We spent two nights in the village of Bovey Tracey, Devon, in an inn named the Cromwell Arms. Built in the 17th century, it was a great place to stay with an excellent bar. I spent a few hours one evening drinking local Devon cask ale and talking with a local, who lamented the demise of the true English pub. Our room came with a free English breakfast, including a vegetarian option of said breakfast. While the eggs were wonderfully fresh (the chickens were kept on site), we didn't even try the beans n' toast. The first two pictures below show the front of the inn on Saturday morning when the farmers' market was in session.
We bought some excellent cheese from this vendor, a sharp cheddar and an award-wining sun-dried tomato (pronounced ta-mah-to) and herb cheddar.
Here are some various street scenes in Bovey Tracey, including the local variation of KFC (note that they also sell kebabs).
This is the rear of the Cromwell Arms. Our room was the last one on the left on the top floor. The chicken coop is behind me.
My father was a picture framer, and while I'm pretty sure he never uttered the word "bespoke," it sure seems like a great professional slogan. Methinks someone had best trademark this slogan soon!
Call box? Tardis?
A street view with yon hillside.
The view from our room.
A house flying the Union Jack.
We stopped by the local heritage center and discovered more about Oliver Cromwell's legacy in the area. He fought a major battle against the Royalist forces near Bovey Tracey and this display had a few Cromwellian artifacts (note the Cromwell death mask) as well as photos of a local Civil War reenactment, complete with Roundheads and Caviliers. The local guide said that many locals still have strong feelings about the Civil War. I replied that it was the same way in Virginia.
And to add a bit of levity after a dose of Cromwellian history (remember that Irish and Scottish Catholic genocide stuff?), next door to the heritage society was a shop that made giant dinosaurs and figures, including the big Buddha beside Barrie.
And three more street scenes from Bovey Tracey, including an interesting planter and some English road signage:
We spent a day exploring Dartmoor National Park, heading over to Haytor Rocks and walking up to the tor. The next two photos show the walk up the tor, aka Haytor Rocks.
We spent some hanging out around Haytor Rocks, enjoying a picnic of a vegetable and cheese pasty, enjoying the view, watching the rock climbers, and trying to stay out of the blustery and rather chilly wind. The rest of these photos were taken near Haytor Rocks. Our next stop was Widecombe-in-the-Moor, which I'll document in the next blog post.
