Oakhampton, Devon
Conversation with the retired couple at breakfast reveals them to have the same concerns as others I have spoken to regarding the direction England is taking spiritually and socially. Steve and Caroline perceive England as becoming far more secular and much more stressed as a result of indiscriminate immigration policies. They sense that the true England they love has been getting diluted and is now fading from the horizon. I wonder if this genealogy craze I am seeing is a result of people trying to get back to a world that no longer exists except in old parish records.
About 10 AM Tony and Gill came by Woodbarton House and we then headed to Rosemoor Gardens in the West. An intermediate stop at a bank in the small town of Topsham confirms that I will not have access to my accounts while over here; something about pins, buy-outs and bankruptcy of my U.S. bank. The idea of being 5,000 miles from home without access to money is suddenly a good bit of a challenge. Life goes on.
Topsham proves to be a pleasant little village on the Exe River. It was a vital port at one time but the silting up of the river brought that to an end. The main street in town contains a nice admixture of architectural styles from the past five hundred years or so. An antique cooperative had fine furniture and books at amazingly good prices. My recent failed mission in the bank kept me from any kind of temptation to see if I could strike the deal of a lifetime. There is a quay populated with small boats that adds a nice waterfront sensibility to the town. As is true of every place here, the town is pleasing on foot but in the car parking was tedious and expensive once found. There are far too many vehicles in this place.
The Rosemoor Gardens are perhaps the best gardens I have experienced anywhere. These gardens are very large, diversified, especially well maintained, mature, very unpretentious and very appealing to the senses. Despite having only been developed as a public horticultural garden since 1988 there is a very pleasing sense of age and establishment of the specimens. The diversity of plants is quite astounding. I did not find out the history of the family that gifted these gardens to the horticultural society in 1988 but obviously this family knew a lot about creating world class gardens. They were quite uncrowded and enjoyable to be in. There is a wide range of garden type going from very formal with severe clipped hedges to very comfortable informal landscapes. There were abundant blooms of every conceivable type - no sense whatever of a summer blooming season being over. We had a very fine luncheon in a concession much like the one we enjoyed yesterday in the Eden Project.
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