Devon report

Beaches: many of them. We walked along them, and rose above them on the solid embankments that carry Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Great Western Railway along this beautiful and dramatic part of the Devon coastline. I won't go on about Brunel, except to say he is one of my all-time hero engineers. A knitting blog probably isn't the place for my ramblings about the creator of the Saltash Bridge, the SS Great Britain and the Great Eastern... suffice it to say I appreciated the fact that we were staying somewhere where Brunel had played a fundamental part in shaping the landscape and the history of the place.


Trains. After a couple of days I was forbidden from mentioning the T word. One day in particular, on which we walked for several miles along the beach next to the railway, I ALLEDGEDLY overdid it on the T word. Look, it was just that I was shocked by exactly how many trains use this stretch of the line - from the long, snaking First Great Western trains to the single carriages that chug between all the tiny towns and villages. There were many more than I expected!



I particularly appreciated the varied colours and textures of the train embankment. The Curse was just interested in building dams in the sand. I am sure there is a civil engineer inside, struggling to get out...

Meanwhile, Coldharbour Mill in Uffculme, north of Exeter.



I've bought yarn by mail order from this lovely place before, but decided to go and visit it while I was in the area. It proved to be just as lovely as I had expected - in fact perhaps even more so! I purchased a rake of yarn from the shop (10 skeins of aran for a jumper, and a couple of 4-ply for mitts or socks); I met Margaret, Margaret, Dolly and Chris in the stables, whiling a couple of pleasant hours away, knitting and chatting; and I got caught up in a school tour which was quite amusing. The chap acting as the manager of the mill, carrying out a 'recreation' tour with the junior school kids was so convincing in his strictness that he had a couple of them in tears!




And in knitting news... I am a circular needle sock addict! Finished the first of the pair in Regia Canyon Colour. The ball of yarn seems to have got no smaller at all during this process. Perhaps it is magic everlasting yarn? Anyway, I faltered slightly with the magic cast on for the second sock, having to rip it half a dozen times or so, but eventually got there and am now progressing smoothly!



I don't have pictures of the cream teas/local ales/excessive food, but I'm sure you can imagine!