Off with the dogs in Frozen Wasteland that is North Devon

Not strictly correct as Devon was a tad warmer than London was at Christmas, but after high tailing it back to London we were off to Devon with my parents, brother, his fiance and her children.. and of course the dogs... Gary would have loved it, shame he was living the high life at Dog Day Afternoon in Orlando.

My Mom came up trumps and hired this house in Bideford for the New Years week....these pics taken from the house's website as I forgot to get any .. D'oh!

It was great.. spacious and fires in all the living rooms and a Aga to cook on, which was interesting to say the least...
It's a small port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon.In the 16th century Bideford was Britain's third largest port. Sir Walter Raleigh landed the one of the first shipments of tobacco here. In his honour several roads and a hill have been named after him. Today the narrow town centre streets lead down to a tree-lined quay, which bustles with fishing vessels, cargo and pleasure boats. Interestingly the Bideford witch trial in 1682 involved three women, Temperance Lloyd, Mary Trembles and Susannah Edwards, accused of witchcraft and resulted in the last ever hangings for witchcraft in England.

These were the stunning views of Bideford from the back patio (where incidentally there is a huge hot tub, which is on year round!)

Trust husband to find the comedy road name!

It's an estuary so the tide comes in and out quite significantly

Tomorrow I'm taking you to Braunton Burrows with the dogs... Basically it was a footrace with my parents who think we can all walk at 100 miles a hour Grrrr.. my Mom's nickname isn't Mountain Goat for nothing!

Freezing our bits off at Warwick Castle!

So I am the tour guide for my husband and Brittany, his niece, and although its freezing, to stop the jet lag from kicking in I decided a day out was in order to blow the cobwebs away.

About 40 minutes from my parents is Warwick Castle. Warwick Castle is a medieval castle built by William the Conqueror in 1068. It was used as a fortification until the early 17th century, when Sir Fulke Greville converted it to a country house. It was owned by the Greville family, who became earls of Warwick in 1759, until 1978. It's now open to the public and the for the bargain of 18 British pounds you can pretend to be a princess or knight for the day.

It is one of the most beautiful castles in England and well worth a visit... oh and my husband proposed to me in the Rose Garden here in 2002 !

Just down the road is Stratford and we just had time to see Shakespeare's house before the dark descended!

Going to my other home....

I sit typing to you whilst watching the Gator game, door open, sun going down, shorts and flip flops on....I'm waiting for 7.40pm to check-in online for my flight back to England tomorrow. I thought, I'll check the weather to see what I need to pack...

Eeeeek there's a 30F difference, according to the BBC website they've had 100 mile an hour winds today and guaranteed it will rain all week when I'm there...I'm working up North during the week, whats the weather like up there.?..yep like I said, it will be raining all week.

Ok, so it looks like I'll be wrapped up like a snowman all week. I won't be needing my flip flops that's for sure. I don't keep many warm clothes here at all, luckily my parents keep a room and wardrobe full of clothes for me at their house and I'll be able to pick up jumpers, boots and coats Monday, but until then I'll have to hunt for something warm to wear for the flight back...

I have lots of fun activities planned aswell as working. I'll introduce you all to my work mates and my parents...they'll all be thrilled to immortalised on the internet!! I'm even going to a rugby match between New Zealand and England at Twickenham...my Dad had a spare ticket and I can't wait!

So bon voyage to me and I'll speak to you soon...hopefully there will be no Anne like travel traumas, but it's doubtful as I actually give myself plenty of time to get to airports and pack essentials in my hand luggage!! (sorry Anne, couldn't resist.)

P.s Anne has a new blog layout (it's about time as hers was tired and worn out ;-) ) ..take a look here...she's mildly amusing and normally worth a read!