Thursday we drove from Portsmouth to Exeter. Along the way we stopped at Cerne Abbas – a large chalk drawing In the hill. No one is sure if this is a prehistoric figure or a representation of Oliver Cromwell. Either way it is pretty impressive. If it wasn’t blowing 30+ knots we would have walked up the hill to get a closer look. Some of you will be more familiar with the Simpsons version of this.
It was a short drive from here we went to Sherborne Castle built by Sir Walter Raleigh. Very informative local guides helped to make this another interesting stop. Still too cold to walk outside so we missed the old castle destroyed by the Cromwell’s soldiers in the Civil War.
Friday we awoke to grey skies and showers. We spent the day trying to trace our roots in Devon. Warren’s family on his fathers side had lived in Dartmouth and Totnes while my family on Dad’s side had come from Littleham and Northam.
After visiting a number of churchyards we finally found the headstones for what I think are relatives of my Granny, the Pickards.
It is beautiful country though the lanes to some of these small villages are VERY narrow. The east coastline was very pretty even with the grey weather while what we could see of the west looked much more rugged.