Early Morning Lyme Regis

'A very strange stranger it must be, who does not see charms in the immediate environs of Lyme, to make him wish to know it better.'

Jane Austin, Persuasion.

I was overjoyed to find myself back in dear Lyme Regis last week. It's truly a place I will never tire of heading too, for as soon as I walk on those cobbles or sit on that curved, perilous Cobb (sea wall), I feel at home. We were exceedingly lucky with the weather as it tended to rain overnight and leave the days sunny, so I made the most of it and got up early to explore. Despite us always going off-season to avoid the summer holiday crowds and prices, it is still busy this time of year so this is a rare time to have it all to yourself! Mia is still a little nervous in busy places, so to avoid her being stepped on or bothered I always walked her as early as possible so we could both enjoy the views to their full potential! The above photo is taken in the Jane Austin gardens which sit above the seafront, a very pleasant escape from the hustle and bustle during the day, take a picnic lunch and enjoy gazing across the front.

I had the entire Cobb to myself many of the walks, and I always picture The French Lieutenants woman stood gazing out to sea, her cloak being whipped by the breeze! The amazingly perilous steps in the above photo are called 'Granny's Teeth', I can't say I saw anyone attempting to ascent or descend them during my stay! Neither was I willing to give it a try! I never fail to be amazed by the unique design of The Cobb, the earliest drawings which match this design of wall date to 1539 - truly amazing! One stormy morning I saw waves breaking right over the end, it is surely a unique piece of British heritage! 

Just past The Cobb lies Monmouth Beach which is luckily dog friendly, so Mia could tear after the seagulls to her hearts content! She wasn't so keen on the water (after accidentally taking a dip in West Whittering!) so stayed cautiously away from the waves, gazing at them in a rather thoughtful manner instead - I would love to know what is going through her mind when she see's all these new places!

Hope this might encourage some early alarm clocks if you ever stay in Lyme, it's truly worth it!

Back with some more seaside capers very soon!

Katie

Holiday To Falmouth - Part One

Ahoy! Apologies for the delay in this holiday post but my Macbook decided it wanted to stay on it's startup screen forever, hurrah! Anyway, here is what I got up to in lovely, sunny Falmouth!

It was grey, rainy February morning when I suddenly just decided to book myself a holiday! I knew I fancied heading to Cornwall, so just looked at the most recommended places to stay. And it was there I discovered the beautiful Highcliffe Contemporary Bed And Breakfast - so Falmouth it was! Suddenly dreary spring looked a lot brighter, always nice to have a trip to look forward too that time of year isn't it?

So finally the time arrived and I found myself on the train, whizzing my way very south west! I must say, First Great Western trains were a complete joy and I had a very comfortable journey, wifi and tasty coffee and croissants included! 

Arriving at the B&B I was warmly met by Vanessa who showed me to the cosy Room 4, which despite being their 'budget' single (as it doesn't have a sea view) was absolutely beautifully designed and perfect for me! I particularly loved the antique gentleman's wardrobe, perfect for the size of the room! Throw in quality cotton bedding and a proper shower and I was sold instantly! 

The Highcliffe was only the second B&B I've stayed in, but I believe they beat hotel competition for being so friendly but also providing such a great quality experience, championing plenty of local products! Simon and Vanessa are always more than happy to give ideas for excursions and places to eat, and I really looked forward to our chats at breakfast as it was such a chilled, happy atmosphere! I was staying there the same time as a few other solo female arty types so we had plenty to talk about! And yes, the breakfasts ARE just as tasty as they look! The daily specials were all my favourite things, scrambled egg with spinach, or smoked salmon muffins, and on my last day, special eggy bread with maple syrup and berries, mmmm! 

Right, back to Falmouth! I had a cup of tea to recover after my journey, then headed to the beach which was only a mere few minutes walk from the B&B. It was a glorious sunny day and I could spot  Pendennis Castle in the distance here, and planned a walk unto it later in the week! The beach was a good mix of craggy rocks and soft sand, perfect for exploring, and the sea just seems a different colour in Cornwall doesn't it?

Walking along the clifftops I couldn't help but wonder if Poldark would suddenly appear riding his noble steed...sadly I must have missed him, but there were plenty of friendly locals walking their dogs to chat too! I headed to the Harbour Lights  fish and chip shop upon recommendation, a good start to the holiday indeed! Even the dreaded 'having dinner alone' scenario was cast aside as I had a brilliant seat right by the window and could watch the fishermen unloading their catch. They have this fantastic graffiti on the side of the building, and these little fish swimming amongst the paving slabs too!

  

Every day I headed along the clifftop walk from Falmouth to Swanpool beach, taking in all these gorgeous wild flowers along the way! One thing I did really love about Cornwall is how all the hardy seaside flowers just grow out of any space they can - out of craggy walls, cracks in the pavement, I kept snapping away at all the different types, probably looking a bit mad! But I particularly loved the contrast of this lime green silhouette against the clear blue sea. I highly recommend this path if you visit, and there is a great little cafe at Swanpool with mega ice creams!

