The bridleway to Coffinswell

September is often a beautiful month, and here in South Devon, the season has offered us some of the year's best weather.  Cloudless blue skies, albeit with a little bite in the air, has prolonged the gardening season, and really encouraged us to get out and make the best of it, before the impending Autumn falls, and Winter's grip returns.  On a crisp and stunning Sunday morning, we left our front door and headed up into the Woods, destination Coffinswell, a little village a couple of miles away.

At the top of our little housing estate lies Ben Stedham's Wood, a sliver of woodland separating the estate from the back road to Torquay.  It's a lovely wild area and a little haven for wildlife - particularly, at this time of year, fungi.  I don't have much knowledge of mushrooms and toadstools, but their shapes and sizes fascinate me, and this year we have been especially blessed with sheer variety, noticing them both in our own garden, and elsewhere.

Ben Stedham's Wood

Fungi in the woods

The woodland gives way to a bridleway, from where the walker or rider can either head north towards the Teign Estuary, or south to Coffinswell.  Turning south, we pass hedgerows of ferns and young oaks, in which perfect spider webs have been weaved, shimmering in the sun.  Like fungus, I have noticed a proliferation in spiders this September, and webs straddle every space, crossing every path back in our garden.  

Perfect spider web

Lying just off the bridle path, a lesser-known archaeological site is a reminder of the area's ancient connections.  Milber Down Iron Age hillfort sits some 2,500 years old, once inhabited by people of the Dumnoni, the ancient British people who inhabited what is now Devon and Cornwall.  The hillfort itself is not easily distinguishable to the untrained eye, and could easily be overlooked as nothing more than a grazing site for sheep.  Aside from the gentle, overgrown ramparts, the site offers fabulous views over Newton Abbot, from which I spy many of my childhood haunts - Highweek church in the distance (we used to call the downs there the Mountains,) Decoy Lake, and even Seale-Hayne College, now part of the Dame Hannah Rogers Trust - all overshadowed by the omnipresent moors.  If ever one view could encapsulate the word home, then this is surely it for me.

Milber Down in Hutchinson's Diaries, 1853.  Source: Devon.gov.uk

Newton Abbot

Back on the bridleway, we seem to move through several landscapes at some pace.  Woodland gives way to a view of the South Devon link road, under-construction and a big talking point in the town.  Further along still, we overlook a quarry, before suddenly finding ourselves once again back in the middle of the countryside, with rolling green fields ushering us ever closer to the Coffinswell village.  I haven't been to Coffinswell for a number of years, and certainly don't remember it being so pretty.  Thatched cottages and lovely little gardens greet us, and we nose over the low walls with interest to see what the locals are growing.  My favourite garden, although I had not the nerve to so audaciously take a photo, took pride in two enormous purple echiums, no doubt bought from Plant World just up the road, where they are grown each summer (and I fully intend to get my own, next year.)

Beautiful cottage in Coffinswell

Another Coffinswell dwelling

The end point of our little walk is the Linny, the lovely village inn dating from the 14th century.  A very happy welcome within, a drink on an outside table, soaking up the sun and country atmosphere, a reminder to me that when the world is in this sort of mood, there really is nowhere else I'd ever wish to be.

The Linny, Coffinswell

A lovely front garden in Coffinswell

A year in TQ12

Unbelievable though it is, we're celebrating the first anniversary of the move into our own house.  We've certainly been on a journey in the last twelve months, making the house into our very own home, somewhere we want to spend our time, and a perfect place to relax and enjoy.  Since September 2014, we've installed a new bathroom and boiler, put a new door on the garage, had a new TV aerial installed, decorated all-but-one of our rooms, built several bookshelves, tables, cabinets and a sideboard, laid insulation down in the loft, and hung some 30 pictures on various walls.  In the garden, meanwhile, we're slowly transforming the space into a wildlife-friendly area for year-round enjoyment, and thoroughly relishing the challenge.  No more words from me today, but here's a few before-and-after shots that sum up what we've spent the majority of our time (and money!) on this year:

September harvest

It's suddenly September, and that can only mean one thing in our household - blackberry picking.  Wandering the lanes hunting for blackberries is something of a tradition for us, and is always accompanied by that certain earthy feeling that the year is growing old, that summer is on the wane, and that autumn is being heralded in with each and every berry that hits the pot.  The plump, ripened berries are numerous in the hedgerows this year, so we picked just enough for Lizzie to make one of her trademark crumbles - just add the apples from our garden, and nothing could taste better.

