Greenway

I was up at 07:00, shaved, showered and dressed and sat down at the MacBook with Diane still fast asleep.  Slowly she stirred, and I made some tea and coffee to jump-start the day. Looking out of the window revealed a murky start to the day. While Di was getting washed and dressed itook the opportunity of opening all the wonderful Birtday cards that I had been given. I am a lucky man, indeed.

We had agreed to meet for breakfast at 08:45 as we needed to get on the road by 10:00. It all worked very well, breakfast was done and dusted, and we were ready by the car in plenty of time.

We set off toward Torbay, which meant a loop up via Exeter, then a drive down the M5 and A380 towards Kingswear. This meant traversing the ring road around Torquay and Brixham, which must have more traffic lights than central London. Eventually, we popped out the other side and turned through Galmpton towards Greenway, the holiday home of Agatha Christie.

We parked the car and made our way through the rain to the house. At the house, we were greeted by one of the National Trust volunteers who gave us guidebooks and a short briefing about the house. We then made our through the various rooms which had been left exactly as they had been used when the family lived there.

It was a charming house with stunning views over the River Dart. When the family lived there, however, they allowed the trees and shrubs to obscure the view in order to ensure their privacy. We chatted with a couple of the volunteers as we worked our way around with a long chat in Agatha's bedroom regarding her wardrobe's contents and another long chat in the library regarding a mural that had been painted by US servicemen who were billeted there in the run-up to ~D-Day.

From the house, we made our way to the NT Cafe where where Trevor treated us to a cream tea. This was the perfect interlude because the rain seemed to finally give up and the sun started to venture out.

We walked down through the gardens to the little boathouse on the river bank. There were a few steep stretches but we managed them without any drama. The path was well-signposted and the rhododendrons, camellias, and magnolias decorated the route as we progressed. Some of the views were quite enchanting as we looked downriver towards Dartmouth or upriver to Dittisham.

We retraced our steps, climbing back up the path to the house. After a comfort break it was time to head for the car and make our way home. Diane and Jane were given lift to the car park in an electric buggy while Trevor and I walked.

The journey back to the hotel took us just over an hour but once back, we settled in the lounge for cup of tea and a beer, and Jane and Trevor, kindly gave me a Birthday present.

Back in our room I had calls from both Zoe and Kim to wish me a Happy Birthday.

We went down to the bar for aa quiet drink before dinner and then made our way to the dining room for the usual sumptuous repast. My ice cream dessert cam on a decorated plate and the band played Happy Birthday as it was delivered.

We sat and chatted in the lounge for a while and then headed for our rooms. It was there that the first problem of the day arose. My Kindle would not switch on, nor switch off. It just sat there with its metaphorical tongue out. It has provided great service over the years, but methinks it is time to order a new one.