Devon 2024 - final run through and tour preparation
Katie and I recently spent about 10 days in Devon, and greater England, making some final arrangements for our 2024 tour [full tour details here] [and a little marketing email with different images we did can be found here.]
We did "carry-on only" - not exactly a first for us, but as you can see from the second image below, not our usual packing methodology. We figured it'd be worth a shot to pack light since our trip involves flying, hailing cabs, traveling by train, ferry, and renting a small hatchback, as well as stopping at inns and such without elevators,
We started at the Petersham in Richmond upon Thames. Richmond is a charming little village with lots of shops and restaurants. We had typical English weather (all seasons and manor of precipitation in one day) and then a lovely evening and sunset.
We had visited The Petersham previously, with a small group, for tea. The hotel sits at the top of a hill, and the dining room has lovely views of the Thames. It is a pretty and short walk to the center of the village. We had a nice Italian lunch at a place called Sebastian's, and later met our dear friend Peter for dinner at The Ivy.
The Petersham will be a nice location for the first day of our Devon tour. It is close to Kew Gardens, which we'll visit. The Cherry Tree walk, if we are lucky and deserving and have done our best to live a true and clean life, will be in bloom.
We don't really like to predict blooming times of plants as that _can_ go wrong in spectacular fashion. Katie and once had a trip to Washington, DC that coincided with "peak" Cherry Blossoms. Of course the night before our flight a terrible wind came through D.C. and decimated all the trees except one. That one Cherry tree on the Mall had dozens of tour buses parked next to it all week. I honestly think a Park Ranger spent each night gluing blooms back on that tree. But, we are going to give the Kew cherry trees a go - and of course there is plenty to see there should Mother Nature have other ideas about those fragile blossoms.
We took the train to Exeter, and collected our right-hand-drive automatic transmission 2018 Ford Focus. Without a backup camera.
En-route to the Dart Marina Hotel, our fabulous group hotel in Dartmouth, we had lunch at Lympstone Manor. The view as you come out of the woods and onto the hotel grounds is a wonderful "Welcome to Devon" moment. You aren't in Kansas anymore.
The Dart Marina hotel has been wonderful to work with. Paul Downing, the Group Managing Director, has said "Yes" to every request we have made (as in: nothing is impossible.) The hotel has a lovely lobby overlooking the River Dart - a wonderful place to enjoy an evening G&T or Elderflower Pressé (those of you who have been to Cornwall with us will be reminded of the view from the Greenbank Hotel in Falmouth.)
We spent the next several days bopping around Devon checking on private dining rooms, parking spots, ferry schedules, bathroom locations, timing walks up and down hills, (missing ferries), having meetings and sampling the local cuisine = the "usual" Huron Tours type homework.
Speaking of cuisine - I had so many excellent seafood dishes! Katie and I are on a strict "broth only" diet at the moment and are not allowed to stop moving for more than 2 minutes per day until sometime in 2024.
It was our 15th wedding anniversary! We spent the night on Burgh Island and felt like we went back in time to the 1920s.
We met lovely people everywhere we went and can't wait to show this part of the world to our travelers. This tour has many special elements, and the setting is absolutely spectacular and unique.
Mid-writing this first post on this new blog we sold out on the tour. We like selling out the tours, but always wish we had room for everyone that wants to join us. Our Wales tours and Scotland tours have some spots left, and are equally wonderful adventures.
Thanks for reading, and happy gardening! John and Katie