"I'm ready, are you Harry?"
"Oh yes I'm ready as well, I can't wait to get going, we are going to see all sorts of things today!" Harry replies.
The kids stop in a picturesque village in Devon for a wander around.
"Where do you think we should go next?" Henry asks.
They all make various suggestions
"Let's go to Sidmouth to the seaside, it should be lovely there"
They set off back to the car.
However it appears they got waylaid on their way...
Stopping for a bit of hill climbing and admiring the views.
"It is so lovely up here don't you think Harry?"
The girls enjoy the wind blowing through their hair.
They enjoy chatting together and seeing what they can spot...
After a while the chill of the wind gets to be a bit too much so they make their way down the hills back to the car for their onward journey to Sidmouth seaside.
They are disappointed to see they have a little wait until the Punch and Judy Show.
But there is plenty to do while they are waiting.
Rory takes the dog for a walk, the girls play with their dolls and Henry rides the skateboard.
They don't have to wait for too long, it is amazing how quickly the time flies by when you are having fun.
They all sit entralled by the show.
Very soon the fun is over and it is time to make their way to Colyton for a ride on the Seaton Tramway.
Henry decides he is going to be the Engine Driver while Oliver is the Ticket Inspector. Rory and Harry are the passengers.
The Tram's coming...look we are going to ride on Car 12.
"Did you know that Car 12 was built in 1966?" Henry informs his friends. "It was built in Eastbourne and was originally an enclosed single-decker tramcar. They rebuilt it in 1980 as an open topper and then apparently they rebuilt it again in 1999 to resemble the London 'Feltham' trams of the 1930s. Isn't that amazing?"
"I wonder what sort of wildlife we will see?" Rory asks, his binoculars and camera at the ready.
"We should see lots from up here as we go along the Axe Estuary"
Oliver keeps hold of his flag in readiness for any approaching trams.
He is not disappointed as soon Car 14 comes along.
"Oh goodie, I was so hoping we would see this one," exclaims Henry. "It is the oldest in the fleet. It was built in 1904! Isn't that old? It says in the brochure that it was originally a Metropolitan Tramways type A Car 94 which was standard gauage. It was rebuilt at Eastbourne and Seaton between 1962 and 1984."
Something tells me Henry is becoming something of a tramway enthusiast!
They look out over the estuary as the tramcar continues on its journey.
"Look another" Oliver calls out to Henry.
"Car 19 this time" Henry exclaims all ready to launch into another explanation of its history. "This one was built in 1906 and was an Exeter Corporation Tramways 3'6" gauge open topper and was in use from 1906 until 1931. It says it is the only Exeter tram in preservation and was rebuilt at Seaton between 1994 and 1998".
The other tramcar they see is Car 11 built in 2007 to supercede Car 8 in 2011 as the pink tram in support of Breast Cancer Care.
On the drive home the kids spotted the bluebells out in the woods
They enjoyed a good play and run around in the woods.
Running through the blue bells.
Exploring...
Investigating the graffiti carved into the tree stumps.
Climbing...
Posing...
Playing tag...
Running through the blue bells Henry tries to catch Harry.
Harry runs off as fast as he can.
Henry finally catches Harry and they pose for a final pose before we have to make our way home.
Credit must be given to my friend Laura who made the wonderful Punch & Judy puppets and box and of course took us to all these lovely places.
This is a real treat for us today being able to join the fun your dolls had on their outing. I love the combination of sightseeing and dolls; the punch and judy pics are priceless, a lot of effort you took in that wind too!
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Fanny
A wonderful day indeed. Please let Henry how much I enjoyed the history of the various cars. Did Rory spot any wildlife?
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures Lorraine, looks like they had a grand time.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful scenery! Great photos!
ReplyDeleteA most impressive post today. Sidmouth is one of my brother's favourite holiday places in the UK so it was great to see a little of it as I have never been there preferring Bournemouth and the Sandbanks area.
ReplyDeleteLoved the views up on the hills especially Henry being 'King of the Castle' when standing on the top of the mound. How on earth did he manage to stay upright with that breeze blowing?
The stop in the little Devon village was very picturesque, reminds me of our Cheshire ones.
Adore the photos of them running and playing 'catch-me' through the bluebells in the woods. One of my favourite of our late Spring flowers.
Great section on the Trams with a little of their history thrown in by my special friend, Henry. I always like to try to learn something new each day.
The Punch and Judy set up and performance on the promenade was spectacular. Must have taken some setting up to get such a lovely little audience gathering around to watch. (Unfortunately my days of achieving anything like this are long gone as I can no longer bend down so it was a delight to look at.)
Sasha love and many thanks tomall for such an interesting and informative post. From Kendal.
Wow! What a fun post filled with BEAUTIFUL scenery! I enjoyed this very much, so I know you all must have had a grand time.
ReplyDeleteSo much enjoyed all the adventures and beautiful, evocative scenes. Henry and his are so like real children bringing back wonderful memories of my own childhood.
ReplyDeleteThank you boys and girls for so much fun. Love Mary Kearns x