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An Exeter to Broadclyst birthday walk
Apr. 7th, 2015 06:22 amYesterday we walked from Exeter through Stoke Woods and Columbjohn Woods to Killerton House, where we stopped for tea and cake — a really good gluten- and dairy- free lemon and cardamom cake from The Exploding Bakery. As might be expected, given my current enthusiasm for taking lots of photos, here are a few of the better ones.
A tree in blossom on the university campus
( Pre-lunch pictures... )
We arrived in the usual place for lunch at around half-past one and an advanced party was dispatched to scope out the ground.
Lubo and Clare beneath what was to have been the lunch tree. Unfortunately the ground was too wet for sitting, so we migrated to a drier spot by the edge of the wood where there were old bits of wood to sit on.
( A break for food and a journey resumed )
Immediately on arrival at Killerton we ordered teas all round, shook out the picnic rugs, and broke out the birthday cake.
Clare gestures at the view in best, sweeping, aristocratic style. Or maybe she's just shading her eyes from the sun. It's hard to tell...
( Tea at Killerton House... )
Finally made it to the Red Lion in Broadclyst after a nine mile walk.
From left to right: Mark, Gery, Lubo, Paula, Simon, Anne-Christine, Stuart, Clare, Frances. Behind the camera: me and JC. Note Gery's very muddy boots and Mark's incipient sunburn.
( Gratuitous movie star close-ups! )
Once everyone was ready, we moved inside for food. I had a vegetable enchilada but the fish pie was popular as were the steaks. And when Frances' pudding arrived, it came complete with a birthday candle!
Sadly I missed the actual moment of Frances blowing out her candle but here is the immediate aftermath. The framing and general angles show just what a terrible indoor photographer I am and just how bad I am at anything that requires flash...
Another shot of Broadclyst war memorial this time at dusk with Venus rising in the west above it. There was a certain amount of debate about whether the planet really was Venus or Mars — I checked and Mars rose later — and whether the photo was going to come out, but in the end it all came together rather well.
We caught the bus back to town — happily, I confirmed that my bus Exeter pass was valid all the way out to Broadclyst — and rounded off an absolutely lovely day in with an uneventful journey home.
A tree in blossom on the university campus
( Pre-lunch pictures... )
We arrived in the usual place for lunch at around half-past one and an advanced party was dispatched to scope out the ground.
Lubo and Clare beneath what was to have been the lunch tree. Unfortunately the ground was too wet for sitting, so we migrated to a drier spot by the edge of the wood where there were old bits of wood to sit on.
( A break for food and a journey resumed )
Immediately on arrival at Killerton we ordered teas all round, shook out the picnic rugs, and broke out the birthday cake.
Clare gestures at the view in best, sweeping, aristocratic style. Or maybe she's just shading her eyes from the sun. It's hard to tell...
( Tea at Killerton House... )
Finally made it to the Red Lion in Broadclyst after a nine mile walk.
From left to right: Mark, Gery, Lubo, Paula, Simon, Anne-Christine, Stuart, Clare, Frances. Behind the camera: me and JC. Note Gery's very muddy boots and Mark's incipient sunburn.
( Gratuitous movie star close-ups! )
Once everyone was ready, we moved inside for food. I had a vegetable enchilada but the fish pie was popular as were the steaks. And when Frances' pudding arrived, it came complete with a birthday candle!
Sadly I missed the actual moment of Frances blowing out her candle but here is the immediate aftermath. The framing and general angles show just what a terrible indoor photographer I am and just how bad I am at anything that requires flash...
Another shot of Broadclyst war memorial this time at dusk with Venus rising in the west above it. There was a certain amount of debate about whether the planet really was Venus or Mars — I checked and Mars rose later — and whether the photo was going to come out, but in the end it all came together rather well.
We caught the bus back to town — happily, I confirmed that my bus Exeter pass was valid all the way out to Broadclyst — and rounded off an absolutely lovely day in with an uneventful journey home.
