Rock Park

The sun is finally shining in North Devon, so everyone rushed outdoors to make the most of it today. I took the children over to Rock Park at lunch time for a picnic and to meet a friend I haven't seen for a long time. We had a nice chat, and a beer (a picnic isn't complete without one). The kids played, or slept in the pushchair in the case of her little one.

There are two parks in Barnstaple, Pilton and Rock. Rock park, named after Mr Rock, some famous Barnstaple person (I only know this because there is a statue of his head somewhere nearby), sits on the bank of the river Taw. It is larger than Pilton park, has some very pretty grounds and a big field used for sports at the weekends. It is in the process of being re-vamped with a new children's play area and new toilets. Lets hope they finish soon because what was on offer today was rather old, and there wasn't much for the kids to play on at all. The old toilets were locked so we had to water a few trees. Still, the picnic was nice, and its worth a wander through if you like some pretty views.

Appledore and Instow

We've just 'done' Appledore and Instow at school. That is to say, we visited them and studied them from a geographical point of view. I'd forgot there was more to these to towns than just the beach or the quay.

In Appledore we walked through the little park at the back of the car park and into Irsha Street, a quaint windy little road full of pretty cottages. Half way along there are two lovely looking pubs (which of course we didn't go in) and in between them is a slipway. It leads down to the muddy beach you can see in the photo. The children sat and did some sketching and we showed them the sand bar where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet. Then we let them loose on the pebbles and rocks. They loved seeing what they could find, and lots of shells, stones and even crabs legs went home in pockets as treasure.

Walk to the end of Irsha Street and you find the Life Boat Station. The crew members very kindly let us go in and even showed the children the room where they keep thier uniform and wetsuits. Outside there is fantastic view of Westward Ho!

In Instow we walked along as far as the old train station where the Tarka Trail goes through the town. More on that in a future blog, I hope. (I'm waiting for my husband to teach my youngest how to ride a bike.) Then we went back round to the sand dunes and made sand sculptures. Some of their creations were very good, I recommend trying it sometime. Mermaids were particularly popular, three dimensional and fully equiped with shell bikini tops!

Jazz Train

It's still raining here in North Devon, so with umbrella's waving we headed off to Barnstaple train station last night for a little jaunt down the Tarka Line to Eggesford. We were advised to arrive half an hour early to ensure buying tickets as they couldn't be bought in advance, and were pleasantly surprised to discover that if there are more than four in your party you can get a group rate of 50% off adult tickets and children travel for �1. So our return trip cost a grand total of �7.50! Bargain!

And the reason for our trip? Once a month from April to September there is a Jazz Train running out of Barnstaple. A band plays on the train down to Eggesford where passengers alight and take the short walk up to the Fox and Hounds Country Hotel for dinner. The band also plays in the pub, and on the return train journey. On our trip the band was The Steve Tucker All Star Jazz Band, and they were brilliant.

The meal at the Fox and Hounds was also fantastic, although I ate rather too much and had to waddle back to the train station. The children loved going on the train, although the countryside views were spoiled a bit by the weather. I especially enjoyed the champagne provide by my friend for the journey. And despite my teenage daughter asserting that the music was "gay", even she was smiling by the end. I'd definately go again.

Pizza Tuesday

Once again, it is pizza season here on Gunflint Lake! Each week, we fire up the bread oven to bake some tasty treats. It takes about six hours of stoking to get the oven hot enough for the bread and pizza. Late in the afternoon, we gather outside around the oven.

First we put in the ciabatta, a sourdough bread that is similar to foccacia. This bread generally bakes in about eight minutes, if the oven is hot enough. We still haven't hooked up the computerized monitor that will tell us how hot the oven really is, but we estimate it to be in the high 500's to low 600's. Once this bread comes out of the oven and has cooled slightly, it practically disappears off the table. We cut it in to chunks, eat it plain, put butter on it, dip it in olive oil with fresh herbs---anyway we do it, it is so delectable. If there is any leftover, we use it over the course of the next week to make panini sandwiches, or as buns for our venison burgers. And if there is any left after that, if it has gone stale, Moses and Jethro, the donkeys, absolutely love it. They have been known to try and take my sandwich out of my hand, because they love ciabatta so much. They don't get it very often, because it usually is long gone.

Next we gather up the pizza dough, and start to roll crusts out. We like to pre-bake the crusts in the oven for a few minutes, and then pull them out to put on the toppings. Once they are covered in sauce and other fixin's, they go back in to the oven to finish off. All told, it probably takes five minutes per pizza. They get cut up right away, and those, too, disappear in no time. We joke that if you help to make a pizza, then walk away while it is in the oven, you may miss out on it.

