June in Devon

It has not been the best month, after a miserable wet and cold Spring did not really .... Spring!

Everything was late, the daffodils, the primroses and the bluebells were all weeks behind and not as vigorous as usual due to the inclement weather.
But, it has improved, we have had a dryer spell but temperatures have been way down. Until last Wednesday, which I have officially declared SUMMER 2013!
On that beautifully hot Summers day we went up the Teign Valley for lunch to a pub in the tiny
Village of Trusham, The Cridford Inn.
Very attractive from the front with magnificent roses  climbing up the whitewashed walls to the thatch above.

Sadly, the food was very disappointing. The lunch menu was small, expensive and unimaginative and we did not want to spend over £ 10 per head. Never mind, we sat outside in the very hot sun, enjoyed a glass of Pimms and made the best of it.

There is a fine dining restaurant attached to the pub which has a good reputation but far too dear for lunch.

We ended up going home for tea, having a pizza and salad outside on the patio all washed down  with a glass or two of wine and vying for a place under the shade of the umbrella.

Today, dull and overcast we took ourselves off to Killerton House in Exeter, a National Trust property.

We had a coffee in the old stable yard thoroughly entertained by several swifts dashing hither and thither and disappearing into a hole behind a drainpipe.

The sheep were expecting rain, see them all huddled under a tree. They were wrong!

We Enjoyed a couple if hours walking around the house and the gardens and we bought a thornless rose I have been looking for for ages and a passionflower. Both good strong healthy plants for under £10 each.

The house was not very inspiring, but the gardens were better. Some interesting plants.

Here are some photos.

The following flowers looked like cultivated wild orchids and, indeed they were

All in all a very pleasant few hours in this very green and pleasant land in deepest Devon.