We head into the 12th-century Oxenham Arms
Chilli Farms, Okehampton and the Oxenham Arms, South Zeal, Devon - 10th April 2023
The Oxenham Arms Hotel - built in the 12th century around a 5,000 year old Menhir, once home of the first professional pirate John Oxenham, where Charles "Chazzy D" Dickens wrote the Pickwick Papers, and which has been an inn for over 530 years - isn't open on Mondays so we make sure to get a visit in on Sunday evening. It's an amazing place for a beer. Then, on Monday, Sis and Nosher visit Throwleigh and then Fred and Nosher head off to the South Devon Chilli Farm near Loddiswell in the South Hams. There's not much there at this time of year, although there are some early nursery plants to buy, but Fred's happy as it's a sort-of Holy Grail for chilli fans. After that we meet up with Isobel and Harry in Moretonhampstead and do a quick visit to Grandma J, before heading into Okehampton for a takeaway from Ma'ida Indian Restaurant on Fore Street, where we're almost bona-fide regulars. Then, the next morning, we pack up and head off back up the A303 and the M25. It's much easier as it's not the Easter holidays any more, when we had learnt the hard way about the realities of over-subscribed charging stations, so we have fairly hassle-free hops from Exeter to Fleet and onto Gridserve outside Chelmsford. It still takes a good nine hours to get back though.
next album: Paddock House Demolition and the BSCC at Thorndon, Suffolk - 13th April 2023
previous album: Easter in South Zeal and Moretonhampstead, Devon - 9th April
There's a stone cat guarding the door
The 5,000-year-old Menhir at the heart of the hotel
Fred and Isobel cube whilst Harry draws a picture
A portrait of Mary Oxenham follows us around
A bust of Charles Dickens up the hotel's stairs
A suit of armour guards the dining room
A Roman stone props up another part of the building
Walking back under sodium lights
We have another drink in the King's Arms
A death warrant for the execution of Charles I
The church of St. Mary's in Throwleigh
A view from Sis's putative new house
Stained glass in St. Mary's Throwleigh
Some ancient stone construction
Sis roams around the nave of St. Mary's
A view up the road to South Zeal
A classic car rots in the street, intestate
Fred looks at chillis at the SDCF
More chillis in the plant nursery
Fred roams around by a polytunnel
The South Devon Chilli Farm shop
Harry looks at the fish in Ma'ida restaurant
The arcade in Okehampton
A closed-down takeaway on St. James Street
The Kings Arms on St. James Street
The site of the Pig Pen in Okehampton
Ma'ida on Fore Street
We wait for our food in Ma'ida
St. Michael's on Fore Street
Inside St. Michael's Church
Fred reads the guest book in the church
A sculpture on a house in Park Row
The cottage has some cute paper models of Chagford
Isobel heads back for more bags as we pack the car
Isobel and Harry buy some stuff in M&S
Exeter Services is much quieter than Monday
Fred scoffs a big doughnut
The back of a big Costa sign
A quiet Exeter Services
One of the Gridserve chargers gets fixed
Fred gets a photo of Harry on his tablet
Fred's photo of the A303
A Fred photo of Stonehenge, through the wires
Harry by the charger at Fleet Services North
We cross the link bridge to Pizza Express
A line of mid-lane tossers on the M3
Pizza Express's kitchen area
Fred lurks outside WHSmith
Harry watches M3 traffic from the link bridge
We stride around Fleet North
A view from a Costa at Fleet Services
The boys play a game at Gridserve Chelmsford
The car charges away at Gridserve
We eat ice creams
Isobel heads back to the car
Fred spots a Twatla with an almost-Tesla plate
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We head into the 12th-century Oxenham Arms
We head into the 12th-century Oxenham Arms
There's a stone cat guarding the door
The 5,000-year-old Menhir at the heart of the hotel
Fred and Isobel cube whilst Harry draws a picture
A portrait of Mary Oxenham follows us around
A bust of Charles Dickens up the hotel's stairs
A suit of armour guards the dining room
A Roman stone props up another part of the building
Walking back under sodium lights
We have another drink in the King's Arms
A death warrant for the execution of Charles I
The church of St. Mary's in Throwleigh
A view from Sis's putative new house
Stained glass in St. Mary's Throwleigh
Some ancient stone construction
Sis roams around the nave of St. Mary's
A view up the road to South Zeal
A classic car rots in the street, intestate
Fred looks at chillis at the SDCF
More chillis in the plant nursery
Fred roams around by a polytunnel
The South Devon Chilli Farm shop
Harry looks at the fish in Ma'ida restaurant
The arcade in Okehampton
A closed-down takeaway on St. James Street
The Kings Arms on St. James Street
The site of the Pig Pen in Okehampton
Ma'ida on Fore Street
We wait for our food in Ma'ida
St. Michael's on Fore Street
Inside St. Michael's Church
Fred reads the guest book in the church
A sculpture on a house in Park Row
The cottage has some cute paper models of Chagford
Isobel heads back for more bags as we pack the car
Isobel and Harry buy some stuff in M&S
Exeter Services is much quieter than Monday
Fred scoffs a big doughnut
The back of a big Costa sign
A quiet Exeter Services
One of the Gridserve chargers gets fixed
Fred gets a photo of Harry on his tablet
Fred's photo of the A303
A Fred photo of Stonehenge, through the wires
Harry by the charger at Fleet Services North
We cross the link bridge to Pizza Express
A line of mid-lane tossers on the M3
Pizza Express's kitchen area
Fred lurks outside WHSmith
Harry watches M3 traffic from the link bridge
We stride around Fleet North
A view from a Costa at Fleet Services
The boys play a game at Gridserve Chelmsford
The car charges away at Gridserve
We eat ice creams
Isobel heads back to the car
Fred spots a Twatla with an almost-Tesla plate