Camping in Devon

Hi Folks, we're back from a great week's camping in south Devon - a much needed break. The weather was kind to us - no rain, and we we staying on a great campsite with a particularly good shaded pitch, which meant the tent didn't get excessively hot during the day. Eden loves camping - she thinks the tent is hilarious and enjoys running in and out, as well as having plenty of room to run around on the grass outside. We were within walking distance of the beach at Dawlish Warren, so spent many happy hours down there making sandcastles etc. The sea was a bit cold for Eden, but I enjoyed a good few swims - the water not so cold once you got used to it. To be honest I felt I was duty bound to swim and "make the most of it" regardless of the sea temperature! I'm glad I did though. We also really enjoyed trips to Shaldon Zoo, Canonteign Falls and Dawlish. So nice just to have a "slow" week and just enjoy one another's company.

Finished a few books recently. I realised I'd forgotten to mention a book I read the other day - Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. He's one of my favourite authors of recent times, so when I spotted one of his books that I hadn't read in the clearance section in Waterstones for 50p I couldn't resist. As usual, it's an excellent read - amusing and absorbing. I hear he's got a new book out soon so will have to get that on order from the library. Another 50p bargain that I got at the same time and read while camping was Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe's Havoc - interesting to read having read Mark Urban's history of the 95th Rifles the other day. You can't really go wrong with any of the titles in the Sharpe series. A book I'd got from the library the other day and also finished while camping was Mary and John Gribbin's Flower Hunters - a history of eleven lesser known botanists of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries who explored the outer reaches of the (then) known world to bring back plants for medicine, knowledge, and latterly to feed the Victorians' love of orchids and rhododendrons! An excellent and fascinating read - if a slightly girly title!