Devon and Cornwall photos

The weather has gone a bit wet and windy in the South West today, but over the last few weekends we've had some lovely bright sunny days, and have used the opportunity to take some new photos for our photo gallery. Do have a look, and enjoy a photographic tour of Devon and Cornwall.

And if you'd like to submit your own photos for our planned Guest Gallery, click here for more information.

Sunday lunch in Bideford

A trip to North Devon today, mainly to see family staying in Barnstaple.

As we had time to spare, we enjoyed a very pleasant (and filling, and good value) sunday lunch carvery at the Royal Hotel in Bideford (pictured here). For more information visit the Sunday Lunch page at http://www.simplydevonandcornwall.com/

Bideford itself is a pleasant riverside town. There's not a huge amount to see, but there's a nice walk along the river bank.

Onwards to Barnstaple, for tea at the Imperial Hotel in Barnstaple where family were staying. The Imperial is a quiet, comfortable, traditional hotel right in the heart of Barnstaple and overlooking the river. Click here for more information and our thoughts on the Imperial Hotel based on a previous stay.

Air Southwest increase flights to Devon and Cornwall

The South West's own low-fare airline, Air Southwest, is offering more flights to Devon and Cornwall from the end of April.

The airline is adding new daily flights to both Plymouth and Newquay from Glasgow and Newcastle, and new services from Cork and Dublin to Plymouth. The popular Cork-Newquay link is also being introduced from the end of April.

The new services are in addition to Air Southwest's existing flights to Plymouth and Newquay from London Gatwick, Manchester, Leeds Bradford, Dublin, Bristol and Jersey.

More information

Beautiful Fowey

A very nice day in Fowey today. A bit grey, but mainly dry.

Coffee first at the Fowey Hall Hotel. The Fowey Hall is a rather splendid country-house style hotel with comfortable lounges and real log fires. Despite the sumptuous surroundings, coffee was actually pretty good value at £5.00 for the two of us including home made biccies, and there were plenty of papers to read too!

After coffee we parked in the car park at Readymoney Beach (an odd name for a beach!) and enjoyed a very pleasant stroll into the delightful estuary town of Fowey. Lunch at the Ship Inn (delicious homemade soup, sandwich and a sinful portion of chips). The RFA (Royal Fleet Auxilairy) ship Sir Bedivere was in port for her last visit to her "adopted" port of Fowey before retirement from the RFA in the next few days. Tenders were laid on for a trip to the ship, where we enjoyed a fascinating tour of this well-travelled vessel.

For more information on our meanderings around Devon and Cornwall visit http://www.simplydevonandcornwall.com/

A day out in North Cornwall

A beautiful day today - cold and crisp, with clear blue skies. A day out in North Cornwall seemed like a good plan.

Coffee at the slightly strange but beautifully situated Camelot Hotel, on the clifftop at Boscastle. Comfy sofas and nice coffee, with a few choccy biscuits to keep us going.

Headed back into Boscastle village, and ignored the "pay" car parks and parked on the roadside instead (it's amazing how many people don't read the plates which show it's ok to park on the roadside in winter, and pay to park in the car parks instead!). A brisk walk down the steep path to the castle ruins was rewarded with fabulous views of the rugged North Cornwall coast.

Lunch at the Mote Restaurant in the lovely (and mainly unspoilt) fishing village of Port Isaac. Devilled mackerel was delicious - not too boney.

Followed by a nice drive to Polzeath, where the surf was clean and decent, resulting in quite a few hardy surfers in the water. For our part, we stayed firmly on land but did get a bid wet playing "dodge the wave"!

Tea in Rock - thankfully quiet at this time of year - on a sunny terrace overlooking the stunning Camel Estuary. How lucky we are to have all this on our doorstep!

For photos from our day out today, and the best "insiders' guide" to Devon and Cornwall, visit our website at http://www.simplydevonandcornwall.com/