Darting around Devon

I was invited to speak at a conference in Devon this past week, so decided to take the opportunity for a bit of sightseeing along the River Dart whilst I was down south. After all, you should never pass up the chance to explore and learn something new!

There wasn’t much time the first evening, so my explorations were kept simple: A visit to the Church of St Mary’s (a blessing, as I arrived during choir practice!), wander around town, and dinner at the oldest pub in Totnes. I then made my way back to my B&B for an early night, as I knew the next day would be full-on!

After a hearty breakfast on Saturday, I wandered out to grab a geocache near the ancient Leechwell springs before heading up to visit Totnes Castle. (As the first visitor of the day, I had the joy of having the place all to myself. It was fantastic!)

Then I did a “Round Robin” tour of the area which meant an open-top bus to Paignton followed by a steam train to Kingswear followed by a passenger ferry across the River Dart to Dartmouth. From there, I walked the 20 minutes to Dartmouth Castle before taking a wee ferry back to Dartmouth where I enjoyed a wee half pint in the sun before taking a riverboat back to Totnes along the River Dart. It was certainly a fun-packed six-hour excursion!

Once back in Totnes, I freshened up at my B&B before heading out to the local brewery for a bit of dinner and another half-pint. And by then, I was so exhausted that I was back in my room and in bed by about 9 o’clock.

When I woke on Sunday I was far too worn out to consider more activities, so I had a relaxing breakfast and a wee wander through some of the shops before making my way back to Edinburgh on the train.

It was certainly a fun little visit, and something I never would have done on my own. But as I was already in the neighbourhood for a conference, I felt that I had to take the opportunity. I’m getting a bit better at being a solo traveller (a solo liver, really) but I have to admit that it’s lonely and that I’d much rather have someone to share my adventures with. Of course, if I hold off on having fun until I meet that someone, I’ll never do anything. And so, adventuring I’ll go!