Dartmoor National Park and Buckland Abbey

It's not far, from where we are staying.  A moor with tors and ponies.  We parked the car on a little side shelf- that's all it can be called and walked through strong springy, clumpy grass to an outcrop of granite.

Then onto a local attraction, a thirteen century Abbey, dissolved in Henry V111's time and eventually sold to local boy Sir Francis Drake(Armada fame)- it was the Drake family home for hundreds of years.

This was such a peaceful day- not many visiting the estate and was one of the few days when we've not been overwhelmed with people.  The sun shone too.

The enormous storage barn built by the monks in the 13century was breathtaking- as was the huge cider press- they made apple cider.

The Abbey was remodeled into a tudor house-but the sense of the Monks industry and presence was still there- and what views! It is now run by the National Trust- we should have joined before we started touring!
Tomorrow we train back to Paddington station- but here's a snap shop of the car we hired in Plymouth and also our Bed and Breakfast- a lovely place.

That's our room right at the top- left hand side- yes two flights of stairs- I am getting used to it!