It is always interesting to try new toppings for the pizzas. We make a fair share of the traditional ones, with cheese and pepperoni, but we also like to experiment with new ideas. Some of the best taste sensations have come out of this casual creativity. Last week we tried one that went over very well with some folks, while others would have nothing to do with it. Instead of traditional red sauce, we spread a thin layer of peanut butter on the crust. Next we sprinkled crisp bacon bits, carmelized onions, chopped chipotle chiles (only a few--they are hot!), and some asiago cheese on the crust. Two minutes in the oven, and back on the table. I thought it was fabulous. Sure, it wasn't one that would entice me to eat several slices, but as an appetizer, it was great! I love the mix of savory flavors on one like this. Many others agreed, and we ended up making a second one.

I have no idea what kind of pizza we will be making this week, as it all depends on the ingredients on hand at the time, and the creative minds around the preparation table. No matter, it all gets eaten, and often in a blink of the eye. We are firing up the oven on Tuesdays this summer, so if you would like to taste the wares from the oven, give us a call! 1-800-338-7230

Oceanfest 2007

This years Oceanfest was a bit hit and miss as far as the weather goes, but we were lucky and hit all the good weather! Friday (schools day and free for everyone right into the evening) was a complete wash out - we gave that a miss and went in on Saturday afternoon. Lovely. We were going to camp there but by the time we thought about it everywhere was booked, so my advice for next year is too book early.

The ground was packed and there's plenty to keep everyone occupied - bike and skateboard displays, lots of stalls selling everything from jewellery through to surfboards, and of course my favourite, the music stage and beer tent. There is nothing better than sitting in the sunshine with beer and listening to live music (I might have mentioned that last year.) The Lantern FM Radio people were there with their big purple bus, they had a dalek with them and Dr Who even came out to have his photo taken with my children.

Other things for children to do include the climbing wall, trampolines and bouncy castles.

This year you could even paint a bus!

A favourite occupation of many teenagers we saw, mine included, was to see just how many freebies you could collect from various stalls. We managed a t-shirt, four bags with various goodies inside courtesy of the Devon recycle people and EA games, a magazine and a frisbee.

My husband enjoyed the ladies volleyball on the beach!

Northam Burrows

OK, technically this is still Westward Ho! beach, but we're at the Northam Burrows end. Entered via a toll road in the village of Northam between Appledore and Westward Ho! the burrows are now a site of special scientific interest. Behind the pebble ridge is a large expanse of grass land peppered with sheep and golf courses.

We went to Mum's today to say 'Happy Birthday' to my grandad. Blink and you missed him: so after a cup of tea and a slice of cake, minus the birthday boy, we headed off to the beach with my sister and her family. The tide was in so the only possibility of finding sand was to go to this end of the beach. It was lovely - nice and warm, with a cooling breeze and the sea just a stroll down the sand, not a five mile hike. The water was even nice, once you got used to it. And when the kids had had enough of jumping waves, digging in the sand and climbing the pebble ridge, it was off to the other side for Hocking ice-cream. Excellent!

Dartington Crystal

Dartington Crystal has been making glass in Torrington for forty years now. They have a lovely visitors centre, a huge shop and a restuarant that sells fresh, made on the premises, food. We spent a couple of hours here today, mostly 'doing' stuff. There are factory tours where you can see wine glasses, vases, etc being made and the bonus is that kids go free! Having said that, the visitors centre is set up with activities for the children to do that will hit your wallet more than an entrance fee might have done.

Today I took four children, my three and a friend: three decided they would paint a glass, and one wanted to make a necklace. Both activities cost �5 per person. The glass painting was fun, and took about 30 mins. They have to paint on an outline, then heat it, then paint the glass and heat it again. The necklace making took slightly less time but was fiddly and definately required adult help. My recommendation would be to paint the glass then leave it drying while you do the factory tour.

The factory tour is not so much a tour as a walk through two rooms on an elevated corridor. The first room is the most interesting. You get to see the whole process from taking the molten glass out of the furnace to blowing and shaping it and then the final product going off somewhere to be finished. All four children watched in fascination before declaring that they wanted to be glassmakers when they left school! The second room is just a packing room. The kids weren't impressed with that.

Other activities we didn't have a go at today were glass blowing, and making a hand cast in glass. We've done the hand casting before. It's a great keepsake, but it is popular so you have to book that one.