Staycationing in the South West

August 10, 2020

Over four years ago I moved from Sheffield, in the north of England, to Devon in the South West. I decided to move away from the hustle and bustle of a big city and embraced the peace and quiet of a small, coastal town so that I could focus on building my map illustration brand.

My knowledge of the South West was limited to bucket and space holidays in the region as a child. Coming to live here has been a voyage of discovery and delight: stunning coastal walks, days spent on sandy beaches, fish straight from the sea and warmer weather! Since early Spring I've not travelled outside my adopted home county of Devon and my confinement has been an easy one, given the glorious weather and wonderful landscape on my doorstep. It also gave me the chance to reconnect with Devon through my art by drawing my favourite places, landmarks and culture in home county ...

I love the bleak hills of Dartmoor and Exmoor, home to packs of wild horses, as well as the wide array of boats that bob about on the sea. Plymouth Gin and cream teas are some of my favourite things that hail from Devon.  Go west and we head into Cornwall, a land of stunning scenery ... craggy cliffs that fall down to expansive sandy beaches onto which the wild Atlantic Ocean rolls in.  Pretty harbour towns of St Ives, Padstow, Porthleven and Falmouth are wonderful places to have a wander around and feature in my illustration of Cornwall, as does the iconic and unrivalled Cornish Pasty :-)  ...

In the other direction, we wander into delightful Dorset, discovering the charming towns of Lyme Regis, famous for fossils from the Jurassic Coast cliffs and crab from the sea. Nearby is Bridport, famous for its basket weaving tradition, many of which can be found on display at the Saturday open air market. Along the coastline we come across the ancient landmarks of Lulworth Cove and Corfe Castle where inland the Cerne Abbas Giant makes his mark on the chalk downs of Dorset. The seaside towns of Bournemouth and Weymouth bring crowds to their beaches from London and beyond.  Fortunately, my home town of Exmouth in Devon is a little too far for many of them to roam so I manage to enjoy walks on empty beaches most of the year :-)

 

 

 

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