a few miles in order to move us along and then we turned off towards Dartmoor. Well, the roads narrowed and we drove between hedgerows and trees and kept a careful watch on oncoming traffic.
We arrived at the Two Bridges Hotel at about 5:30 and had time to relax and wander around, taking photos. Although the road we drove in was through forest, following on from the hotel, was traditional moorland country which, although beautiful during warmer months would be bleak in the winter. We haven' t heard the Baskerville Hounds as yet, but who knows! It is raining now which adds to the atmosphere.
Dinner was a classy affair with lovely food. The hotel is historic and shows its history with photos in the restaurant and reception, it seems popular with hikers and cyclists doing their thing across the moor.
Tomorrow we go into Cornwall where we are booked in for three days at St Austell.