On Tour: The Wonderful Red Cliffs of Devon

Occasionally we sneak over the River Tamar and out of Cornwall. On this particular trip we popped into the neighbouring county of Devon. I wanted to visit the red cliffs, sand and soil.

This is the beach where we started our short walk  along the coastal path, near Exmouth.

My shadow and I thought we would walk towards Budleigh Salterton - my wife agreed. So quite a special moment!

Yes, the cliffs are definitely red in colour with the occasional green of the seaweed.

The red is from iron minerals which have weathered over millions of years to produce the colour.

There are also the remains of fossilised roots to be found. These are whiter in colour against the red rocks.

As I understand it these roots go back some 35 million years to the Triassic Period. Ancient plants grew here amongst a desert river. The roots of these plants burrowed down into the soft red sand of the desert, drawing  up any water they could find.

Minerals that were dissolved in the water grew in crystals around the roots, encasing them. As time passed the streams moved and the plants died but the nodules that encased their roots remained.

Fossil roots like these can be seen on other parts of the Jurassic Coast. This, however, is the only place where they can be seen easily.

The photo above shows the view when approaching Budleigh Salterton and below getting nearer still.

The beach at Budleigh Salterton is now in view, plus some beach huts.

A closer look at the beach huts ...

... and the pebbles that make up the beach.

Further along the pebble beach with two people fishing in the distance.

The following photo is looking back to where we had walked along the coastal path with the red cliffs.

Before we retraced our steps we wandered around the small, but interesting, town. Unfortunately I only snapped one photo. This is of the museum, previously a cottage built in 1812.

Now we are heading back to where we began our walk.

The gulls were peaceful on the beach.

To finish: another look at those wonderful cliffs.

... and home we go. Hope you have an interesting week ahead. Good wishes ~ Mike.

Five Other 'On Tour' Posts

(1) City of Bath and the Roman Baths

(2) Glastonbury Abbey, Glastonbury Tor and King Arthur
(3) Visiting Wells Cathedral - 16 Photos

(4) Visiting Cheddar Gorge

(5) Alone with the Stones at Stonehenge

On Tour: Visiting Wells Cathedral - 16 Photos.

On a previous 'On Tour' post to Cheddar Gorge I mentioned that traditionally true Cheddar Cheese had to be made within 30 miles of Wells Cathedral. So, to follow up on that, today we have photos of this magnificent cathedral.

Kindly note the photos were all taken prior to the coronavirus lockdown. 

The building of Wells Cathedral began way back around 1175. The first phase of the building took around eighty years and the wonderful (west) front was completed with over 300 medieval statues, most of which can still be seen today.

The scissor style arches are quite spectacular.

The arches were added in 1338-48 for internal strengthening and were put in place by a master mason, William Joy

As I understand it, the first organ at Wells Cathedral was in the early 1300s.

The present day organ was built by Henry Willis in 1857.

Now a few odds and bods. First we have the Cope Chest used to store the robes of the clergy. This dates back to 1120 and is made of local oak. It's still in use today.

Now we have the tomb of Thomas Bekynton: the Chancellor of England and Bishop of Bath & Wells from 1443 to 1464.

I'm not too sure who the following gentleman is but it gives another example of tombs within the cathedral.

Now the Wells Cathedral clock. This is something a bit special. It is said to be the second oldest clock mechanism in Britain, and probably the world, to have survived and still to be in use. It is believed that the works were made in 1390 and that the clock face is the oldest surviving original of it's kind anywhere.

When the clock strikes every quarter, jousting knights run round above the clock and the Quarter Jack bangs the quarter hours with his heels.

A couple of the ornate ceilings

One of the attractive windows. This is the East Window dates from the 14th century but has had some later restoration.

Finally looking up at the outside of the church from the grounds.

I enjoyed my visit to Wells Cathedral. It's not the largest by any means but it has a special quality. Some say it is one of the most beautiful.

See also 'on tour' post: Visiting Glastonbury Abbey, Glastonbury Tor and King Arthur