The car's got a companion at Harlow Gate
Easter in South Zeal and Moretonhampstead, Devon - 9th April
We haven't seen Grandma J in ages, and it's Easter, so we combine the two with a trip down to Devon and a stay in a cottage in South Zeal - a delightful never-before-visited village, despite being only just off the road between Spreyton and Okehampton, and only a few miles from Sis near Chagford. It's also the first long-distance trip with the all-electric car, which is not without its difficulties, especially because it's Good Friday and the world and its dog are also on the road. Our first attempt is Birchanger on the M11, but this is a disaster as 20 cars fight for two chargers, so we bail out through roadwork queues and find a BP Pulse off the A414 near Harlow. This is better, as it's quieter, but still involves a half-hour wait for a free charger. From there, we head off to Fleet on the M3 which has a reasonable number of chargers, so we get a spot almost straight away. However, the 40kW charging overheats the battery so we have to wait a bit for it to cool down, which is a bit nerve-wracking. At least there's a Pizza Express, so we while away another hour session with some food. Finally, we're at Exeter Moto's Gridserve which has 20 or so spots, so we get straight on for our final charge. All in all though, having to recharge every 150 miles or so turns a six hour journey into a nine-hour one. Anyway, once in Devon, we explore South Zeal, which amazingly, for such a small village, has two pubs, then visit Grandma J in Moretonhampstead, where we haul her out for some tea and cake. Then we're off to Sis and Matt's for an Easter buffet barbeque, followed by a walk around the edge of the moor. There's also a bit of air-rifle shooting down in the bottom garden.
Soundtrack for this album:
next album: Chilli Farms, Okehampton and the Oxenham Arms, South Zeal, Devon - 10th April 2023
previous album: Fred and the Orchestra, Snape Maltings, Suffolk - 5th April
A row of hire vans at Harlow Gate
Fred wanders off to the petrol-station shop
We stop for pizza at Fleet Services South
We try to get going again at Fleet on the M3
Back inside, waiting for the battery to cool down
We've made it to Moto Service at Exeter
Gridserve Moto has a much more impressive set up
Harry meets a dog in the King's Arms, South Zeal
The boys outside the King's Arms
Sis, Harry and Isobel in the pub restaurant
Matt takes a photo
Harry tumbles upside-down in the cottage lounge
We walk down the main road through the village
The boys check out the village shop
K6 phonebox and the chapel of St. Mary
Harry spins around in the playground
The boys try out an old-school rocking horse
We walk back to the cottage
The cottage has photos of South Zeal in the 1800s
Our cottage, on the right, in the 1800s
A view out of the bedroom window
A memorial cross in the chapel garden
Walking past the village shop
The recreation ground gets rolled
A delicately-piled bin in Moretonhampstead
The view from Grandma J's room
Grandma J chats to Isobel
The Lucy Wills building, from 1898
Grandma J says hi to a dog outside the butcher's
Isobel and Harry do cubes in Central Café
Isobel guides Grandma J back up the road
The Van du Pain bakery van
We head off to explore Moretonhampstead
A telephone box with 'Covid Hoax' on it
The status of George Parker Bidder on Lime Street
St. Andrew's Church at the top of Fore Street
The nave of St. Andrew's Church
The nave window of St. Andrew's, Moretonhampstead
The Moretonhampstead Motor Museum
We briefly get onto the edge of Dartmoor
The boys have a car picnic
Fred roams around with a Strawberry Squeezer
The gang hangs around in front of the cottage
The cute little chapel of St. Mary's
Providence Methodist Chapel
Sis knocks up an Easter buffet
Fred watches as Harry does air rifle
Nosher shoots a few targets
Fred takes up the prone position
Harry pokes around with stuff in the garden
Sis and Isobel in the garden
Matt's on sausage duty
A view of the Methodist Chapel
Doug the Dog looks hopeful
