Ahhh - Salcombe by the sea

There are times in our lives when words fail us - and trust me, for me , thats an absolute rarity!! All those who know and love me (!) are nodding their heads in agreement at this point.........

But yesterday was one of those days when my jaw dropped to my bottom and stayed there for some time. One of our customers we are getting to know is a great young man who goes by the name of 'Tricky' - I'm pretty sure that's not because he is (tricky that is!?!) but because he seems to be a very pleasant, genuine and kind young man - and as well known in Salcombe for his lovely dog 'Frodo' as he himself is known as the ferry man to Portlemouth as well as a life boat crew member.

He very kindly offered the other to take me out to sea on one of his ferry journeys (every half hour - on the hour!) and let me see Salcombe from the sea. So, yesterday when the sun was shining and the wind was a gentle breeze, I took him up on that offer - and thats when the jaw dropping moment happened.........

Now, Salcombe from the road as you're driving in is really quite beautiful, but Salcombe from the sea - WOW!!!!! Firstly it stretches far higher and is far bigger than you can see from the roads, but secondly - the scenery around Salcombe is positively breathtaking. Looking down towards the estuary opening there is the most amazing channel for boats to manouvre with some dastardly rocks that would ground an inexperienced sailor in minutes, yet look how fantastic the sun is shining on the water on a mid -November day and just beyond that is the open sea. Close your eyes and smell the sea - try hard enough and you really will!

Around Salcombe on the Portlemouth side of the water I could both see and hear sheep and cows from the ferry and saw a bit closer the luscious, greenest grass that they graze on. Up there somewhere - thats where our vegetables come from on a daily basis.

Then there are the houses - beautiful sea facing houses with big windows and boat houses, and houses that are just dots from Salcombe revealed themselves in all their glory.

Starting to swing round I saw further down the estuary to Kingsbridge - more little boats, huge seagulls and to my greatest surprise - SWANS! Three of them moving gracefully and effortlessly through the water - Tricky told me that they are so tame they can take food off sailors / visitors.

Of course, there are lots of empty moorings / buoys (still not sure of all the technical terms for all the sailing stuff yet!) but dozens of the yachts are parked up safe and sound in the car parks for the winter......... thats another story all together - and maybe a picture as well.

But then we turned round to come back into Salcombe - and thats when the sheer beauty of Salcombe just hits you............ no postcard, no description (and I'm sure my photo's won't do it justice either) can describe the view of Salcombe from the sea -it's just the prettiest place I've ever seen.

You can see some of the fabulous shops along the main street, as well as the hotel and guest houses, scanning the view you can also see the lifeboat on its mooring as well as the fishing vessels going in and out on a regular basis and then of course you can actually see the Victoria Inn from the sea as well...........

There we are nestled in the middle

of the high street, the cream building just behind the cars at the front of the picture - what a great spot eh??! When I get up in the morning to make a cup of tea - I can see all over the harbour from my kitchen window - jealous? You should be!

So there you are - my jaw dropping moment, after the remembrance day service in Salcombe which gave me a sense of community - yesterday gave me a real sense of warmth and love for a place I've only known for a little while and yet I feel like I've lived here for ever already! Salcombe - I'm falling more and more in love with you every day.............