Lizzie picking blackberries in the September sunshine

Back onsite, autumn is slowly taking its hold and the garden is slowly maturing into Keats' season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.  All but the hardiest of grasshoppers have ceased their chirping, the birdsong is low, and all around the wildlife is either reaching the conclusion of its lifecycle, or else preparing to overwinter.  Autumn colour has arrived in the form of the Michaelmas daisy and other aster varieties, plants which have grown ceaselessly throughout the spring and summer months, picking their flowering time perfectly to extend the gardening season another few weeks, and of course providing essential nectar to the bees in this relatively sparse time.

The Michaelmas daisy

A bee on the aster Anneke

A late grasshopper

Elsewhere, and following on from Monty Don's recommendations of Gardeners' World, we've invested in numerous cyclamens to bring some winter colour to our shady areas.  Word on the internet is that a good cyclamen will flower right through winter and into the following spring, and whilst I won't quite be expecting that, it's another source of nectar for late-flying bees, and will add some much appreciated winter colour at a time when the rest of the garden is tucking down.

Cyclamens adding winter colour in the garden shade

It's amazing to think that only a few weeks ago, I was bemoaning my tomato crop and exclaiming that this is the last time I will ever grow tomatoes.  The stumpy little plants, puny green fruits and lack of sunshine had somewhat dashed my spirits until, out of nowhere, came great trusses of plump scarlet fruits.  Suddenly I am picking tomatoes daily, and have probably sixty or seventy fruits still ripening on the vine.  It has made me rethink my rethink (maybe I will grow them next year after all...)  Similarly, after a shaky start back in late spring, my cucumbers have been a magnificent performer (the variety, Marketmore, is one to remember) and there is a real delight to stepping outside with a knife, and returning to the kitchen with a handful of crisp, fresh salad.

Tomatoes ripening on the vine

Successful cucumbers

Back in the kitchen, the autumn night drawing in with a slight chill, Lizzie tends to her famous blackberry and apple crumble, into which I've thrown some raspberries from my autumn-fruiting canes.  It's the greatest possible celebration of this time of year - a time of year that always moves me, a time for reflection on the summer past, but also an opportunity to look forwards to another phase in the never-ending cycle of gardening.

Delicious autumn crumble

A plateful of harvest

Snooping around the Old Forde House

In the market town of Newton Abbot, a stone's throw from the A380 and the Penn Inn roundabout, sits a grand old jewel of a house. Everybody in town knows of it, and each day thousands watch it pass by their car windows, probably with nonchalance.  Separated from the roadside by a generous green, upon which local dog walkers and ramblers will stroll gently under its shadow, with a stately air and granite-grey facade, lies arguably the town's most well-known landmark, our beloved Forde House.

Forde House's wood-paneled entrance hall 

Many years ago, as a little eight-year-old, I paid a visit here on a school trip examining the Tudors and Stuarts.  Today, for the first time in 22 years, I passed through its front door once again, Teignbridge District Council (owners and occupiers since 1978) having begun, last year, a series of summer open days.  The history of the house can be dated back to the 13th century, although in its present form, the house is around 400 years old, remodelled in 1610 into its familiar Jacobean appearance.  Built in the shape of an E, as were several manor houses of the age, it is said to have been a tribute to Queen Elizabeth I, although Her Majesty died in 1603, seven years before the completion of the building.

The parlour

To me, this is the most historically important building in town (apologies St Leonard's clock tower, Bradley Manor, and our lovely railways station,) for in terms of a building keeping beat to the pulse of history, this house saw it all.  Perhaps most famously, King Charles I stayed here in 1625, en route to Plymouth to review the fleet, before it set off for the Cadiz Expedition, and returned some days later, staying a further two nights. In 1643, having captured Exeter from the forces of Parliament during the Civil War, a band of the King's cavaliers stayed here before travelling on to take the port of Dartmouth.  Three short years later, it was Parliament who were put up at the house, when Oliver Cromwell and Colonel Fairfax, more heavyweight names of English history, were hosted on their way to retake Exeter, and march towards eventual success in that bloody conflict.  

Engraving by J Henshall, around 1835 after a painting by R Brown (source: Wikipedia)

Fast forward 45 years and, now in the hands of the Courtenay family of Powderham Castle (see also: Courtenay Park in the town,) Forde House again played host to royalty.  After a brilliant landing at Brixham, William, Prince of Orange, stopped by at the onset of the Glorious Revolution.  William of Orange would march on to London for his coronation, but his first declaration on English soil was made at the foot of St Leonard's tower in the town.  Today, a plaque there reads:

"The first declaration of William, Prince of Orange, the glorious defender of the Protestant Religion and the liberties of England, was read on this pedestal by the Rev John Reynall, Rector of this parish, on November 5th 1688."

