Plymouth

During my time in Plymouth, I spent a lot of time walking down by the coast. I could spend hours sitting on one of the park benches overlooking the English Channel reading and people watching. One day I happened to look out and see a sizeable pod of dolphins swimming through the bay. I lucked out with great weather leading to some beautiful sunsets.

My visit included joining a VIP tour the aquarium runs. I was able to see the holding tanks for new animals to quarantine, how they feed the animals, and research facilities.

My visit to Plymouth happened to coincide with the British Fireworks Championship: a two-night competition to see which company from around England can put on the best firework display. Also running for those two days was a fair with rides and food trucks, making me think it might be the biggest event of the summer in Plymouth. Although I was skeptical at first, I will say these were probably the best fireworks I've ever seen. There were speakers along the promenade with commentators essentially giving a play-by-play during the displays, so I learned about all the different types of fireworks and surprisingly extensive terminology.

Day Trips: Cawsand & Wembury

One of the day trips I took was to Cawsand via the ferry from Plymouth. The waters were quite choppy, but exploring the little town was worth it.

However, the view from the top and my lunch made everything worth it.

For my geo people, here are some pictures of the rocks on Cawsand Beach. They're reddish-purple siltsones part of the Whitsand Bay Formation, and exhibit compressive folding, likely a result of the Variscan Orogeny. Quartz veins run throughout.

The second day trip I took was to Wembury to visit the Wembury Marine Centre. In Plymouth, I had seen signs marking the South West Coast Path (SWCP), but it wasn't until I was here that I saw a real trail marker. The SWCP is England's longest footpath extending 630 miles from Minehead to Poole. I had first learned about the path when reading Raynor Winn's The Salt Path last year. When I first started reading, I thought it was fiction because I had never heard of all these towns, but, lo and behold, they are very much real, and it was exciting to know I was standing on ground countless people have trekked before. 

Ilfracombe

So far, Ilfracombe has been my favorite stop in the UK. I'm not sure if it was the hostel, the people I met while there, or how close it was to so many coastal walks, but something clicked while I was visiting. I found Ilfracombe through a random search for best beaches in Devon and I quickly became aware of why it was rated so highly.

I spent most of my days either getting some planning done or going for walks along the South West Coast Path.

These are all pictures from the beach right down the road from my hostel. I happened to go at low tide, so was able to explore all the rock pools (see the sea anenome in the top left picture) and formations like the cave in the bottom left picture. I still can't get over how much these slates have been lifted.

While in Ilfracombe, I walked to Hele Bay via the South West Coast Path and Tunnels Beach. The name Tunnels Beach comes from the hand carved tunnels dug in the 1820's that lead to sheltered beaches and Victorian bathing pools. You can read more about the history of the beaches here.

My time here also coincided with my 22nd birthday! It ended up being beautiful outside, so I went on an 8 mile hike from Ilfracombe to the beach in Woolacombe. Once I got to the beach, I read my book, people (and dog) watched, and may have fallen asleep at one point. I took the bus back to Ilfracombe where the people I had met in the hostel were waiting with a cake for me. Although I was away from my family and friends, I think this was the best possible way I could have spent my birthday.

Day Trips: Lynmouth

It was recommended that I visit Lynmouth while in that part of England, so I took a day to explore the town, and, more importantly, visit Valley of Rocks. 

Lynmouth is the cutest little coastal town with two main roads full of shops, cafes, and pubs. I spent time walking through galleries and grabbing some fudge before starting yet another part of the SWCP to Valley of Rocks.

Though all of my hikes have been beautiful, this one was one of my favorites. You're quite literally walking on the edge of a cliff the whole time with the sea on one side and the cliff face on the other. At one point I came across a group of goats casually standing in the shrubs on an almost vertical part of the cliff. Valley of Rocks itself is amazing and I could have spent all day there. It's literally just a gaint valley, but it feels like something out of a fairytale and reminded me of my time in Ireland.

Exeter

My time in Exeter wasn't super long, but I was able to see some cool spots. I spent most of my time in the city walking around and working in cafes. My favorite bakery near my Airbnb was Lilac Bakery. They always had beautiful pastries and really good sausage rolls.

One of the big things to do in Exeter is to visit the Cathedral. I always enjoy visiting cathedrals when traveling to see the architecture and my favorite parts are the stained glass windows. I was also able to attend a evensong service where the boys and adults choir sang.

Day Trips: Exmouth

When the weather finally cooperated, I took the bus to Exmouth for the sole purpose of seeing a beach. Little did I know that Exmouth is home to Orcombe Point, the beginning of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site. After walking through the town a bit and grabbing a snack, I started walking yet another part of the South West Coast Path to Sandy Bay Beach.

On the walk, I found the Geoneedle which is made of successive layers of sedimentary rocks found along the coast. This marks the westernmost part of the Jurassic Coast.

When I finally got to Sandy Bay Beach, I couldn't stop taking pictures because the dune structures preserved in the rocks were the type you only see in textbooks. One of the reasons I love geology is because of the story rocks can tell, so this was very exciting to see. I also spent some time reading here and walking along the beach.

I thought I could get all the way back to the bus stop along the beach, but I started too close to high tide and almost got stranded in an alcove. Instead, I followed the path back (unfortunately this meant having to walk up the giant hill I wanted to avoid), hopped on a bus, and made my way back to Exeter.