Holiday in Devon, Friday 28th March  -  Friday 4th April 2014

Drum Cottage, Liverton, Near Newton Abbot, Devon.

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Day 1 - Friday 28th March 2014

We started in sunshine and quickly got into heavy rain along the M5. By the time we reached Exeter the rain had mostly stopped, although we did get occasional showers during the rest of the day.  We stopped at Michaelwood to change drivers and then at Sedgemoor for coffee.  We reached the National Trust property A La Ronde in time for lunch in their cafe.  The house is a charming and unusual circular/16 sided building built in 1796 for two cousins, Jane and Mary Parminter. The two ladies would move around the house during the day to make the most use of the light and heat from the sun. It was further modified and enhanced with an upper floor and dormer windows by The Rev Oswald Reichel, the only male owner. He inherited from a sister in 1886, although the terms of Mary Parmininter's will were that inheritance could only be by an unmarried female kinswoman. These later changes also saw a water tower built adjacent to the house which fed a hot water system for the bathroom and central heating.  The upstairs interior gallery contains a superb display of shells, but is very delicate and cannot be visited - a video display can be seen in a downstairs room.