For Wendy and Graeme's last few days with us, we didn't want to succumb to the ease of staying in a marina. Following some good advice, we decided to head for a small river that was a two-hour voyage from where we were tied up.
Out the entrance to the left and around the point lays the River Yealm.
Rounding this point looks much tougher on the charts.
After arriving at the visitor pontoon in the fading light last night, we spent today wandering the two towns straddling one of the River Yealm estuaries.
On the visitor's pontoon. No walk-ashore access - time to blow up the dinghy.
We came ashore here and walked to town.
It made for a very pleasant 20 minute stroll.
The tide was going out and we had been told by the harbourmaster that we could walk across "stepping stones" from the town on one side of the estuary to the other side. We weren't perfectly clear on how this would look, but we thought we could always come back to the dinghy and use it to cross if we needed to.
The estuary looks very different with the tide out. Good thing we weren't sailing up!
Easy crossing!
We ran into a local who was headed across and showed us where to access the path. Very ingenious, very civilized. I'm sure it has been in use for centuries.
Our friendly local told us the sights to see today would be ... pubs. The Dolphin Inn and the Yealm Yacht Club were on the north side and The Ship Inn and The Swan Inn were on the south side. We could walk the WHOLE length of the town and take the bridge across and come back on the other side.
We decided a pub crawl (at 12:30 pm) sounded like a fine way to spend a rainy day in southern England.
The Dolphin wasn't serving food today. Pass. On to the next one.
Along we went, past many lovely cottages.
Next stop - The Swan.
The Swan was just what we were hoping for - a friendly, rural atmosphere with a Pub Labrador and a few crusty locals sprinkled around the interior.
Graeme, Kate and Wendy find a place inside while Sean snaps a picture through the rolled glass window.
... and a crackling fire! Perfect!
We had a very filling, very tasty lunch and pint of ale next to the fireplace. After a bit of rest from lunch, we left to search for the next pub.
Narrow streets.
We did find the Ship Inn and stopped for a coffee/hot chocolate, deciding that if we wanted a fair chance at getting back to Chinook, we better be sober enough to stay in the dinghy.
Graeme remarked that today was a highlight of the visit ... so far.
Comments
Post a Comment