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North Devon - Birds, Dolphins and Tuna sandwiches!!! (1 Viewer)

PaulAshton

Well-known member
I spent last week holidaying with my missus and the nipper in North Devon. We based ourselves firstly just outside Mortehoe (Woolacombe) at Twitchen Parc (Caravans) and then at Lynmouth in the Rock House Hotel.

The scenery around Woolacombe is amazing with hidden beaches rocky cliffs and coves. It’s full of footpaths and rights of way that give great access. Morte Point and all the other coastal features are excellent for those who love the scenery and also those who in the spring love flowers. Not forgetting the geologists who’d love the cliffs. The cliffs give way to long beaches at Woolacombe so the babby was happy with kossy on and charged intot he sea, while daddy rolled his trouser legs up and played at beach watch when the surf surge was too much.

Bird life was modest, Buzzards, Stonechats and Whinchats were in abundance on the heathy areas.

Twitchen parc gave access to the sea via footpaths and also the cliffs via Mortehoe. The camp also had the club where the entertainers tried their best, with kids club and entertainment (with a small ‘e’). Betty Ball (the body of an inflatable beach ball and the legs of a stringy man entertained us (kind of). It was a working mens club away from home, not my cup of tea, but another holiday experience.

My most interesting wildlife encounter was in the rock pools of Croyde Bay where we encountered a shrimp looking creature (6 inches long, transparent apart from some yellowy gold markings), what I think was a Rock Goby (fish), and some Beadlet Anemone, some as blobs of red jelly in the open air and others with tentacles out in the pools.

For the second half of the week we moved to Lynmouth and met up with my parents. This is always a good base for wildlife encounters and this year it came up trumps for us. Must also recommend the best sandwiches in the world are made at the cafe at the top of the Lynmouth to Lynton vertical railway thing, Magic!

As a new idea we got 4 + 1 child in a Landrover safari in Exmoor. The chap was a good host showing us the country and villages between Porlock and Minehead, green lanes etc. and then took us onto Exmoor proper (Dunkery Beacon area) where between himself and my searching we had binocular views of approx 50 Red deer in total, the odd buzzard and best of all a Cuckoo in a short combat with two smaller birds (was it after laying an egg, who knows?). This type of venture would be very good for those with no car, or just unable to drive the severe narrow lanes. It was about £22 each for 2 ½ hrs.

Back on our own feet we watched Buzzard at close quarters rising up to meet us above the junction of the wooded river valleys that feed water into the river that flows to Lynmouth.

A trip to the Valley of the Rocks gave us views from the cliff footpath of Guillemots and Razorbills which were feeding bellow the cliffs. As usual the valley gave views of the local Peregrines (I’ve never failed to see Peregrine on a trip to the valley as they constantly frequent the coastal cliffs). The valley also gave us views of the local wild goats defeating gravity and vertigo with ease (goats also seen at Heddon’s mouth).

The surprise of the valley was when I watched 6 Gannets (beautiful birds) gathering 50 + metres off shore and then circle and dive to feed. Within the ocean within their circle I then saw a Bottlenose Dolphin which was breaking the choppy surface every thirty seconds or so (my initial comment to my party, luckily lost in the gales on spotting it was “F*** M* Look!”). We watched through binoculars for 10 minutes until the dolphin went out of site around a headland. The gannets had long since moved on, but thanks to them for pointing out the dolphin who I presume had found some fish.

Later on in the holiday we ventured onto Foreland Point where we spotted another Peregrine hunting the cliffs. This was our last wild encounter before heading back to the midlands, holiday over.

:bounce:
 
Nice one, reminds me of happy days as a youngster when we had regular weekends in Georgeham and walked to Puttsborough Beach from the farm.
 
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