Our last week (August 2-10, we're a little behind) started with a walk through the local village that has become our English home with our host family. We enjoyed strolling between the quaint homes, by the stream that runs through the village, and taking in the more rustic, woodsy area surrounding the village.
After evening chores, we headed to Sidmouth to see the festivities of Sidmouth Folk Week. This annual event brings loads of people to the small seaside village and we were excited to see the traditional Morris dancers. These dancers are decked out with bells on their shoes and often sticks or flags in their hands to add to the dance. The dancing is mostly performed by moving their feet up and down and circling around the others in a group of 4-8 people. We love seeing old traditions still carried on! There were other street performers and entertainment to enjoy as well as seeing people jumping into the frigid sea!
On Tuesday we visited a large manor home - Montacute House - with our host dad. This beautiful summer home, completed in 1601, is surrounded by meadows of sheep and cattle grazing. All the animals grazing anywhere and everywhere is one of our favorite things to see. We explored the ice house, wandered the gardens, and made our way through the home. It was so neat to go into the different rooms and envision life in the house. Upstairs there was a large gallery filled with paintings and historical information. This room was used for exercise when the weather was poor - Dana and I wished we had one! We gathered outside for a comical and informational demonstration on Tudor horsemen skills. A lord and his good wife showed us jousting, hunting, and other useful tricks. It was quite the show, even with a disgruntled squire and a horse who didn't want to cooperate (unless it was just the horseman)!
We continued our lovely day out with a picnic across from the Cerne Giant. The origins of this disproportionate man outlined into the chalk hillside is debated, varying from 1500 to 300 years ago. Enough on him, a picture is worth a thousand words!
Our hosts taught us how to make our own clotted cream so that evening for 'pudding' we had scones, jam, honey, and homemade clotted cream! We can't wait to make clotted cream at home!
Wednesday we enjoyed working on the farm with the herdsman. We dehorned and castrated calves, moved dry cows, and made the rounds to check on and feed all the animals in the surrounding pastures.
After a nice day at home on Friday, we walked to the local pub for supper. After ordering our drinks, the man told us that they couldn't serve us food as the pub was fully booked. We did get some chips (fries) and crisps (chips) to snack on. We enjoyed meeting and chatting with the sister and niece and nephew of our host before heading back up the hill for some leftovers! There was a brilliant sunset on our trundle back.
Saturday night we walked up the hill to another pub to experience our first carvery and scrumpy. A carvery is a buffet (not all you can eat but you really don't need more than one plate!) with multiple meats that are carved right before you with all the fixings. Scrumpy is strong apple cider! We were advised to be careful not to drink too much. Dana and I shared a half pint and that was enough for me!
After 'tea' we visited Blackbury Camp. This hillfort dates back to the 4th century B.C. It offers great walking, views, and grass for making whistles. Our host family and I are not to performance level yet but this was only our first practice!
Sunday was for packing and preparing to go to our new host. We said goodbye to our host family as they left for Cornwall for a few days. We were sad to say bye but are very excited to go "home" in a few weeks. Monday morning we loaded a bus and headed north!
Thank you to our incredible hosts. We can't wait to see what other fun we can have in Devon on our return. We hope the cat, Pudding, doesn't miss us too much while we're away!
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