Thus began one of Britain's most important events, one that eventually led to the Bill of Rights, a cornerstone of British democracy.  Forde House played a role in this story.

Lizzie at the Old Forde House

We were treated to a very well-informed tour courtesy of a local historian with terrific knowledge and passion for his subject, reeling off the life history of the building and its historical context, without even the briefest of glances at his notes.  It certainly shed new light on a house that I pass nearly every day, and one that I hold now in higher regard still.  Forde House, like so many familiar, forgotten gems across the country, is a witness to the amazing story of English history.  You won't find it in many history books, save for a footnote or perhaps a mention in an index, but I really believe that places like this are where our history was made, ideas formed, and inspiration gained by the icons of our past.  This makes them invaluable, and is exactly why I jumped at the chance to explore it once again.  A far more detailed potted history of the house can be found on the Teignbridge District Council webpages, and is worth a read.

Glorious Gulls - An underdog story

It's tough following a small football team.  There are more lows than highs, there is more pain than joy, and there are more miserable Saturday afternoons than you would find in the average Manchester United or Chelsea household.  Following Torquay United, as I have done for the last twenty years (longer, if you include my six-year-old self's trip to Wembley's famous twin towers in the 1991 play-off final)  I think it's fair to say that I, along with many others in south Devon, have lived a never-ending rollar coaster cheering on the Gulls; and what better way to re-live all the delight and agony, than with a visit to Torquay Museum's latest exhibition, Glorious Gulls - An Underdog Story.

Of course, there's far too much in this packed-out little exhibition to mention here, for within is documented the life of the football club, from humble beginnings to the... erm... humble modern age.  The journey begins at the club's 1899 formation, carries the visitor through those faltering first few years, its election into the Football League in 1927, and its many achievements since that time, including promotions, Wembley visits, and cup ties against footballing royalty such as Tottenham Hotspur.

Torquay United in 1927.  Note the black-and-white stripes, which earned United their first nickname - The Magpies

FA Cup third round programme, 1965.  Torquay secured an amazing 3-3 draw in this match thanks to goals from Atkinson and Stubbs.  The replay at White Hart Lane was captured by the newsreels - you can see highlights by clicking here. 

One of my favourite aspects of the exhibition was the old photographs, blown up large for the information boards.  Prolific goalscorer Sammy Collins, signed from Bristol City in 1948, scored 219 goals in 379 games for the Gulls, and set a goal scoring record in the 1955-56 season with 40 League and two cup goals.  There's also a shot of Jim McNichol and police dog Bryn, famous to all Torquay fans.  On 9 May 1987, Torquay United hosted Crewe Alexander in the final league fixture of the season.  Finding themselves 2-1 down with moments remaining, United were heading out of the Football League.  Jim McNichol paced down the wing and whipped in a cross, in the process confusing Bryn the police dog, who promptly ran onto the field and bit McNichol on the leg.  Medical treatment led to several minutes of stoppage time, from which Torquay defender Paul Dobson somehow found the net, saving Torquay's position in the Football League at the very death, and propelling the German Shepherd to local stardom.  Quite simply, it could only happen that way at Plainmoor.

Sammy Collins scores again

Jim McNichol shakes the paw of Bryn

There is also plenty of memorabilia from within my memory of supporting the Gulls, starting with the shirt worn by Kevin Hill in the 2008 FA Trophy final, which marked the midfielder's record-breaking 474th appearance in yellow.  Hill was a bit of a cult hero when I was a teenager, an ever-present throughout the years and held in high regard by the Torquay faithful.  There's also a nod, in caricature form, to one of my favourite players, St Vincent international, Rodney Jack.  Jack was banging in the goals at around the time I started regularly attending Torquay matches, and largely through his goals, United reached the Division 3 play-off final in 1998.  After defeat to Colchester, Crewe signed him for £650,000, but fans like me never forgot those lightning performances in yellow-and-blue.

Kevin Hill's FA Trophy final shirt

Rodney Jack

There's so much more to see and remember; automatic promotion under Leroy Rosenior in 2004; ultimate relegation into non-league football, twice; all the ups and downs in one well-thought-out and colourfully put-together exhibition, which will thrill Torquay United supporters and anybody else interested in the history of local football.  Of course, our visit coincided with a match day, and what better way to round off a trip down football's memory lane than by taking a seat in the familiar old ground, the usual crowd, the colours, sights, sounds and smells of your home football team, and with a 1-0 win to boot!  Real Madrid it ain't, but it's just as historic, and just as important to its fans.  This visit reminded me just how much I love my football - now come on you Yellows!

You can see all the photos from my visit to the Glorious Gulls exhibition by clicking here.