Now we could have done this in a rush in one day, but decided on a short two night stay and take our time. David and I stayed at a Premier Inn in Seaton so we could have time to explore the area. Firstly we visited Pecorama, the site of Peco a company that makes rails for model railways, in Beer. As well as a miniature railway, on which we had a ride, there are beautiful well kept gardens on the hillside overlooking the village of Beer, between Seaton and Sidmouth. The weather was rainy but it soon cleared and our next couple of days were glorious.
Above is a view down to Beer and the sea from the gardens. Just to prove we’ve been on the railway…
And the gardens
After there we went to Beer village, which is very pretty but found it too steep to go down to the sea (it’s not the going down that’s the problem, it’s the going up from the seafront that is). So we admired the scenery instead.
The next day, we travelled by bus (yes, we are bus pass oldies!) to Sidmouth and got off near the town centre and found a sign for a toy museum. This is housed in an old chapel in the back streets and was a lovely reminder of the toys in ours and our children’s past (and even before our time!).
Look at the teeny tiny dolly in a matchbox and the other Dollie’s aren’t much bigger
I used to have a Betta Bilda kit similar to this when I was young.
A teddy bears picnic
Not far from there was a town museum. That too was fascinating with all sorts of memorabilia, including more recently a ship that ran aground and the goods from that coming ashore with the locals helping themselves, which made the national news.
Being not far from Honiton, the area is also associated with lace and there is a gallery devoted to that as well. Queen Victoria wore a lot of Honiton lace similar to lace piece (not sure what the garment is called).
After museum visits it was a wander around the town and the obligatory ice cream on the sea from before going back to Seaton on the bus.
Our last day and return home included a visit to Seaton Tramway, just a short walk from our hotel. After breakfast at a nearby cafe I went off on my own for a short walk uphill to the local park.
The clock tower and a butterfly flower display.
The labyrinth crazy golf with pitch
With a dinosaur egg! There was also a sensory garden and a greenhouse
With some koi carp along with some exotic plants
On to the Tramway. These smaller trams travel from Seaton to Colyton along the (river) Axe Valley
It was a beautiful morning and a lovely ride out before our travel back home.