We head off for a walk
A Queen Victoria post box in Providence
A Dartmoor gate
The awesomely-derelict Muddy Farm
Walking down a Devon lane near Aysh
A hairy cow on a hill
A gnarly tree near Little Ensworthy
Doug gets an inappropriately-oversized stick
A pile of animal bedding by a cottage
A couple of chickens strut on a wall
The boys avoid a very muddy path
A pair of small dogs roam around on a lane
Some Dartmoor ponies hang around
A Devon lane towards Gidleigh
A sheep and lambs in a field near Moortown
A very hairy pony trots over excitedly
Fred gives the hairy pony a scratch
Isobel gives the pony a scratch on the nose
A Dartmoor thatched cottage
A very traditional cottage
Doug's in the river at Forder
The massive barn wall of Muddy Farm
Authentic Nissen-hut village Hall, Wonson
Harry talks to some sheep
Matt has a go with the air rifle
Fred shows off the leaking bottle target
A couple of American cars lurk in a barn
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The car's got a companion at Harlow Gate
The car's got a companion at Harlow Gate
A row of hire vans at Harlow Gate
Fred wanders off to the petrol-station shop
We stop for pizza at Fleet Services South
We try to get going again at Fleet on the M3
Back inside, waiting for the battery to cool down
We've made it to Moto Service at Exeter
Gridserve Moto has a much more impressive set up
Harry meets a dog in the King's Arms, South Zeal
The boys outside the King's Arms
Sis, Harry and Isobel in the pub restaurant
Matt takes a photo
Harry tumbles upside-down in the cottage lounge
We walk down the main road through the village
The boys check out the village shop
K6 phonebox and the chapel of St. Mary
Harry spins around in the playground
The boys try out an old-school rocking horse
We walk back to the cottage
The cottage has photos of South Zeal in the 1800s
Our cottage, on the right, in the 1800s
A view out of the bedroom window
A memorial cross in the chapel garden
Walking past the village shop
The recreation ground gets rolled
A delicately-piled bin in Moretonhampstead
The view from Grandma J's room
Grandma J chats to Isobel
The Lucy Wills building, from 1898
Grandma J says hi to a dog outside the butcher's
Isobel and Harry do cubes in Central Café
Isobel guides Grandma J back up the road
The Van du Pain bakery van
We head off to explore Moretonhampstead
A telephone box with 'Covid Hoax' on it
The status of George Parker Bidder on Lime Street
St. Andrew's Church at the top of Fore Street
The nave of St. Andrew's Church
The nave window of St. Andrew's, Moretonhampstead
The Moretonhampstead Motor Museum
We briefly get onto the edge of Dartmoor
The boys have a car picnic
Fred roams around with a Strawberry Squeezer
The gang hangs around in front of the cottage
The cute little chapel of St. Mary's
Providence Methodist Chapel
Sis knocks up an Easter buffet
Fred watches as Harry does air rifle
Nosher shoots a few targets
Fred takes up the prone position
Harry pokes around with stuff in the garden
Sis and Isobel in the garden
Matt's on sausage duty
A view of the Methodist Chapel
Doug the Dog looks hopeful
We head off for a walk
A Queen Victoria post box in Providence
A Dartmoor gate
The awesomely-derelict Muddy Farm
Walking down a Devon lane near Aysh
A hairy cow on a hill
A gnarly tree near Little Ensworthy
Doug gets an inappropriately-oversized stick
A pile of animal bedding by a cottage
A couple of chickens strut on a wall
The boys avoid a very muddy path
A pair of small dogs roam around on a lane
Some Dartmoor ponies hang around
A Devon lane towards Gidleigh
A sheep and lambs in a field near Moortown
A very hairy pony trots over excitedly
Fred gives the hairy pony a scratch
Isobel gives the pony a scratch on the nose
A Dartmoor thatched cottage
A very traditional cottage
Doug's in the river at Forder
The massive barn wall of Muddy Farm
Authentic Nissen-hut village Hall, Wonson
Harry talks to some sheep
Matt has a go with the air rifle
Fred shows off the leaking bottle target
A couple of American cars lurk in a barn