The beach itself was busy with surfers, paddle boarders and kayakers so I found a nice quiet spot to just sit, soak up the sun and watch seaside life go by! As I was sat on a level which would be under water most of the day, I was surrounded by fascinating shells, mollusks and other sea beasties, and I did dare take my shoes off and have a quick paddle - VERY chilly! I did take a sketchbook with me so I sat here for a few happy hours with my watercolours, and this became my favourite little spot of the holiday, very peaceful. I do love it when you are on a holiday where you can take joy in doing NOTHING - a rare occurance!

I was very lucky to have nothing but sunny blue skies for my trip to Falmouth, I will have Part Two of the trip coming very soon! Hope you have a great weekend, I hopefully will have some news to share here very soon too! 

Thanks for reading,

Katie

Birthday Trip To Rye - Part One

We had wanted to visit Rye for quite some time, and when we were able to book rooms at beautiful Jeakes House  on my birthday week, it just seemed to all fall into place!

Rye is a very distinctive hilltop town that was once surrounded by the sea, before the surrounding salt marshes were drained. Being a fortified hilltop town, it played an important role in the defence of the south coast of England, with French and Spanish invaders a serious threat. The French attacked regularly, but the most ferocious occurred in 1377 when Rye was almost completely devastated by fire, and the bells of the St Mary's Church stolen (the next year they were returned by English invaders attacking Normandy!)

Rye is also famous for it's history of smuggling in the 18th century, when it's prosperity relied as much on smugglars as any of it's other tradesmen. The hoards were stored in the vaulted cellars and they were able to sneak around Rye through secret tunnels and passages.

Rye was as wonderfully wonky, eccentric and traditionally English as I had imagined, the cobbled streets were pretty perilous so plan sensible footwear if you visit! We took a gentle drive through the countryside and arrived in just a few hours, Jeakes House is luckily on the lower end of Mermaid Street, it's a very steep walk up there otherwise, (particularly after the pub!) The above photo was the view from my bedroom window.

We were staying in the two top rooms of the B&B, which gave us great views, although as Jeakes House is a 16th Century house the stairs were pretty steep and narrow, so we took it carefully! Happily, Jeakes House is dog friendly so Mollie could come too - she even got a sausage on a silver plate for breakfast, (she didn't want to come home!) The beds were super comfortable with great quality linen, lots of tea and coffee in the room, free Wifi and even access to an honesty bar - I can't recommend it enough, it really was fab! This is the breakfast room, beautifully laid out, and between us we sampled almost everything on the menu, all delicious. 

We headed out for a stroll to get our surroundings, and I was in love with all the historical buildings on our street, this is the famous Mermaid Inn which dates back to 1420, with Norman cellars dating back to 1156! I remember seeing the Inn on Most Haunted, and they do appear to boast quite a collection of ghosts, I was quite glad to be sleeping elsewhere, but their bar is well worth a look, with a giant fireplace dominating the room. Visiting Rye brought to life the stories of the Hawkhurst gang, notorious smugglers who used to drink at The Mermaid Inn, and we could just imagine them sitting in the window seats, smoking pipes with loaded guns on the tables! Of an evening gazing up mermaid street you could picture the sort of characters that were once wandering through the town, such history!

We also noticed the unusual and pretty direct-and-to-the-point house names on Mermaid Street, "The First House", "The House With The Seat", "The House With Two Front Doors" to name a few! I love strolling along being nosey at all the different front doors, porches and name plaques, there were some lovely cottages on this street too.

For dinner we headed to The Ship Inn and had a great meal, they had a brilliant playlist of ska, reggae, and good old rock&roll which had us all singing along, and what brilliant decor, that boar watched over us nicely! The next morning was my 26th Birthday, and it was lovely to start it with a cup of green tea in the willow pattern tea set, and a tasty breakfast I didn't have to cook or wash up after! I had the salmon and scrambled eggs - I got munching before taking a photo, but Jenny and Richard presented it with a birthday candle for me, which was lovely of them!

As it was such a lovely sunny day, we decided to head to the beach. First we attempted to go to Camber Sands but after a drive along a rather bleak stretch of industrial estates, electricity pylons and caravan parks, we turned round and heading to Winchelsea instead, which was a perfect plan as we were almost the only ones on the beach! The tide was out which left rock pools to explore, and we had a lovely afternoon munching sausage rolls and ginger beer, reading, and skimming stones.

The tide going out left an abundance of interesting shells of all shapes and sizes, we all had pockets full of them on the trip home, it's always nice to take home some new found treasures isn't it? I actually bit the bullet and got my sketchbook out, and spent some happy minutes just doing quick observations of the beach, driftwood and seaweed, I broke my dry spell! I have just been too scared of those blank white pages for too long, I hope i've broken the back of it now! 

I had a wonderful and very Happy Birthday, and a great few days in Rye, I will leave it here for fear of bombarding you with snaps, Part Two will be here over the weekend! :)

Thanks for reading, hope you're having a great week!

Katie