Beaches and Gardens

We are into June and beaches and gardens are all popular places to be. There are many lovely ones of each around here and people tend to have their favourites!

One of our favourite gardens is the Tessier Garden between Babbacombe and St.Marychurch. It was looking particularly beautiful yesterday with masses of foxgloves along the length of the arch trellis, interspersed with roses, clematis, lupins and peonies. 

Looking over Oddicombe beach was also rather stunning with a rough sea stirring up the sediments and creating wave shaped patterns when seen from above.

Sea Wall now open through from Dawlish Warren to Dawlish

At last! It is once again possible to walk all the way between Dawlish Warren & Dawlish on the sea wall without having to climb up any flights of steps! After a great deal of time, money and (in my humble opinion ) far too much concrete there is now an “accessible high-level promenade all the way from Boat Cove to Coastguards footbridge”, where it then joins the original sea wall. Gone are the pigeon roosts and anything attractive but at least it is OPEN!

The beach between Colonnade and Coastguards breakwaters will also reopen to the public now that construction is complete.

Food Hygiene Rating

Our Food Hygiene Rating was renewed at 5 again yesterday after a routine inspection by a Food Health & Safety Officer from Teignbridge District Council.
This inspection considers:
Compliance with food hygiene and safety procedures – including food handling practices and procedures and temperature control;
Compliance with structural requirements – including cleanliness, layout, condition of structure, lighting, ventilation, facilities etc;
Compliance with management control procedures – including documentation, attitude and track record.

Proud to be confirmed at a 5 rating, happy days!

Blue Flag for the Warren once again!

Statement from Teignmouth District Council:
Quality of our beaches recognised
Five of our beaches have been recognised for their quality in the prestigious annual Keep Britain Tidy Blue Flag and Seaside Awards for Summer 2022. 

Dawlish Warren received the highest recognition with the internationally recognised Blue Flag award and Dawlish, Coryton Cove, Ness Cove and Teignmouth Town received the coveted Seaside Award. 

Both awards are aimed at improving the quality of England’s coastline and promoting the country’s best beaches which are assessed for safety and services; environmental information and management; and water quality.

The awards mean that visitors to beaches flying a Blue Flag or Seaside Award can be confident that they will be clean, safe and meet environmental and water quality standards.

The Bishop’s Palace Garden, Exeter

We frequently go into Exeter from Sandays; it is a short drive or train ride and a lovely city. We had never been to the Bishop’s Palace Garden until the other day however. As it is not visible and only occasionally open to the public it is easy to forget all about it, but we are so glad that we eventually got there! The garden covers 3 acres which seems absolutely incredible that it exists right in the heart of Exeter. Bounded by the old Roman bank and city wall to the east and by the cathedral to the west, it dates back to around 1050 and is a very special place. Look out for further opening dates this summer in the Diocesan newsletter.

A little bit of Dartmoor Magic

A few pics here to share a bit of Dartmoor magic, taken around Haytor today. Thousands of tadpoles, new ferns unfolding, lots of birdsong (Dartmoor is about the only place we hear a cuckoo),new leaves everywhere, and the delight of coming across ponies.

Kite surfing, Spring Flowers, and another Bank Holiday coming up!

It seems that May is full of holidays this year with the Coronation shenanigans almost upon us. Lots going on everywhere in honour of that of course, plenty to choose from. 

The Bank holiday which has just gone by was a beautiful day enjoyed by many and followed by another couple of sunny days this week so far. Today however was also very windy along with (for the Warren at least) challenging waves, just the ticket for a couple of kite-surfers! Great entertainment for those of us staying dry.

Meanwhile our Lily-of-the-Valley is out in the garden which is bursting with bluebells and other early flowers such as lilac all along the length of the border. Really lovely sight.

Lovely sunny Easter Weekend

We were blessed with a lovely sunny Easter weekend here in Devon and LOTS and LOTS of people milling around enjoying it all! With cars queueing past Sandays waiting for the car park, the open top bus back on the road and the Starcross ferry back in action, it was wonderful to see the whole area buzzing with families again after the quieter winter months.
Not forgetting the Easter message, some timely reminders her in Dawlish.

Easter sunshine and the Warren Crocus

The forecast is good for at least part of the bank holiday weekend and sunshine means the lovely Warren crocus will be visible. They are in plentiful supply at the moment and a very special sight, albeit tiny in comparison to all the showy magnolias and camellias.

In between all those Easter Egg hunts, take a walk along the Warren in the sunshine and you are bound to find some.