Flakes

The morning has started brightly, but the forecast was a bit “iffy”. Snow had fallen in various parts of the country and the south-west was no immune.
We set off south towards Holsworthy, where we stopped to meander round and look at the quaint little market town. It’s probably a good thing that we didn’t allocate too much time for this, as the town was really quite small and 10 minutes or so was adequate to get a feel for the place.
Leaving Holsworthy we headed west towards Bude where we picked up the aptly named Atlantic Highway. This, GF should explain is because it runs alongside the Cornish coast, not because it crosses the Atlantic. Anyway, the plan was to stop off at a number of the villages along the coast. and to grab some lunch in one of them.
As we reached Delabole the snow set in and for several miles GF drove into significant snow flurries – he was beginning to wonder about the sagacity of a journey such as this when he popped out the other side and everything calmed down.

Parking at the top of the hill, GF and the Silver Vixen strolled down into Port Isaac, which even on a grey day such as this was very picturesque. Because it was such a grey day, it was also bereft of visitors.
We wandered around looking at the nooks and crannies and the pathways and alleyways that made up this fishing village, made famous most recently by the Doc Martin TV series. It was very different at this time of year, with hardly a soul about – except for a couple of fisher-types at the bar of the local pub (one sporting a mullet rarely worn in public since the 1980s).

Talking of the local pub, we stopped off for a coffee and baguette for the Silver Vixen, and a crab chowder for the Gorse Fox.
Leaving, after lunch, we headed back up the hill and got caught in quite a downpour before getting back to the car. Good jobs we were dressed for almost any weather eventuality.
The drive back was meant to take in Tintagel and Hartland Point, but the snow started falling more heavily and it was beginning to settle even on the main roads. Gorse Fox, believing that discretion is sensible in such conditions. stuck with the main roads and headed back up towards Bideford and then looped back down to the resort and the apartment.
(Have managed over 50mpg for the last few days – GF is very pleased).